Personal Injury Economic Damages Expert in Wyoming

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

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

Wyoming courts and expert standards

Wyoming trial courts act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it fits the facts of the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by tying each input to the record and naming the published source behind every assumption.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Wyoming Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Wyo. Court system: courts.state.wy.us.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Workers' Compensation Division.

Damages framework

Wyoming's wrongful death action is brought by a representative for the beneficiaries' losses, including pecuniary loss and loss of care, comfort, and society, alongside a survival action for the estate, and the state constitution bars any legislative limit on damages for injury or death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, 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 Wyoming; 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 Wyoming

Frequently asked: personal injury cases in Wyoming

Which Wyoming courts hear personal injury cases?

Personal Injury cases venued in Wyoming are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; 9 judicial districts across 23 counties). Final appeals run to the Wyoming Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming.

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

Wyoming's wrongful death action is brought by a representative for the beneficiaries' losses, including pecuniary loss and loss of care, comfort, and society, alongside a survival action for the estate, and the state constitution bars any legislative limit on damages for injury or death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums. Wyoming trial courts act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it fits the facts of the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by tying each input to the record and naming the published source behind every assumption.

More questions about personal injury analysis

References

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