Personal Injury Economic Damages Expert in New York

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 York: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to New York'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 York courts and expert standards

New York courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community and, separately, whether the economist applied it reliably to the facts of the case; qualification rests on training and experience. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, household services, and present value are published and long used, so the examination of a damages report usually turns on its inputs and their support in the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Court of Appeals. Federal venues: S.D.N.Y., E.D.N.Y., N.D.N.Y., W.D.N.Y. Court system: iapps.courts.state.ny.us.

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

Damages framework

New York's wrongful death recovery has long been measured by the pecuniary injuries to the distributees, which puts lost earnings, lost household services, and the value of parental guidance at the center of the case, while the decedent's conscious pain and suffering is recovered in a survival claim by the estate. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, awards are reduced after trial by collateral-source payments that replace a cost or expense the jury awarded, larger future damage awards are converted to structured payments by the court, and prejudgment interest in a wrongful death action runs from the date of death.

How the analysis is built

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

Experts serving New York

Attorney guides for personal injury cases

Other case types in New York

Frequently asked: personal injury cases in New York

Which New York courts hear personal injury cases?

Personal Injury cases venued in New York are heard in the Supreme Court (General jurisdiction trial court for major civil cases and felonies; one in each county), the County Court (Outside New York City; felonies and mid-sized civil cases), and the Court of Claims (Claims against New York State). Final appeals run to the Court of Appeals. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Northern District of New York, and Western District of New York.

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

New York's wrongful death recovery has long been measured by the pecuniary injuries to the distributees, which puts lost earnings, lost household services, and the value of parental guidance at the center of the case, while the decedent's conscious pain and suffering is recovered in a survival claim by the estate. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, awards are reduced after trial by collateral-source payments that replace a cost or expense the jury awarded, larger future damage awards are converted to structured payments by the court, and prejudgment interest in a wrongful death action runs from the date of death. New York courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community and, separately, whether the economist applied it reliably to the facts of the case; qualification rests on training and experience. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, household services, and present value are published and long used, so the examination of a damages report usually turns on its inputs and their support in the record.

More questions about personal injury analysis

References

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