Steve Coren was quoted in “DNA test connects half-sisters, spawns med-mal payout fight” in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on February 22. Steve is featured as an expert in the article, which highlights a case about a child born out of wedlock claiming proceeds from her deceased father’s estate even though she had no relationship with her father. Steve notes the plaintiff stands a good chance of satisfying the requirement that she is the legal “child” or issue of the decedent for purposes of Section 1 of the Wrongful Death Statute. “I think she would qualify as a child because it has been held in the interpretation of wills that a child born out of wedlock who has either acknowledged or proved paternity is a child,” said Steve.
Steve points out that the plaintiff may face challenges satisfying a limitation on damages under G.L.c. 229, §2, given the lack of any relationship with her father. “She has to prove that she lost the ‘reasonably expected net income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, and advice of the decedent,’” stated Steve.
Steve references another case, Guy v. Johnson, in which the Appeals Court affirmed a wrongful death distribution in the amount of just $103.41 to a father who had abandoned any connection to his son before the son’s death. According to the court in Guy, under that circumstance the son had no value to the father “in the statutory sense.” “It’s going to be an uphill struggle for [plaintiff Carmen Thomas] to prove any loss and, therefore, any damages,” Steve said.
Continue reading the article “DNA test connects half-sisters, spawns med-mal payout fight” on the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly website (subscription required).