Workers' compensation matters call for an economist at specific points rather than in every claim: valuing a stream of future indemnity or medical benefits for a settlement, measuring the economic loss in a third-party action arising from the same injury, and quantifying the wage loss where the benefit itself turns on loss of earning capacity. Counsel considering an economist should identify which of those questions the matter presents, because the analysis is structured to the question the compensation system actually asks and the records needed differ for each.
Checklist
Identify the question: settlement value of future benefits, third-party economic loss, or the wage loss that sets the benefit
Gather the pre-injury wage records from the employer and the claimant's tax returns
Obtain the carrier's payment history for indemnity and medical benefits paid to date
Determine whether a treatment projection exists if future medical liability is being valued
For a third-party action, note the fringe benefits and household services the compensation system does not pay
Questions to ask the economist
How do you value a stream of future indemnity payments, and which mortality and discount assumptions do you state?
In a third-party action, how do you present the benefits already paid so the lien and offset questions can be answered?
Can you express a loss of earning capacity as a percentage or a dollar figure as the compensation system requires?
Do you prepare the medical treatment projection, or does that come from others?
Timeline
One to two weeks to a preliminary present value of a benefit stream once the payment history and schedule are in hand. A third-party damages report follows the retention and records phases.
Required documents
Employer wage records and the claimant's tax returns for the years before the injury
The carrier's indemnity and medical payment history
The applicable benefit schedule and any settlement proposal
Post-injury earnings records and the work-capacity opinions in the record
Common pitfalls
Negotiating a settlement from a rule of thumb when a present value with stated assumptions would document the number
Netting paid benefits against the loss in a third-party report before counsel has resolved the lien and offset questions
Treating the compensation system's measure of loss as if it were the civil measure, or the reverse
Does a routine workers' compensation claim need an economist?
Usually not. The economist adds value when a long stream of future benefits is being settled, when a third-party claim adds components the compensation system does not pay, or when the benefit turns on a contested loss of earning capacity. In those settings a documented present value replaces an estimate.
Who prepares the future medical projection in a compensation claim?
The treating providers, or a projection prepared by others from their recommendations. The economist takes the items, frequencies, and unit costs as given, applies medical cost growth, and reduces the stream to present value with the mortality and discount assumptions stated. The economist's testimony is confined to the valuation.
How quickly can the present value of a benefit stream be prepared for a settlement conference?
Quickly, once the carrier's payment history, the applicable benefit schedule, and the claimant's date of birth are in hand. The calculation is a defined stream with stated mortality and discount assumptions, so it moves faster than a full damages report. A third-party damages analysis follows the longer retention and records phases.
References
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Current Population Survey (CPS). U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (n.d.). Daily Treasury par yield curve rates. home.treasury.gov
National Center for Health Statistics. (n.d.). Life tables. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 26, 2026. cdc.gov