Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in Connecticut

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

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

Connecticut courts and expert standards

Connecticut trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the methodology is reliable, whether it has been tested, reviewed, and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied to the facts of the case, with the witness qualified by training and experience. An economic damages report is built to that inquiry, with every input traced to the record and every data series named.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Connecticut Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Conn. Court system: jud.ct.gov.

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

Damages framework

Connecticut measures wrongful death from the decedent's standpoint: the estate recovers for the destruction of the capacity to carry on life's activities and for lost earning power net of the decedent's own living expenses, so the economist's net earnings projection is central. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments unless the source holds a right of reimbursement, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, and interest can attach to a verdict that beats a rejected offer of compromise.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a product liability case venued in Connecticut; 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.

Experts serving Connecticut

Attorney guides for product liability cases

Other case types in Connecticut

Frequently asked: product liability cases in Connecticut

Which Connecticut courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in Connecticut are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; handles all civil, criminal, family, and housing matters). Final appeals run to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

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

Connecticut measures wrongful death from the decedent's standpoint: the estate recovers for the destruction of the capacity to carry on life's activities and for lost earning power net of the decedent's own living expenses, so the economist's net earnings projection is central. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments unless the source holds a right of reimbursement, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, and interest can attach to a verdict that beats a rejected offer of compromise. Connecticut trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the methodology is reliable, whether it has been tested, reviewed, and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied to the facts of the case, with the witness qualified by training and experience. An economic damages report is built to that inquiry, with every input traced to the record and every data series named.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

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