Trial testimony in a spinal cord injury matter centers on the present value of lifetime care and the earnings loss, both of which the jury needs to see built up from parts. Demonstratives should show attendant care hours and rates by year, equipment replacement cycles, and the growth and discount pair applied to each category, so that the total is the visible result of arithmetic the jury has watched. The opposing economist typically differs on life expectancy, growth rates, and the discount rate; the direct examination should present those choices and their sources before cross, and the sensitivity board should show the total under the alternatives.
Checklist
Prepare demonstratives showing attendant care, equipment, supplies, and modifications by category and year
Prepare a board pairing the growth rate and discount rate for each category with its source
Prepare the life expectancy explanation and the total under the alternative figure
Prepare a comparison of the two economists' assumptions and what each difference moves
Confirm every board figure ties to a plan line and a report table
Questions to ask the economist
How will you explain why care costs grow at one rate and the discount rate is another?
How will you present life expectancy without appearing to give a medical opinion?
What does the total look like under the opposing economist's rates?
How will you show the jury what happens to the number if a large plan item is removed?
Timeline
One to two preparation sessions in the week before testimony, sequenced after the medical and plan testimony.
Required documents
The final report with item-level present value tables
The life care plan and the medical opinions on life expectancy
Draft demonstratives and sensitivity tables
The opposing economist's report and deposition transcript
Common pitfalls
Presenting a single lifetime total with no visible build-up
Explaining the discount rate without its growth rate partner, which makes the reduction look arbitrary
Defending the plan's medical choices instead of confining the testimony to their valuation
How does the economist handle a cross-examination about the discount rate?
By stating its source, explaining that it is paired with a growth rate for each category, and showing the total under the opposing rate. When the jury sees that the economist has already computed the alternative, the question loses its force.
How does the economist present attendant care so the jury can follow it?
As hours per day, a rate per hour, and the number of years, shown on one board and then carried to present value on the next. Jurors can check hours and rates against their own experience in a way they cannot check a lifetime total. Equipment and modifications are shown the same way, with the replacement cycle in place of the daily hours.
How should the economist testify about life expectancy?
By stating which figure the report applied, where it came from, and what the total would be under the alternative, without offering a medical view of the person's prognosis. If a medical witness gave a life expectancy opinion, the economist applied it; if not, the general tables were used and the report says so. The jury hears the effect of the choice, not the economist's opinion on it.
References
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (n.d.). Daily Treasury par yield curve rates. home.treasury.gov
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Consumer Price Index: Medical care [Fact sheet]. U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Pfeifer, 462 U.S. 523 (1983). supreme.justia.com