Damages in a wrongful death lawsuit fall into two categories:
- Non-pecuniary damages, which account for the loss of the decedent’s presence in the life of the individual(s) filing a wrongful death action. Things such as comfort, loss of familial relationship and affection, are examples of non-pecuniary damages.
- Pecuniary damages, which relate to a loss of money, or something that can be directly measured in money, such as last medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of financial support, or the loss of the financial value of services the decedent provided to the family; e.g., the value of household services such as repairs around the house.
In Missouri, in addition to survival damages, damages are recoverable for pecuniary loss, funeral expenses, and the reasonable value of the services, consortium, companionship, comfort, instruction, guidance, counsel, training, and support that the deceased provided.
Except for medical malpractice cases, Missouri has no cap or limit on the damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death case. In Kansas, by contrast, there are limits on how much one can recover for non-pecuniary damages. There is no limit on what a party can recover, if properly proven, for pecuniary damages.
In June of 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s cap on damages for non-economic injuries for personal injury lawsuits as unconstitutional. It is unclear whether this will apply to wrongful death caps as well.