What are the damages under the Estate Administration Act?

The focus of this Act is on the estate of the deceased and the damages in an action under the Act are directed to form part of the personal estate. The action is "for all loss or damage to the person or property of the deceased". Loss or damage to the personal or real property of the deceased caused by a tort or similar wrong must necessarily have diminished the deceased's estate and damages for that loss or damage would be recoverable. Loss or damage to the person of the deceased is also recoverable where the tort or similar wrong has the effect of diminishing the deceased's estate through, for example, loss of wages to the date of death, or costs incurred in medical or other necessary care. But loss or damage which does not damage the deceased's estate such as physical disfigurement, pain or suffering, death itself, or loss of expectation of life, are excluded. In addition, loss or damage which does not diminish the present value of the deceased's estate, though it may diminish the future value, in the nature of expectancy of future earnings, is also excluded. From those exclusions the scope of the Act can be determined, as it was determined in Campbell v. Read. The damages which may be recovered under the Estate Administration Act are the damages that reflect a diminution of the personal estate of the deceased, whether they are for damage or loss to the person or damage or loss to property, and nothing more.