Childs v. United States
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
923 F. Supp. 1570 (E.D. Mo. 1996)
Debra Gordon and her unborn child were killed in a car accident caused by a Postal Service truck; Debra's mother Reese (plaintiff) sued the United States (defendant) under the Federal Tort Claims Act for wrongful death, presenting competing expert estimates of Debra's future earnings ranging from about $398,000 (after deducting personal taxes and consumption) to over $1.1 million, along with evidence of Debra's close family relationships and role holding the extended family together.
Whether a wrongful-death damages award may include both a decedent's proven future economic earnings and separate intangible losses like household services, society, and companionship, without deducting the decedent's own hypothetical personal expenses and consumption from the economic component.