Personal Injury Economic Damages Expert in New Mexico

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

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

New Mexico courts and expert standards

New Mexico courts ask the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, examining whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. A damages report answers those questions by stating its assumptions and citing its sources.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: New Mexico Supreme Court. Federal venues: D.N.M. Court system: nmcourts.gov.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration.

Damages framework

New Mexico measures wrongful death by the worth of the decedent's life from the decedent's own standpoint, a recovery that belongs to the estate and includes lost earnings, the value of the decedent's life apart from earnings, and the decedent's own pre-death damages, with loss of consortium brought separately by close family. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest is discretionary and weighs each party's settlement conduct.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: personal injury cases in New Mexico

Which New Mexico courts hear personal injury cases?

Personal Injury cases venued in New Mexico are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; 13 judicial districts; all civil, criminal, and domestic matters) and the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court (Largest limited jurisdiction court; covers Albuquerque). Final appeals run to the New Mexico Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.

How does New Mexico's damages framework shape the economic analysis?

New Mexico measures wrongful death by the worth of the decedent's life from the decedent's own standpoint, a recovery that belongs to the estate and includes lost earnings, the value of the decedent's life apart from earnings, and the decedent's own pre-death damages, with loss of consortium brought separately by close family. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest is discretionary and weighs each party's settlement conduct. New Mexico courts ask the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, examining whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. A damages report answers those questions by stating its assumptions and citing its sources.

More questions about personal injury analysis

References

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