Medical Malpractice Economic Damages Expert in Michigan

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

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

Michigan courts and expert standards

Michigan courts require the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, asking whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were applied reliably to the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming the published source behind every assumption and tying each to the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Michigan Supreme Court. Federal venues: E.D. Mich., W.D. Mich. Court system: courts.michigan.gov.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency.

Damages framework

Michigan's wrongful death act gathers the survival and death claims into a single action: the estate recovers the decedent's conscious pain and suffering and medical and funeral expenses, and the surviving family recovers lost financial support, services, society, and companionship. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those subject to a lien, a plaintiff whose fault exceeds half loses noneconomic damages while economic damages are only reduced, the court reduces future damages to present value under a statutory formula, and interest on the judgment runs from the filing of the complaint.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a medical malpractice case venued in Michigan; 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 Michigan

Frequently asked: medical malpractice cases in Michigan

Which Michigan courts hear medical malpractice cases?

Medical Malpractice cases venued in Michigan are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies, domestic relations). Final appeals run to the Michigan Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Michigan.

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

Michigan's wrongful death act gathers the survival and death claims into a single action: the estate recovers the decedent's conscious pain and suffering and medical and funeral expenses, and the surviving family recovers lost financial support, services, society, and companionship. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those subject to a lien, a plaintiff whose fault exceeds half loses noneconomic damages while economic damages are only reduced, the court reduces future damages to present value under a statutory formula, and interest on the judgment runs from the filing of the complaint. Michigan courts require the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, asking whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were applied reliably to the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming the published source behind every assumption and tying each to the record.

More questions about medical malpractice analysis

References

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