Personal Injury Economic Damages Expert in Puerto Rico

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

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

Puerto Rico courts and expert standards

Puerto Rico's rules of evidence follow the federal model for expert testimony: the court asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming its sources and tying each assumption to the record, in the language the court requires.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico). Federal venues: D.P.R.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund Corporation (CFSE).

Damages framework

Puerto Rico's civil-law tort system gives each surviving relative a claim of their own for the death of a family member, covering their own economic loss and suffering, alongside the estate's inherited claim for the decedent's pre-death damages. Comparative fault reduces recovery in proportion, private-party damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and interest can be imposed on the award when a party is found to have litigated with obstinacy.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: personal injury cases in Puerto Rico

Which Puerto Rico courts hear personal injury cases?

Personal Injury cases venued in Puerto Rico are heard in the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Primera Instancia) (General jurisdiction trial court of the Commonwealth, organized into Superior and Municipal divisions; hears civil and criminal matters). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico). Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

How does Puerto Rico's damages framework shape the economic analysis?

Puerto Rico's civil-law tort system gives each surviving relative a claim of their own for the death of a family member, covering their own economic loss and suffering, alongside the estate's inherited claim for the decedent's pre-death damages. Comparative fault reduces recovery in proportion, private-party damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and interest can be imposed on the award when a party is found to have litigated with obstinacy. Puerto Rico's rules of evidence follow the federal model for expert testimony: the court asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming its sources and tying each assumption to the record, in the language the court requires.

More questions about personal injury analysis

References

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