Traumatic Brain Injury Economic Damages Expert in California

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

KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for traumatic brain injury cases venued in California: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to California's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.

A traumatic brain injury economic claim measures the earnings, benefits, and household contributions the injury has taken away and reduces the care plan to present value, with the supervision hours and the residual work capacity stated so they can be tested. Read the full traumatic brain injury analysis guide.

California courts and expert standards

California courts ask whether the reasoning and data behind an expert opinion are sound and whether the opinion rests on matter of a type experts reasonably rely on, reserving a general-acceptance test for novel scientific techniques; the witness is qualified by training and experience. Economic damages testimony is therefore examined on its inputs and logic: whether the worklife, growth, and discount assumptions have a published basis and whether they fit the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Court of California. Federal venues: N.D. Cal., E.D. Cal., C.D. Cal., S.D. Cal. Court system: courts.ca.gov.

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

Damages framework

California pairs a wrongful death action for the heirs' economic and companionship losses with a survival action for the estate's own claims, and past medical expenses are measured by the amounts actually paid or owed rather than by the amounts billed. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest in injury cases turns on the statutory offer-to-compromise procedure rather than accruing as of right.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a traumatic brain injury case venued in California; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. Establish the but-for earnings path from the person's history or, for a young person, from occupational data for the path they were on.
  2. Draw the post-injury path from actual earnings and the work-capacity opinions in the record, and measure the earnings gap over the remaining worklife.
  3. Value household services and family supervision from time-use data and local rates, and price the care plan item by item with medical cost growth.
  4. Discount every future stream to present value at a stated rate and show the total under each supervision and work-capacity scenario.

Attorney guides for traumatic brain injury cases

Other case types in California

Frequently asked: traumatic brain injury cases in California

Which California courts hear traumatic brain injury cases?

Traumatic Brain Injury cases venued in California are heard in the Superior Court (Unified general jurisdiction trial court in each of 58 counties; handles all civil and criminal matters). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of California. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of California, Eastern District of California, Central District of California, and Southern District of California.

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

California pairs a wrongful death action for the heirs' economic and companionship losses with a survival action for the estate's own claims, and past medical expenses are measured by the amounts actually paid or owed rather than by the amounts billed. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest in injury cases turns on the statutory offer-to-compromise procedure rather than accruing as of right. California courts ask whether the reasoning and data behind an expert opinion are sound and whether the opinion rests on matter of a type experts reasonably rely on, reserving a general-acceptance test for novel scientific techniques; the witness is qualified by training and experience. Economic damages testimony is therefore examined on its inputs and logic: whether the worklife, growth, and discount assumptions have a published basis and whether they fit the record.

More questions about traumatic brain injury analysis

References

Request a consultation on traumatic brain injury cases in California or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.