Elmer Buchta Trucking, Inc. v. Stanley

ON PETITION TO TRANSFER

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

Under Indiana's wrongful death statute, a decedent's estate may recover damages for the lost earnings of the deceased, among other things. This has long been understood not to include that portion of decedent's earnings that the decedent himself would have consumed for his own personal expenses and maintenance. The question here is whether the legislature *941changed that rule in 1965. We conclude it did not.

Facts and Procedural History

In July 1996, Michael Stanley was fatally injured during a vehicular collision with Luther Leslie, an employee of…