Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in New Hampshire

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

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

New Hampshire courts and expert standards

New Hampshire courts screen expert testimony for reliability under a statutory standard: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. A damages report is written to that inquiry, with every rate and table traced to a published source.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: New Hampshire Supreme Court. Federal venues: D.N.H. Court system: courts.state.nh.us.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the New Hampshire Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division.

Damages framework

New Hampshire treats a death claim as the decedent's own action carried on by the estate: recovery includes the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the probable duration of life and the capacity to earn money lost by the death, with limited separate allowances for a surviving spouse's and children's loss of comfort and society. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and interest on the award runs from the filing of the writ.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: product liability cases in New Hampshire

Which New Hampshire courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in New Hampshire are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases with jury trials, felonies). Final appeals run to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

How does New Hampshire's damages framework shape the economic analysis?

New Hampshire treats a death claim as the decedent's own action carried on by the estate: recovery includes the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the probable duration of life and the capacity to earn money lost by the death, with limited separate allowances for a surviving spouse's and children's loss of comfort and society. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and interest on the award runs from the filing of the writ. New Hampshire courts screen expert testimony for reliability under a statutory standard: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. A damages report is written to that inquiry, with every rate and table traced to a published source.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

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