Valuing a Life

As a lawyer, I’ve been asked to do the virtually impossible. One nearly impossible mission I’ve been tasked with is to determine the value of a person’s life after it has been terminated by the negligence of another.

The question I ask myself is “How can I attribute a fixed dollar amount to all the facets and unique characteristics that comprised someone’s life?”

An article that touched on this topic piqued my interest. In the article, the author surmised that the value of a life was dependent on the government agency that is considering it. Essentially, the value of a life could be determined by valuing the money it took to attempt to save that life.

Consider the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This agency spends an inordinate amount of money for the purpose of preventing terrorism-related deaths. In a similar way, the Department of Defense spends its money on preventing IED deaths originating from Iraq and Afghanistan.

While this method of valuing life is interesting, there is a different measure in civil law, and these criteria differ by state. In Florida, there are limits on wrongful death damages, including caps on emotional suffering, medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of companionship, and more. Determining the value of a wrongful death case is incredibly complex, and best handled by an attorney experienced in these matters.

If you lost a loved one prematurely due to an act of negligence, carelessness, or wrongdoing, we invite you to contact a Florida wrongful death lawyer at The Pittman Firm, P.A. today!