Mercado v. City of New York

In this malpractice action, the jury awarded plaintiff the sum of $75,000 for the wrongful death of his wife. She was survived by four infant children, two of whom were born in the very childbirth involved in plaintiff’s claim of malpractice.

The court reserved decision on defendant’s motions addressed to the verdict, solely on the question of excessiveness.

The words “pecuniary loss” have provided a perplexing problem to the courts for many years. The difficulties are emphasized in a case such as this where the deceased was a housewife, with no proven earning power, and evidence was not…