2 million - and everything is OK... Why in Russia people get insignificant compensation for the death of their relatives

Economist Dmitry Prokofiyev raised an extremely interesting and important social problem in his channel.

The essence of the matter is as follows. Recently, as reported by the United Press Service of the Courts of St. Petersburg, Valentina G. applied to the Oktyabrsky District Court with a claim against the St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution "Lensvet" to recover compensation for moral damage in the amount of 15,000,000 rubles. In support of the claims, it was indicated that on January 20, 2020, her daughter Sh. died as a result of injuries incompatible with life after contact in the courtyard of the house with a live electrical wire due to the defendant's poor quality power supply services that did not meet safety requirements. However, the woman did not appear at the hearing, she submitted a statement on the waiver of the claims and the termination of the proceedings in connection with the defendant's voluntary compensation for moral damage in the amount of 2,000,000 rubles.

The representative of the St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution "Lensvet" at the hearing asked to terminate the proceedings in connection with the refusal of the plaintiff from the claim. The court terminated the proceedings.

That is, the mother of the deceased woman refused claims against the defendant organization for compensation of 2 (two) million rubles (the woman was electrocuted in the street, she touched the bare wire of a lamppost). Initially, the mother demanded 15 million for the death of her daughter, but they agreed for two.

Two million. $ 30,000. This is the amount of compensation for the loss of life. Why is life in the Russian Federation "worth" two million rubles? Not twenty, not thirty million? - asks the expert. The amount of payments that the relatives of those killed in Russian accidents receive is actually equal to the amount that the victims, in theory, could have earned over several years. This amount ranges from 30 to 80 thousand dollars. Here they are paid. And state entrepreneurs, assessing their costs of "ensuring security" are guided by this amount.

And this approach is wrong in principle. This is not about the wealth of society or individual companies. For example, India is a very poor country. And the level of security is not high there. However, the basic amount of compensation in such cases starts there from a million dollars. What is so much for?

But in order for companies and officials to compare the costs of ensuring real security with the risks of paying an astronomical amount in the event of an accident with victims. Against the background of the likelihood of paying a million dollars for a dangling wire, the cost of keeping those wires in order will not be high.

If the amount of compensation is measured in tens (or hundreds) of millions of rubles, the bosses have a strong motivation to invest in real, not fictitious "security." And in professional development of specialists. And to the refusal to operate equipment of questionable quality. If only because it will be expensive to insure such equipment. Nothing personal, the insurer will say, the size of the insurance premium is a derivative of the risk of payment of the exorbitant sum insured. If you want to take risks, take risks. But this risk will be very expensive. To discourage risk-taking.

Ten years ago, the economist Sergei Guriyev published calculations according to which the minimum compensation "for life" in Russia should be at least one and a half million dollars.

“The cost of human life is, in fact, the main indicator of socio-economic development. Much more accurate than GDP per capita”, - said Guriyev.

Once again, the extremely high payoff for a lost life is not just "compensation for suffering". It is a mechanism for enforcing responsible behavior. Where life is expensive, everyone has a serious incentive to think about how to save this life. So, as now in the Russian Federation they carefully protect the life and health of people living at the level of the "first class".

The rest are left to their own devices and can be saved as they want. Like the Titanic.

The fight to prevent accidents must begin with a manifold increase in death payments. The dead cannot be resurrected. This must be done in order to save the living...