How to run Wrongful Death Damages in DocketMath for Philippines

Step-by-step

Run this scenario in DocketMath using the Wrongful Death Damages calculator.

This guide walks you through running Wrongful Death Damages in DocketMath for Philippines (PH) using jurisdiction-aware rules. You’ll set the right inputs, understand what the calculator computes, and verify the output for common PH practice scenarios.

1) Open the calculator for the Philippines

1. Go to /tools/wrongful-death-damages.
2. Confirm the jurisdiction is set to PH (Philippines).
3. If the tool includes a jurisdiction selector, choose Philippines explicitly—PH rules and assumptions can change results even when the same inputs are entered.

If you’re browsing tools generally, you can also start from /tools and then select wrongful-death-damages from the list.

2) Gather the inputs the calculator expects

Wrongful death damages calculations are typically driven by a few core categories. In DocketMath, you’ll usually see fields for items such as:

• Decedent’s earnings (or earning capacity)
• Support or dependency factor (how much of those earnings the survivors relied on)
• Relevant time horizon (often a year-based projection)
• Discounting / interest assumptions (if the calculator exposes them)
• Special deductions or adjustments (depending on the calculator version)

Action tip: If the calculator requires a field you don’t have yet, don’t guess blindly. Use the best documented figure you have, record your source, and plan a follow-up run once the missing item is available.

3) Enter the decedent’s earnings (or earning capacity)

In most versions of the wrongful-death-damages calculator, earnings are a key driver.

Practical input tips:

• Use annual earnings if the field asks for annual amounts.
• Use monthly earnings if the field asks for monthly amounts (and don’t convert twice).
• Prefer documented income when possible (pay slips, employment records, or a credible earning basis).
• If the tool allows choosing net vs gross, select the option that matches the basis you’ll use consistently across inputs.

How outputs change:

• Higher earnings generally increase the projected loss.
• Because earnings feed into a projection over time, even modest changes in earnings can create noticeable differences in totals.

4) Set the dependency/support portion

Wrongful death damages often depend on how much the decedent contributed to the beneficiaries’ support.

In DocketMath, this commonly appears as a dependency percentage or multiplier.

Example workflow:

• If you have evidence of household support or contributions, enter that as the appropriate percentage/factor.
• If the tool supports multiple beneficiaries or categories, confirm whether you should enter:

  • a single overall dependency factor, or
  • separate dependency entries per category.

How outputs change:

• The dependency factor typically scales damages.
• So if you increase the dependency percentage while keeping everything else constant, outputs should increase proportionally (or near-proportionally, depending on any additional adjustments in the calculator).

5) Choose the time horizon/projection period

DocketMath may use a projection period based on the scenario settings—commonly tied to expected working years or a specified duration.

What to do:

• Enter the period using the units the tool specifies (years, months, or end-age).
• Double-check date/age consistency if the tool uses it:

  • accident date vs. death date (if applicable),
  • decedent age inputs (if required).

How outputs change:

• Extending the projection horizon usually increases damages because more time periods are included in the lost-support computation.

6) Apply any tool-provided adjustments (interest/discount/deductions)

Some DocketMath wrongful death calculators include toggles for additional adjustments, such as:

• discounting future sums to present value,
• deductions of non-support portions,
• or other calculation rules configured for PH.

Action steps:

1. Review each adjustment label carefully.
2. Keep the assumption set consistent between runs when you’re comparing scenarios.

Pitfall to avoid:

• Switching adjustment toggles mid-comparison can make it appear that the “facts” changed, when only the mathematical assumptions changed.

7) Run the calculation and interpret the results

After completing inputs:

1. Click Calculate.
2. Review the outputs.

Common output categories include:

• total projected loss,
• adjusted/present value figures (if enabled),
• and any net amount after deductions.

Verification checklist:

• Do the results look plausible relative to the decedent’s annual earnings?
• Does the dependency factor appear to be applied as expected (e.g., dependency set around 50% producing results around half of the earnings-based projection, subject to other settings)?
• Does the output reflect your chosen horizon duration (e.g., the correct number of years/months)?

8) Iterate with controlled scenario runs

For PH wrongful death damages work, you’ll often run scenario variations (e.g., alternative earnings bases or dependency estimates).

Use controlled changes:

• Keep all inputs constant except one variable.
• Run the calculator, record the output.
• Compare deltas to understand what drives the result.

Simple scenario framework:

• ✅ Change one driver at a time so your differences are explainable.

9) Save/export your result using the tool workflow

If DocketMath provides saving/sharing/export:

• Export to PDF/CSV if available.
• Store the assumption set with the export so the calculation is reproducible later.
• If there’s a screenshot/share link feature, use it after your final run to preserve which settings produced the final numbers.

Common pitfalls

These issues commonly cause PH wrongful death damages outputs to look “off” even when the calculator is functioning correctly.

Entering monthly earnings into an annual field (or vice versa) can inflate totals by roughly 12x.

When you compare Scenario A vs B, ensure adjustment toggles and any discount/interest settings remain the same.

A “50%” dependency should be entered in the format the tool expects (e.g., 50 vs 0.50).

If the tool uses ages or dates, ensure the age/date basis matches your intended timeline (accident vs death timing where relevant).

If there’s a multi-beneficiary or category feature, using only one overall factor may understate or overstate depending on how the calculator is designed.

If the dependency is low (e.g., ~30%), totals should not dwarf the implied proportional earnings projection by an order of magnitude.

Try it

You can run a first-pass calculation immediately using your best available figures.

1. Go to /tools/wrongful-death-damages.
2. Set jurisdiction to PH.
3. Enter:

   • Earnings (annual or monthly—match the field),
   • Dependency/support factor (as the tool expects),
   • Projection horizon (years/months/age per the tool).
4. Leave adjustments at default PH settings for your first run.
5. Click Calculate and review:

   • whether dependency scaling matches what you expect,
   • whether the horizon duration matches your intended scenario,
   • and whether the total is plausible relative to earnings.

Want to refine after your baseline run? Do one controlled sensitivity run:

• Keep everything the same, then change dependency percentage by a small amount (for example, ±10 points) to see how sensitive the output is.

If you want to cross-check how you handle time periods and income normalization elsewhere in your workflow, you can also start from /tools to find any related calculators and confirm your conversions before returning to this tool.

Related reading

• Wrongful Death Damages Estimator Guide for Alabama
• Wrongful Death Damages Estimator Guide for Arizona
• Wrongful Death Damages Estimator Guide for Colorado