Pecuniary Loss Defined

In a wrongful death action, the Fourth Department determined that plaintiff, decedent’s brother, was entitled only to pecuniary loss for funeral expenses.  In explaining pecuniary loss, the court wrote:

Damages in a wrongful death action are limited to “fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries resulting from the decedent’s death to the persons for whose benefit the action is brought” (EPTL 5-4.3 [a]).  “Pecuniary loss” is defined as “the economic value of the decedent to each distributee at the time decedent died” and includes loss of income and financial support, loss of household services, loss of parental guidance, as well as funeral expenses and medical expenses incidental to death….  Generally, because it is difficult to provide direct evidence of wrongful death damages, the calculation of pecuniary loss “is a matter resting squarely within the province of the jury”… .  On this record, we conclude that there are issues of fact with respect to whether plaintiff, as decedent’s brother, suffered pecuniary loss in the form of funeral expenses and whether decedent’s brother Matthew suffered pecuniary loss given the evidence of their longstanding close and interdependent relationship.  Milczarski … v Walaszek…, 656, 4th Dept 7-19-13