Traumatic Brain Injury Economic Damages Expert in Massachusetts

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 Massachusetts: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to Massachusetts'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.

Massachusetts courts and expert standards

Massachusetts courts ask whether the reasoning and methodology behind an expert opinion are reliable, which can be shown either by general acceptance in the profession or by the reliability factors the federal courts use, and whether the witness is qualified by training and experience. Forensic economic methods satisfy that inquiry through their published literature, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Judicial Court. Federal venues: D. Mass. Court system: mass.gov.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents.

Damages framework

Massachusetts measures wrongful death by the fair monetary value of the decedent to the beneficiaries, including lost income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, and companionship, and permits punitive damages for gross negligence, with the decedent's own conscious suffering recovered by the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest on tort awards runs from the commencement of the action.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a traumatic brain injury case venued in Massachusetts; 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.

Experts serving Massachusetts

Attorney guides for traumatic brain injury cases

Other case types in Massachusetts

Frequently asked: traumatic brain injury cases in Massachusetts

Which Massachusetts courts hear traumatic brain injury cases?

Traumatic Brain Injury cases venued in Massachusetts are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, major criminal cases). Final appeals run to the Supreme Judicial Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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

Massachusetts measures wrongful death by the fair monetary value of the decedent to the beneficiaries, including lost income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, and companionship, and permits punitive damages for gross negligence, with the decedent's own conscious suffering recovered by the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest on tort awards runs from the commencement of the action. Massachusetts courts ask whether the reasoning and methodology behind an expert opinion are reliable, which can be shown either by general acceptance in the profession or by the reliability factors the federal courts use, and whether the witness is qualified by training and experience. Forensic economic methods satisfy that inquiry through their published literature, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.

More questions about traumatic brain injury analysis

References

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