A product liability claim needs an economist under the same conditions as any injury or death claim: when the loss extends into the future, when future care has been projected, or when household work the person did before the injury must be replaced. The distinctive feature is the claimant. Product cases often involve children, students, homemakers, and retirees, whose but-for earnings path cannot be read from a wage history and must be built from educational attainment, occupational earnings data, or the household work the person performed. Counsel considering an economist should be ready to describe the claimant's circumstances, not just the injury.
Checklist
Gather the earnings history if there is one, or the school and training records for a child or student
Document the household work performed by a homemaker or retiree claimant
Determine whether future care has been projected by a treating provider or in a life care plan
Identify the fringe benefits attached to any prior employment
Note the claimant's age and expected life and worklife, which set the duration of each stream
Questions to ask the economist
How do you build a but-for earnings path for a child or student with no earnings history?
How do you value the lost household services of a homemaker or retired claimant?
How do you apply life expectancy when the medical opinions address the injury's effect on it?
Can you provide a preliminary range before the full engagement?
Timeline
One to three weeks to a preliminary view depending on whether an earnings history exists. The full report follows the retention and records phases.
Required documents
Tax returns and wage records, or school records and any training history
Household composition and the claimant's role in the home before the injury
Medical opinions on work restrictions and, where relevant, life expectancy
The life care plan or treating recommendations for future care, if any
Common pitfalls
Assuming a claimant without wages has no economic loss, when household services and future earning capacity can both be substantial
Building a child's earnings path on an optimistic assumption without support in the family and school record
Overlooking the future care component until the disclosure deadline approaches
From the educational path the record supports, the earnings associated with that level of attainment in occupational and survey data, and a statistically expected worklife, compared against the path the injury leaves open. The economist states the attainment assumption and shows the result under alternatives so the fact finder sees what drives the figure.
Does a claim for a homemaker or retiree need an economist?
Often, yes. A homemaker's loss is the replacement cost of the household work over the years it would have continued, and a retiree's loss can include household services, pension or Social Security income that ended, and support provided to others. Each is a future stream that must be projected and discounted, which is the economist's work whether or not the claimant earned wages.
How long does the analysis take when the claimant is a child?
Somewhat longer than for an adult with an earnings history, because the but-for path has to be built from school records, family history, and occupational earnings data by educational level rather than read from tax returns. The economist can state the attainment assumptions and show a preliminary range early; the full report follows the records request and any life care plan. The timing of the care projection usually controls the schedule.
References
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Current Population Survey (CPS). U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov
U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). American Community Survey (ACS). U.S. Department of Commerce. census.gov
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). American Time Use Survey (ATUS). U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov