Section 29 Survivors’ Dependency

• Library: Damages 2012

Evidence demonstrating the extent of the plaintiff’s dependency and added financial burden after the deceased’s death is proper evidence for the jury. Martin v. Sloan, 377 S.W.2d 252, 265 (Mo. 1964). In Martin, the Court allowed evidence of the surviving wife’s additional burden of supporting minor children as pertinent to her pecuniary loss.

Similarly, in an action for the death of a child, evidence concerning the surviving parents’ income and financial condition is admissible when the evidence has a...