Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in Maryland

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

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

Maryland courts and expert standards

Maryland courts now apply a reliability inquiry to all expert testimony: the trial judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is one the profession has tested and accepted, and whether it was reliably applied to the facts of the case. An economic damages report is written to that standard, with each rate and table traced to its source.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Court of Maryland. Federal venues: D. Md. Court system: courts.state.md.us.

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

Damages framework

Maryland pairs a wrongful death action for the beneficiaries' pecuniary loss and solatium with a survival action for the estate, and a statutory limit applies to the noneconomic portion of most awards while economic damages are unlimited. Contributory negligence remains a complete bar, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not available.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: product liability cases in Maryland

Which Maryland courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in Maryland are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies, equity, domestic relations). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of Maryland. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

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

Maryland pairs a wrongful death action for the beneficiaries' pecuniary loss and solatium with a survival action for the estate, and a statutory limit applies to the noneconomic portion of most awards while economic damages are unlimited. Contributory negligence remains a complete bar, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not available. Maryland courts now apply a reliability inquiry to all expert testimony: the trial judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is one the profession has tested and accepted, and whether it was reliably applied to the facts of the case. An economic damages report is written to that standard, with each rate and table traced to its source.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

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