WRONGFUL DEATH VERDICT AWARDING ZERO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE NOT AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.
The Second Department determined the jury verdict in this wrongful death case which awarded zero damages for loss of parental guidance was not against the weight of the evidence:
“In a wrongful death action, an award of damages is limited to the fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries resulting from the decedent’s death to the persons for whose benefit the action is brought” …. “In the case of a decedent who was not a wage earner, pecuniary injuries may be calculated, in part, from the increased expenditures required to continue the services she [or he] provided, as well as the compensable losses of a personal nature, such as loss of guidance” … . “The determination of pecuniary damages in a wrongful death action is peculiarly within the province of the jury” … . Here, we find that the evidence on the issue of the loss of the decedent’s parental guidance did not so preponderate in favor of the plaintiff such that the verdict could not have been reached on any fair interpretation of the evidence … . Estevez v Tam, 2017 NY Slip Op 01675, 2nd Dept 3-8-17
NEGLIGENCE (WRONGFUL DEATH VERDICT AWARDING ZERO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE NOT AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)/WRONGFUL DEATH (WRONGFUL DEATH VERDICT AWARDING ZERO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE NOT AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)/DAMAGES (WRONGFUL DEATH VERDICT AWARDING ZERO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE NOT AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)/PARENTAL GUIDANCE (WRONGFUL DEATH VERDICT AWARDING ZERO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PARENTAL GUIDANCE NOT AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)