Citation

Terman SA. Behav. Sci. Law 1995; 13(1): 43-59.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.2370130104

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A rational methodology based on economic and psychiatric theory is presented to quantify the dollar amount of emotional damages for a wrongful death. The scope and the issue of admissibility of such hedonic damage testimony are considered. Anew scale, the Loss of Enjoyment of Life--Severity Scale (LEL-SS), is introduced and its development is traced. The clinical evaluation of the emotional consequences of a wrongful death go beyond bereavement, encompassing depression and the more global construct of loss of enjoyment of life. To illustrate a clinical evaluation, the case of a mother in the wrongful death of her child is presented, and the dollar amount for emotional damages is calculated. To justify the hopes that this methodology will help settle cases more frequently without the need for trial, reasons are given why both plaintiffs and defendants should be interested in this approach.

Language: en