KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for personal injury cases venued in California: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to California's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
A personal injury economic claim consists of the earnings and fringe benefits the injury has taken away, the household work the person can no longer do, and the present value of the future care the record supports, each tied to the person's own records. Read the full personal injury analysis guide.
California courts ask whether the reasoning and data behind an expert opinion are sound and whether the opinion rests on matter of a type experts reasonably rely on, reserving a general-acceptance test for novel scientific techniques; the witness is qualified by training and experience. Economic damages testimony is therefore examined on its inputs and logic: whether the worklife, growth, and discount assumptions have a published basis and whether they fit the record.
Highest court: Supreme Court of California. Federal venues: N.D. Cal., E.D. Cal., C.D. Cal., S.D. Cal. Court system: courts.ca.gov.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the California Division of Workers' Compensation.
California pairs a wrongful death action for the heirs' economic and companionship losses with a survival action for the estate's own claims, and past medical expenses are measured by the amounts actually paid or owed rather than by the amounts billed. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest in injury cases turns on the statutory offer-to-compromise procedure rather than accruing as of right.
The same four steps apply to a personal injury case venued in California; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.
Personal Injury cases venued in California are heard in the Superior Court (Unified general jurisdiction trial court in each of 58 counties; handles all civil and criminal matters). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of California. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of California, Eastern District of California, Central District of California, and Southern District of California.
California pairs a wrongful death action for the heirs' economic and companionship losses with a survival action for the estate's own claims, and past medical expenses are measured by the amounts actually paid or owed rather than by the amounts billed. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest in injury cases turns on the statutory offer-to-compromise procedure rather than accruing as of right. California courts ask whether the reasoning and data behind an expert opinion are sound and whether the opinion rests on matter of a type experts reasonably rely on, reserving a general-acceptance test for novel scientific techniques; the witness is qualified by training and experience. Economic damages testimony is therefore examined on its inputs and logic: whether the worklife, growth, and discount assumptions have a published basis and whether they fit the record.
Request a consultation on personal injury cases in California or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.