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WRONGFUL
DEATH LAW
Compensation for loss of companionship is allowed in Tennessee.
When a family member is killed,
there is often a significant economic loss, particularly if the
victim was a wage-earning spouse. A deeper and often more profound
loss is the loss of the love, affection and companionship that each
family member will suffer. Justice and fairness require that grieving
family members be compensated for this devastating loss. However,
for almost one hundred and fifty years, Tennessee law did not allow
damages for the loss of love, affection and companionship suffered
by the family.
The law was changed in 1999. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in the
case of Jordan v. Three Rivers Baptist Hospital that the
surviving spouse and children, including adult children, may recover
compensation for the loss of love, affection and companionship.
Our Supreme Court rightfully recognized that human companionship
has a definite, substantial and ascertainable value. More
recently, in the case of Hancock v. Chattanooga - Hamilton
County Hospital Authority,(2001) the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled
that parents are entitled to recover compensation for loss of
companionship when their child is killed by someone else's
negligence.
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