Washington State Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions
Appendices
Appendix B. Life Expectancy Table
(Based on Washington Insurance Commissioner's Tables; see the Comment below)
AGE NEAREST BIRTHDAY
MALE
FEMALE
0
76.20
81.04
1
75.71
80.49
2
74.74
79.53
3
73.76
78.54
4
72.78
77.56
5
71.79
76.57
6
70.81
75.58
7
69.82
74.59
8
68.83
73.59
9
67.83
72.60
10
66.84
71.61
11
65.84
70.61
12
64.85
69.62
13
63.86
68.63
14
62.87
67.64
15
61.89
66.65
16
60.92
65.66
17
59.95
64.68
18
58.99
63.69
19
58.04
62.71
20
57.10
61.74
21
56.16
60.76
22
55.22
59.79
23
54.30
58.81
24
53.37
57.84
25
52.44
56.87
26
51.51
55.90
27
50.58
54.93
28
49.65
53.96
29
48.71
52.99
30
47.78
52.02
31
46.85
51.05
32
45.92
50.09
33
44.98
49.12
34
44.05
48.16
35
43.12
47.20
36
42.18
46.24
37
41.25
45.29
38
40.32
44.33
39
39.40
43.38
40
38.47
42.43
41
37.55
41.48
42
36.63
40.54
43
35.72
39.60
44
34.82
38.67
45
33.92
37.74
46
33.03
36.81
47
32.15
35.90
48
31.27
34.98
49
30.41
34.08
50
29.55
33.17
51
28.70
32.28
52
27.86
31.39
53
27.03
30.51
54
26.21
29.63
55
25.39
28.75
56
24.59
27.88
57
23.79
27.01
58
23.01
26.15
59
22.23
25.30
60
21.46
24.45
61
20.69
23.61
62
19.93
22.78
63
19.18
21.95
64
18.44
21.13
65
17.70
20.33
66
16.98
19.53
67
16.27
18.74
68
15.57
17.97
69
14.88
17.21
70
14.20
16.45
71
13.53
15.71
72
12.88
14.98
73
12.23
14.26
74
11.61
13.56
75
11.00
12.87
76
10.40
12.20
77
9.82
11.54
78
9.25
10.90
79
8.71
10.28
80
8.18
9.67
81
7.67
9.08
82
7.18
8.51
83
6.71
7.96
84
6.26
7.43
85
5.83
6.93
86
5.43
6.45
87
5.05
6.00
88
4.70
5.58
89
4.37
5.19
90
4.07
4.81
91
3.78
4.47
92
3.52
4.15
93
3.28
3.85
94
3.06
3.57
95
2.85
3.32
96
2.67
3.08
97
2.49
2.87
98
2.34
2.68
99
2.20
2.50
100
2.07
2.34
101
1.96
2.19
102
1.85
2.06
103
1.76
1.94
104
1.68
1.84
105
1.60
1.74
106
1.53
1.66
107
1.47
1.58
108
1.42
1.51
109
1.37
1.45
110
1.33
1.40
111
1.29
1.35
112
1.26
1.31
113
1.23
1.27
114
1.20
1.24
115
1.17
1.21
116
1.14
1.17
117
1.11
1.13
118
1.04
1.05
119
0.88
0.89
120
0.50
0.50
NOTE ON USE
Age should be computed as of the nearest birthday of the person under consideration. For the instruction to the jury, see WPI 34.04 (Mortality Table—Limitation on Use).
COMMENT
The above table is based on the Life Expectancy Tables published by the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Washington. The above table is current as of the date indicated at the end of this Comment. The Insurance Commissioner's website may be consulted for the most recent table. See http://www.insurance.wa.gov.
Pursuant to RCW 48.02.160, the Insurance Commissioner is required to “[o]btain and publish for the use of courts and appraisers throughout the state, tables showing the average expectancy of life and values of annuities and of life and term estates.”
In Bradshaw v. City of Seattle, 43 Wn.2d 766, 784, 264 P.2d 265, 275, 42 A.L.R.2d 800 (1953), a wrongful death case, the plaintiff introduced a mortality table taken from the 1952 or 1953 World Almanac. While there was some discrepancy between this table and that published by the Insurance Commissioner, the court did not find error, its rationale being that “average life expectancy” is but a guide to the jury and not conclusive on the question. The court noted the above-quoted statute, however, and stated that: “In the interest of uniformity, we suggest that the table published by the insurance commissioner pursuant to this statute should be used by the courts in guiding juries as to life expectancy.”
Appendices