Trial testimony in a product liability matter presents the loss for a claimant whose circumstances the jury must understand before the numbers make sense: a child whose earning capacity rests on an educational path, a homemaker whose loss is the work in the home, a retiree whose loss is support and services, or a worker with the full set of components. Demonstratives should begin with the claimant's but-for path and then show each component's build-up and present value. The opposing economist typically differs on the attainment assumption, the household services hours, or life expectancy, and the direct examination should present those choices with their evidence before cross.
Checklist
Prepare a board showing the claimant's but-for path and the evidence supporting it
Prepare component boards for earning capacity, household services, benefits, and future care as claimed
Prepare the present value explanation using a component the jury can picture
Prepare a sensitivity board under alternative attainment, hours, or life expectancy assumptions
Prepare a comparison of the two economists' assumptions
Questions to ask the economist
How will you present a child's earning capacity without appearing to speculate?
How will you make a homemaker's household services concrete for the jury?
What does the total look like under the opposing economist's life expectancy?
Which inputs came from other experts, and how will you say so?
Timeline
One to two preparation sessions in the week before testimony, sequenced after the medical and, if any, plan testimony.
Required documents
The final report and its tables
The school, family, or household documentation relied on for the but-for path
Draft demonstratives and sensitivity tables
The opposing economist's report and deposition transcript
Common pitfalls
Presenting a child's earning capacity as a single number without the attainment assumption visible
Showing household services as a total rather than as tasks, hours, and rates
Leaving the life expectancy source unexplained when the medical opinions address it
How does the economist present a child's lost earning capacity without speculating?
By stating the attainment assumption and its basis in the family and school record, pricing it with earnings data by educational level, and showing the result under alternative attainment levels on the same board. The jury sees the assumption, its support, and its effect, and can choose the path the evidence supports.
How does the economist testify about a homemaker's loss?
By showing the tasks, the hours per week the claimant performed them before the injury, the cost of hiring someone to do each, and the years the need continues, then carrying the total to present value. Jurors can weigh hours and rates against their own households. The board should also show the tasks the claimant can still do, because the loss is the difference.
In what order should the economist testify in a product case?
After the medical witnesses on work restrictions and life expectancy and, where care is claimed, after the plan's author, so every input the economist priced is already in evidence. For a child claimant, the school and family witnesses who support the attainment assumption should also precede the economist. The economist's direct then starts from evidence the jury has heard rather than from reports.
References
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
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Pfeifer, 462 U.S. 523 (1983). supreme.justia.com