wrongful death statute is "remedial in nature and purpose, and as such should be liberally construed to accomplish the objective of the act"
How later courts described this case
- wrongful death statute is "remedial in nature and purpose, and as such should be liberally construed to accomplish the objective of the act"
- Hutchinson, J., dissenting ( ... the majority incorrectly ventures into policy areas more properly left to the legisla-ture_
- difficulties in proving damages in an action for wrongful death of a fetus cannot be greater or different in character from the difficulties in determining damages for the wrongful death of a child which survived delivery for a few minutes
- declining “to decide the criminal liability, if any, attendant upon causing the death of a child en ventre sa mere”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
HUTCHINSON, Justice,
dissenting.
Contrary to Mr. Justice Zappala’s exegesis, I believe the Wrongful Death and Survival Acts were entirely creatures of statute, both in England and the United States. Considering our settled interpretation of them and the absence of *238 legislative response, I believe the majority incorrectly ventures into policy areas more properly left to the legislature, especially since tort damages for the pain and suffering of parents who have lost their child are compensable in their own tort action. See W.P. Keaton, Prosser and Keaton on The Law of Torts, § 125A (1984).
NIX, C.J., joins in this opinion.