Traumatic Brain Injury Economic Damages Expert in Michigan

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

Michigan courts and expert standards

Michigan courts require the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, asking whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were applied reliably to the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming the published source behind every assumption and tying each to the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Michigan Supreme Court. Federal venues: E.D. Mich., W.D. Mich. Court system: courts.michigan.gov.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency.

Damages framework

Michigan's wrongful death act gathers the survival and death claims into a single action: the estate recovers the decedent's conscious pain and suffering and medical and funeral expenses, and the surviving family recovers lost financial support, services, society, and companionship. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those subject to a lien, a plaintiff whose fault exceeds half loses noneconomic damages while economic damages are only reduced, the court reduces future damages to present value under a statutory formula, and interest on the judgment runs from the filing of the complaint.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: traumatic brain injury cases in Michigan

Which Michigan courts hear traumatic brain injury cases?

Traumatic Brain Injury cases venued in Michigan are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies, domestic relations). Final appeals run to the Michigan Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Michigan.

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

Michigan's wrongful death act gathers the survival and death claims into a single action: the estate recovers the decedent's conscious pain and suffering and medical and funeral expenses, and the surviving family recovers lost financial support, services, society, and companionship. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those subject to a lien, a plaintiff whose fault exceeds half loses noneconomic damages while economic damages are only reduced, the court reduces future damages to present value under a statutory formula, and interest on the judgment runs from the filing of the complaint. Michigan courts require the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, asking whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were applied reliably to the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming the published source behind every assumption and tying each to the record.

More questions about traumatic brain injury analysis

References

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