WPI 31.02.01 Measure of Damages—Wrongful Death—Action for Benefit of Spouse / State Registered ...
6 WAPRAC WPI 31.02.01Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
6 Wash. Prac., Wash. Pattern Jury Instr. Civ. WPI 31.02.01 (7th ed.)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
April 2022 Update
Part IV. Damages
Chapter 31. Damages—Wrongful Death and Survival Actions
WPI 31.02.01 Measure of Damages—Wrongful Death—Action for Benefit of Spouse / State Registered Domestic Partner
It is the duty of the court to instruct you as to the measure of damages on plaintiff's claim for losses suffered by(name of spouse / state registered domestic partner). [By instructing you on damages, the court does not mean to suggest for which party your verdict should be rendered.
If your verdict is for the plaintiff, then] you must determine the amount of money that will reasonably and fairly compensate(name of spouse / state registered domestic partner)for such damages as you find were proximately caused by the death of(name of decedent).
[If you find for the plaintiff] [your verdict must include the following undisputed items:
(here insert undisputed items and amounts)
In addition] you should consider the following items:
(1) Economic Damages:
(a) [You should consider as past economic damages any benefit of value, including money, goods, and services that(name of spouse / state registered domestic partner)would have received from(name of decedent)up to the present time if(name of decedent)had lived.]
[(b)] You should [also] consider as future economic damages what benefits of value, including money, goods, and services(name of decedent)would have contributed to(name of spouse / state registered domestic partner)in the future had(name of decedent)lived.
(2) Noneconomic Damages:
You should also consider what(name of decedent)reasonably would have been expected to contribute to(name of spouse / state registered domestic partner)in the way of [marital] [domestic partner] consortium. [“Marital consortium” means the fellowship of husband and wife and the right of one spouse to the company, cooperation, and aid of the other in the matrimonial relationship. It includes emotional support, love, affection, care, services, companionship, including sexual companionship, as well as assistance from one spouse to the other.] [“Domestic partner consortium” means the fellowship of state registered domestic partners and the right of one domestic partner to the company, cooperation, and aid of the other in the domestic partnership. It includes emotional support, love, affection, care, services, companionship, including sexual companionship, as well as assistance from one domestic partner to the other.]
In making your determinations, you should take into account(name of decedent)'s age, health, life expectancy, occupation, and habits [of industry, responsibility and thrift]. You should also take into account(name of decedent)'s earning capacity, including(name of decedent)'s actual earnings prior to death and the earnings that reasonably would have been expected to be earned by(name of decedent)in the future. In determining the amount that(name of decedent)reasonably would have been expected to contribute in the future to(name of spouse / state registered domestic partner), you should also take into account the amount you find(name of decedent)customarily contributed to(name of spouse / state registered domestic partner).
The burden of proving damages rests upon the plaintiff. It is for you to determine, based upon the evidence, whether any particular element has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence.
Your award must be based upon evidence and not upon speculation, guess, or conjecture.
The law has not furnished us with any fixed standards by which to measure noneconomic damages. With reference to these matters you must be governed by your own judgment, by the evidence in the case, and by these instructions.
NOTE ON USE
Use for actions that are brought for the benefit of a surviving spouse or state registered domestic partner pursuant to RCW 4.20.010 (and RCW 4.20.020), the wrongful death statute.
Do not use this instruction for claims under RCW 4.20.046 (the general survival statute), RCW 4.20.060 (the special survival statute), or RCW 4.24.010 (the “child injury or death” statute). If elements of damage to the estate, such as funeral expenses for the decedent, are claimed by the personal representative pursuant to RCW 4.20.046 or if damages for the decedent's pain and suffering or medical expenses are claimed by the personal representative under RCW 4.20.060, such damages should be covered separately in WPI 31.01.01 (Measure of Damages—Survival Action—Statutory Beneficiaries). For claims based on RCW 4.24.010, use WPI 31.06.01 (Measure of Damages—Wrongful Death Actions Brought by Parent for Death of Child—RCW 4.24.010).
Use bracketed material as applicable. If some of the bracketed phrases are deleted, practitioners may need to capitalize the first word that follows the deleted phrase.
See Comment for a discussion of contributory negligence.
For future damages that must be discounted to present cash value, use WPI 34.02 (Future Economic Damages—Present Cash Value).
COMMENT
RCW 4.20.010.
Beneficiaries. RCW 4.20.020 lists a surviving spouse and state registered domestic partner as beneficiaries of a wrongful death action. An unmarried person does not have a cause of action under the wrongful death statute for loss of a cohabitant's consortium. Roe v. Ludtke Trucking, Inc., 46 Wn.App. 816, 732 P.2d 1021 (1987).
It has long been established that a surviving spouse need not have been dependent upon the decedent to recover under the wrongful death statute. Higbee v. Shorewood Osteopathic Hosp., 105 Wn.2d 33, 711 P.2d 306 (1985); Clason v. Velguth, 168 Wash. 242, 11 P.2d 249 (1932); Jensen v. Culbert, 134 Wash. 599, 236 P. 101 (1925). Damages in wrongful death action brought for the benefit of a surviving spouse are fixed at the decedent's death. Stuart v. Consolidated Foods Corp., 6 Wn.App. 841, 496 P.2d 527 (1972). These same principles should apply in cases involving a state registered domestic partner.
Contributory negligence. RCW 4.22.020 provides in part that “in an action brought for wrongful death or loss of consortium, the contributory fault of the decedent or injured person shall be imputed to the claimant in that action.” It is reversible error not to impute the contributory negligence of a decedent to the statutory beneficiaries in a wrongful death action as required by RCW 4.22.020. Ginochio v. Hesston Corp., 46 Wn.App. 843, 733 P.2d 551 (1987).
[Current as of April 2021.]
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