Personal Injury Economic Damages Expert in Maine

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

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

Maine courts and expert standards

Maine courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable foundation, and whether it will help the fact finder, under the state's own reliability inquiry. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Federal venues: D. Me. Court system: courts.maine.gov.

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

Damages framework

Maine's wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative for the beneficiaries' pecuniary injuries, with separate and limited allowances for loss of comfort, society, and companionship, alongside a survival action for the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest runs from the filing of the notice of claim or complaint.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: personal injury cases in Maine

Which Maine courts hear personal injury cases?

Personal Injury cases venued in Maine are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases, jury trials in major criminal cases). Final appeals run to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Maine.

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

Maine's wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative for the beneficiaries' pecuniary injuries, with separate and limited allowances for loss of comfort, society, and companionship, alongside a survival action for the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest runs from the filing of the notice of claim or complaint. Maine courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable foundation, and whether it will help the fact finder, under the state's own reliability inquiry. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record.

More questions about personal injury analysis

References

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