Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in Arkansas

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

KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for product liability cases venued in Arkansas: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to Arkansas's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.

A product liability economic claim measures lost earnings and benefits, household services, and the present value of future care, or the survivors' loss when the injury was fatal, built from the injured person's own path rather than from an occupation the product happened to involve. Read the full product liability analysis guide.

Arkansas courts and expert standards

Arkansas trial courts act as gatekeepers and ask whether the economist's method is reliable, whether it has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it fits the facts of the case, with qualification resting on training and experience. A report that states its assumptions and cites its data sources answers those questions on its face.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Arkansas Supreme Court. Federal venues: E.D. Ark., W.D. Ark. Court system: courts.arkansas.gov.

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

Damages framework

Arkansas allows a wrongful death action for the statutory beneficiaries' pecuniary loss and mental anguish alongside a survival action for the estate, and the state constitution bars limits on the amount recoverable for injury or death. Recovery is barred only when the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest is available where the amount of the loss was determinable at the time of the injury.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a product liability case venued in Arkansas; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. Establish the but-for path from the earnings history or, for a child, student, or homemaker, from the educational path, occupational data, or the household work performed.
  2. Draw the post-injury path from actual earnings and the work-capacity opinions, and project both paths over the applicable worklife or life expectancy with growth.
  3. Value household services from time-use data and local rates, and price future care from the life care plan with category-specific cost growth.
  4. Discount every stream to present value at a stated rate and, where there are multiple claimants, apply one documented methodology to each record.

Attorney guides for product liability cases

Other case types in Arkansas

Frequently asked: product liability cases in Arkansas

Which Arkansas courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in Arkansas are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; civil, criminal, domestic, probate, and juvenile matters). Final appeals run to the Arkansas Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Arkansas and Western District of Arkansas.

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

Arkansas allows a wrongful death action for the statutory beneficiaries' pecuniary loss and mental anguish alongside a survival action for the estate, and the state constitution bars limits on the amount recoverable for injury or death. Recovery is barred only when the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest is available where the amount of the loss was determinable at the time of the injury. Arkansas trial courts act as gatekeepers and ask whether the economist's method is reliable, whether it has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it fits the facts of the case, with qualification resting on training and experience. A report that states its assumptions and cites its data sources answers those questions on its face.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

Request a consultation on product liability cases in Arkansas or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.