Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in Georgia

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

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

Georgia courts and expert standards

Georgia trial courts act as gatekeepers in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data series behind each one.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Court of Georgia. Federal venues: N.D. Ga., M.D. Ga., S.D. Ga. Court system: gasupreme.us.

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

Damages framework

Georgia measures wrongful death by the full value of the life of the decedent from the decedent's own standpoint, an economic component built on lost earnings and services without deduction for the decedent's personal expenses plus an intangible component, while the estate separately recovers pre-death medical expenses, pain and suffering, and funeral costs. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is tied to a written demand procedure.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: product liability cases in Georgia

Which Georgia courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in Georgia are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases, felonies, domestic relations, equity) and the State Court (Civil actions regardless of amount except those reserved to the superior court, misdemeanors). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of Georgia. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Georgia, Middle District of Georgia, and Southern District of Georgia.

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

Georgia measures wrongful death by the full value of the life of the decedent from the decedent's own standpoint, an economic component built on lost earnings and services without deduction for the decedent's personal expenses plus an intangible component, while the estate separately recovers pre-death medical expenses, pain and suffering, and funeral costs. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is tied to a written demand procedure. Georgia trial courts act as gatekeepers in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data series behind each one.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

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