Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in Indiana

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

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

Indiana courts and expert standards

Indiana courts require that the principles behind expert scientific testimony be reliable and treat the federal reliability factors as helpful rather than controlling; for economic damages testimony the inquiry is whether the witness is qualified and whether the method and its inputs rest on a sound basis. A report that names its sources and ties each assumption to the record meets that standard.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Indiana Supreme Court. Federal venues: N.D. Ind., S.D. Ind. Court system: in.gov.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana.

Damages framework

Indiana's wrongful death remedies differ by who died: the general act measures the loss to a spouse or dependents, a separate act covers adults without dependents with limited nonpecuniary recovery, and a child act covers minors, so the economist's role depends on which act applies. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the jury may hear evidence of collateral-source payments other than insurance the plaintiff or family paid for and governmental benefits, and prejudgment interest in tort turns on a statutory settlement-offer procedure.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: product liability cases in Indiana

Which Indiana courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in Indiana are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; oldest courts in each county) and the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; exists in most counties alongside circuit courts). Final appeals run to the Indiana Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Indiana and Southern District of Indiana.

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

Indiana's wrongful death remedies differ by who died: the general act measures the loss to a spouse or dependents, a separate act covers adults without dependents with limited nonpecuniary recovery, and a child act covers minors, so the economist's role depends on which act applies. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the jury may hear evidence of collateral-source payments other than insurance the plaintiff or family paid for and governmental benefits, and prejudgment interest in tort turns on a statutory settlement-offer procedure. Indiana courts require that the principles behind expert scientific testimony be reliable and treat the federal reliability factors as helpful rather than controlling; for economic damages testimony the inquiry is whether the witness is qualified and whether the method and its inputs rest on a sound basis. A report that names its sources and ties each assumption to the record meets that standard.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

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