29.11.1 Loss of Consortium, Grief, Stress, and Mental and Emotional Suffering.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

29.11.1 Loss of Consortium, Grief, Stress, and Mental and Emotional Suffering. The Wrongful Death Act gives juries broad discretion to compensate statutory beneficiaries for the loss of a loved one. The cases characterize these damages as including “loss of love, affection, companionship, consortium, personal anguish and suffering.”⁷⁴ These losses must have been caused by the death of the decedent, not from witnessing the death or the negligent act itself.⁷⁵ But if the circumstances of the wrongful death are relevant to the mental suffering of a beneficiary, then they will be admissible as evidence of damages.⁷⁶ However, evidence of pre-death pain and suffering experienced by the deceased is not admissible.⁷⁷

Although juries are given broad discretion under the Wrongful Death Act as to how much damages to award to each beneficiary, damages for such intangible concepts as emotional suffering and loss of consortium are inherently subjective⁷⁸; jury verdicts that are inconsistent with the evidence ¾ including findings of zero damages ¾ may be overturned.⁷⁹ If there is evidence from which a jury could have found that a low or even zero damage figure was appropriate, however, the verdict will be upheld on appeal.⁸⁰

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Notes:

^[74] Mullen v. Posada del Sol Health Care Ctr...