Personal Injury Economic Damages Expert in Idaho

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

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

Idaho courts and expert standards

Idaho courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and whether the opinion rests on a reliable basis, examining the facts and method behind it without adopting the federal reliability test outright. A damages report meets that inquiry by tying each input to the record and identifying the source of every rate and table.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Idaho Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Idaho. Court system: isc.idaho.gov.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Idaho Industrial Commission.

Damages framework

Idaho pairs a wrongful death action for the heirs' losses with a survival action in which the estate recovers the decedent's pre-death economic losses but not pain and suffering. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those with a right of subrogation and certain federal and life insurance benefits, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', and prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a personal injury case venued in Idaho; 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 Idaho

Frequently asked: personal injury cases in Idaho

Which Idaho courts hear personal injury cases?

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

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

Idaho pairs a wrongful death action for the heirs' losses with a survival action in which the estate recovers the decedent's pre-death economic losses but not pain and suffering. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those with a right of subrogation and certain federal and life insurance benefits, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', and prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums. Idaho courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and whether the opinion rests on a reliable basis, examining the facts and method behind it without adopting the federal reliability test outright. A damages report meets that inquiry by tying each input to the record and identifying the source of every rate and table.

More questions about personal injury analysis

References

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