In a Calgary wrongful death claim, surviving family members can claim damages for the loss of household services. This legally compensates the family for the financial value of the invisible labour the deceased performed, such as child care, cooking, cleaning, and routine home maintenance.
When a family loses a parent or a spouse, the emotional devastation is profound. However, there is also an immediate practical loss that deeply affects the household’s day-to-day survival. The deceased person likely contributed countless hours of unpaid labour to keep the family running, from mowing the lawn and cooking dinners to providing essential child care.
In Alberta, the civil justice system recognizes that this invisible labour has significant financial value. 💵 If someone’s negligence caused the death of your loved one, you should not be financially burdened by having to hire outside help to do the chores they once did. Claiming loss of household services is a crucial step in ensuring your family’s future stability.
Step-by-Step Process in Alberta
Valuing someone’s contribution to a home is complex and requires specialized evidence. Whether your family lives in an inner-city Calgary condo or a large property in the surrounding rural communities, your legal team will follow a methodical approach to build this portion of your claim.
Step 1: Documenting the Deceased’s Routine
The first step is for your lawyer to sit down with you and detail exactly what your loved one did around the house. 📝 This includes estimating the weekly hours spent on grocery shopping, laundry, home repairs, vehicle maintenance, and caring for young children or elderly relatives. Honest, detailed estimates are the foundation of a strong claim.
Step 2: Hiring an Economic Expert
To prove the exact financial value of these services to an insurance company or a judge, your law firm will hire a specialized economic expert or actuary. This expert will write a comprehensive report calculating what it would cost to hire professionals in Calgary (like housekeepers, nannies, and handymen) to replace the deceased’s specific labour over their expected lifetime.
Step 3: Negotiating with the Insurance Adjuster
Armed with the expert economic report, your lawyer will present a formal demand to the at-fault party’s insurance company. 💼 Insurers often try to minimize these damages by arguing the remaining family members can simply pick up the slack. Your lawyer will fiercely counter this argument to secure the full financial compensation you are entitled to under the law.
How Much Does it Cost in Calgary?
Building a robust claim for loss of household services requires an upfront investment in professional expert opinions. Fortunately, most personal injury lawyers in Calgary will handle these costs for you under a contingency fee agreement.
| Lawyer Contingency Fee | The law firm takes a percentage of your final settlement, meaning you pay no hourly rates for their legal advocacy. | 30% – 33% |
| Economic Expert Report | The disbursement cost to hire a financial expert to calculate the lifelong value of the lost household services. | $3,000 – $8,000+ CAD |
| Value of the Claim Itself | The total compensation awarded to the family to replace the deceased’s domestic labour over decades. | Often $50,000 to $200,000+ CAD |
How Long Does the Process Take?
Claiming loss of household services is just one part of a larger wrongful death lawsuit. ⌛ Compiling the necessary expert reports and negotiating a fair settlement typically takes between 1 to 3 years in Alberta. It takes time for an economist to accurately project these losses and account for long-term inflation in the Canadian economy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do we actually have to hire a housekeeper to claim these damages?
No. You are entitled to compensation for the loss of the service itself, regardless of whether you choose to hire a professional cleaner or if surviving family members take on the extra burden of doing the chores.
How is child care valued in a household services claim?
Child care is highly valued. The economic expert will look at the cost of daycares or private nannies in Calgary, calculating the hours the deceased would have spent actively parenting until the children reach adulthood.
Can we claim for highly skilled work the deceased performed?
Yes. If the deceased was skilled at plumbing, carpentry, or major automotive repair and routinely performed these tasks for the family, the expert will value that labour at the higher commercial rates of hiring a local tradesperson.
Does a stay-at-home parent have a valid household services claim?
Absolutely. In fact, stay-at-home parents often have the largest household services claims because their primary daily focus was managing the home and raising children, making their invisible labour incredibly valuable to the family.
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