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22 J. Legal Econ. 25 (2015-2016)
Wrongful Death: Who Recovers What, Where, and How

handle is hein.journals/jole22 and id is 138 raw text is: Victor A. Matheson, David I. Rosenbaum,, and David Schap. 2016. Wrongful Death: Who Recovers What, Where, and How? Journal of Legal Economics 22(2): pp. 25 32. Wrongful Death: Who Recovers What, Where, and How? Victor A. Matheson, David I. Rosenbaum, and David Schap Abstract: State law determines how recovery of damages in wrongful death cases occurs, either through a wrongful death action, a survival action, or a combination of the two. Who may recover and what may be recovered under each type of action can be profoundly affected by where the matter is adjudicated. After exploring and explaining these salient aspects, a set of stylized examples highlight the major differences between wrongful death actions and survival actions. I. Introduction In wrongful death actions in the US, there exist two broad approaches under which plaintiffs can seek compensation through the state courts. Wrongful death statutes allow for recovery of damages by close family members for direct losses brought about by a person's death, while survival statutes allow recovery by the decedent's estate. Most states allow recovery of damages under both types of statutes, but these laws vary widely from state to state. Thus, the determination of who may recover and what kinds of losses are recoverable depends on where the death case is brought. In successive sections (II and III) we address the major issues of who may recover damages and what types of damages are permitted. While doing so we highlight the importance of where the action is adjudicated by describing the particular legal arrangements in many states. In the next section thereafter (IV), caveats to the analysis are presented briefly. The final section (V) provides a detailed set of examples illustrating how the type Victor A. Matheson, Department of Economics and Accounting, Box 157A, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610-2395, 508-793-2649 (phone), 508-793-3710 (fax), vmathesogholycross.edu David I. Rosenbaum, Department of Economics, P.O. Box 880489, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0489, 402-472-2318 (phone), 402-472-9700 (fax), drosenbaum @unl.edu David Schap, Department of Economics and Accounting, Box 157A, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610-2395, 508-793-2688 (phone), 508-793-3710 (fax), dschapgholycross.edu Matheson, Rosenbaum, and Schap: Wrongful Death: Who Recovers What, Where, and How? 25

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