Product Liability Economic Damages Expert in Tennessee

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

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

Tennessee courts and expert standards

Tennessee courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the facts and data behind the opinion are trustworthy, and whether the method is reliable and was applied to the case, with the trial judge acting as gatekeeper. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by naming the published source behind every rate and table and tying each assumption to the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Tennessee Supreme Court. Federal venues: E.D. Tenn., M.D. Tenn., W.D. Tenn. Court system: tncourts.gov.

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

Damages framework

Tennessee gathers the death claim into a single action that carries forward the decedent's own cause of action: recovery includes the decedent's pre-death losses and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, the pecuniary value of the decedent's life measured from earnings and life expectancy net of personal expenses, and the survivors' loss of consortium. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the collateral source rule applies outside health care liability claims, statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in most cases while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest is discretionary.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: product liability cases in Tennessee

Which Tennessee courts hear product liability cases?

Product Liability cases venued in Tennessee are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases and criminal jury trials) and the Chancery Court (Equity jurisdiction; contracts, trusts, corporate matters). Final appeals run to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, and Western District of Tennessee.

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

Tennessee gathers the death claim into a single action that carries forward the decedent's own cause of action: recovery includes the decedent's pre-death losses and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, the pecuniary value of the decedent's life measured from earnings and life expectancy net of personal expenses, and the survivors' loss of consortium. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the collateral source rule applies outside health care liability claims, statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in most cases while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest is discretionary. Tennessee courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the facts and data behind the opinion are trustworthy, and whether the method is reliable and was applied to the case, with the trial judge acting as gatekeeper. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by naming the published source behind every rate and table and tying each assumption to the record.

More questions about product liability analysis

References

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