Medical Malpractice Economic Damages Expert in Georgia

By Christopher Skerritt, M.Ed., MBA, Chief of Economic Services · Published · Reviewed

KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for medical malpractice cases venued in Georgia: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to Georgia's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.

A medical malpractice economic claim measures the earnings, benefits, household services, and care costs the injury added to the outcome the patient would have had with proper care, as the causation opinions in the record define it. Read the full medical malpractice analysis guide.

Georgia courts and expert standards

Georgia trial courts act as gatekeepers in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data series behind each one.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Court of Georgia. Federal venues: N.D. Ga., M.D. Ga., S.D. Ga. Court system: gasupreme.us.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation.

Damages framework

Georgia measures wrongful death by the full value of the life of the decedent from the decedent's own standpoint, an economic component built on lost earnings and services without deduction for the decedent's personal expenses plus an intangible component, while the estate separately recovers pre-death medical expenses, pain and suffering, and funeral costs. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is tied to a written demand procedure.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a medical malpractice case venued in Georgia; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. State the but-for path the causation opinions support: what the patient would have earned, for how long, and what care the underlying condition would have required regardless.
  2. Build the injured path from actual post-injury earnings, the work-capacity opinions, and the incremental care plan.
  3. Measure each component as the difference between the two paths, projected over the applicable life or worklife expectancy with stated growth.
  4. Discount the streams to present value and present the loss under each apportionment or life expectancy scenario the physicians offer.

Attorney guides for medical malpractice cases

Other case types in Georgia

Frequently asked: medical malpractice cases in Georgia

Which Georgia courts hear medical malpractice cases?

Medical Malpractice cases venued in Georgia are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases, felonies, domestic relations, equity) and the State Court (Civil actions regardless of amount except those reserved to the superior court, misdemeanors). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of Georgia. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Georgia, Middle District of Georgia, and Southern District of Georgia.

How does Georgia's damages framework shape the economic analysis?

Georgia measures wrongful death by the full value of the life of the decedent from the decedent's own standpoint, an economic component built on lost earnings and services without deduction for the decedent's personal expenses plus an intangible component, while the estate separately recovers pre-death medical expenses, pain and suffering, and funeral costs. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is tied to a written demand procedure. Georgia trial courts act as gatekeepers in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data series behind each one.

More questions about medical malpractice analysis

References

Request a consultation on medical malpractice cases in Georgia or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.