Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in Mississippi

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

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

Mississippi courts and expert standards

Mississippi trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. An economic damages report is written to that inquiry, with each input traced to the record and each data series named.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Mississippi Supreme Court. Federal venues: N.D. Miss., S.D. Miss. Court system: courts.ms.gov.

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

Damages framework

Mississippi's wrongful death statute gathers every claim arising from a death into one action: the present net cash value of the decedent's life expectancy, the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the survivors' loss of society and companionship. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the common-law collateral source rule applies, a statutory limit applies to noneconomic damages while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not awarded.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: product liability cases in Mississippi

Which Mississippi courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in Mississippi are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases above the justice court threshold, felonies) and the County Court (Exists in more populous counties; mid-sized civil cases). Final appeals run to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Mississippi and Southern District of Mississippi.

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

Mississippi's wrongful death statute gathers every claim arising from a death into one action: the present net cash value of the decedent's life expectancy, the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the survivors' loss of society and companionship. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the common-law collateral source rule applies, a statutory limit applies to noneconomic damages while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not awarded. Mississippi trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. An economic damages report is written to that inquiry, with each input traced to the record and each data series named.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

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