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Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002
25Damages for a person’s death
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25 Damages for a person’s death
(1) In an action under this part, the court may award, to the people for
whose benefit the action is brought (the beneficiaries), the damages
that it considers to be proportional to the damage to them resulting
from the death.
(2) Subsection (1) has effect subject to part 7.1 (Damages for personal
(3) The amount of damages awarded must, after deducting the costs not
recovered from the defendant, be divided between the beneficiaries
in the shares the court decides.
(4) The damages may include an amount to compensate for any of the
following expenses paid or payable by a beneficiary:
(a) reasonable funeral expenses;
(b) reasonable medical or hospital expenses related to the injury that
resulted in the death.
Wrongful act or omission causing death Part 3.1
Liability and damages for death Division 3.1.2
(5) An amount to compensate for any reasonable funeral expenses may
be reduced to the extent (if any) that the court considers just and
equitable having regard to the age or health of the dead person
immediately before the wrongful act or omission that caused the
death.
(6) In deciding whether an expense is reasonable for subsection (4) (a),
regard must be had to the religious and cultural circumstances of the
dead person and the members of the dead person’s family.