Chase v. Fitzgerald’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 federal appellate · 6 district · 73 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 96 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The rule for measuring damages resulting from death may then be briefly summarized as follows: It .is that sum which would have compensated the deceased so far as money could do for the destruction of his capacity to carry on life’s activities as he would have done had he not teen hilled, including the destruction of his earning capacity, for such time as he would probably have lived, but with due allowance for the effect which the ordinary vicissitudes of life might have had upon his continued enjoyment of those capacities and, as far as. destruction’ of earning capacity is concerned, for the fact that a present payment will be made in lieu of sums which, had he lived, would have been received at periodic times in the future.” (Emphasis added.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hurtig v. Bjork

2. “Damages for wrongful death, as such, are allowed as compensation for the destruction of the decedent's capacity to carry on life's activities, including his capacity to earn money, as he would have if he had not been killed.... In the case of one who is gainfully employed ... the destruction of earning capacity may well be the principal element of recovery .... But ... damages ... are not restricted to those arising from the mere destruction of earning capacity. Some damages are recoverable for death itself, even though instantaneous....”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Butler v. Steck