Traumatic Brain Injury Economic Damages Expert in North Dakota

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

North Dakota courts and expert standards

North Dakota admits expert testimony liberally: the court asks whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and whether the opinion will help the fact finder, and leaves the weight of the testimony to cross-examination rather than screening its methodology in advance. An economic damages report is therefore tested on its inputs at deposition and trial, which is why it states each assumption and its source.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: North Dakota Supreme Court. Federal venues: D.N.D. Court system: ndcourts.gov.

Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance.

Damages framework

North Dakota pairs a wrongful death action for the damages to the surviving spouse, children, or parents with a survival action for the estate, and a statutory limit applies to noneconomic damages in health care malpractice claims while economic damages are unlimited. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, economic damages are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those the plaintiff purchased or that carry a subrogation right, and prejudgment interest is generally limited to sums that were certain when the loss occurred.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: traumatic brain injury cases in North Dakota

Which North Dakota courts hear traumatic brain injury cases?

Traumatic Brain Injury cases venued in North Dakota are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; 7 judicial districts across 53 counties). Final appeals run to the North Dakota Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota.

How does North Dakota's damages framework shape the economic analysis?

North Dakota pairs a wrongful death action for the damages to the surviving spouse, children, or parents with a survival action for the estate, and a statutory limit applies to noneconomic damages in health care malpractice claims while economic damages are unlimited. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, economic damages are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those the plaintiff purchased or that carry a subrogation right, and prejudgment interest is generally limited to sums that were certain when the loss occurred. North Dakota admits expert testimony liberally: the court asks whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and whether the opinion will help the fact finder, and leaves the weight of the testimony to cross-examination rather than screening its methodology in advance. An economic damages report is therefore tested on its inputs at deposition and trial, which is why it states each assumption and its source.

More questions about traumatic brain injury analysis

References

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