Personal Injury Economic Damages Expert in Colorado

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

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

Colorado courts and expert standards

Colorado applies a liberal but reliability-based inquiry: the trial court asks whether the economist's principles are reasonably reliable, whether the witness is qualified to apply them, and whether the testimony will help the jury, without requiring general acceptance. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its application to the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Colorado Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Colo. Court system: courts.state.co.us.

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

Damages framework

Colorado's wrongful death action is measured by the net pecuniary loss to the heirs plus a limited allowance for grief, while the survival action for the estate excludes the decedent's pain and suffering. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than benefits the plaintiff paid for by contract, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, and prejudgment interest on personal injury awards runs from the date the claim accrued.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a personal injury case venued in Colorado; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. Establish the but-for earnings and fringe benefit base from the tax, wage, benefit, and personnel records, or from occupational data for a career still in training.
  2. Project the base over a statistically expected worklife with a stated wage growth rate and compare it with the post-injury path the record supports.
  3. Value household services from time-use data and local replacement rates, and price the future care in the life care plan item by item with medical cost growth.
  4. Discount every future stream to present value at a stated rate and show the sensitivity of the total to the contested assumptions.

Attorney guides for personal injury cases

Other case types in Colorado

Frequently asked: personal injury cases in Colorado

Which Colorado courts hear personal injury cases?

Personal Injury cases venued in Colorado are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies, domestic relations, probate). Final appeals run to the Colorado Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

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

Colorado's wrongful death action is measured by the net pecuniary loss to the heirs plus a limited allowance for grief, while the survival action for the estate excludes the decedent's pain and suffering. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than benefits the plaintiff paid for by contract, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, and prejudgment interest on personal injury awards runs from the date the claim accrued. Colorado applies a liberal but reliability-based inquiry: the trial court asks whether the economist's principles are reasonably reliable, whether the witness is qualified to apply them, and whether the testimony will help the jury, without requiring general acceptance. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its application to the record.

More questions about personal injury analysis

References

Request a consultation on personal injury cases in Colorado or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.