Workers' Compensation Economic Damages Expert in Connecticut

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

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

A workers' compensation economic analysis values the future indemnity and medical benefits at issue in a settlement, measures the wage loss that determines a benefit, or quantifies the loss in a third-party action, each structured to the question the compensation system asks. Read the full workers' compensation analysis guide.

Connecticut courts and expert standards

Connecticut trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the methodology is reliable, whether it has been tested, reviewed, and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied to the facts of the case, with the witness qualified by training and experience. An economic damages report is built to that inquiry, with every input traced to the record and every data series named.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Connecticut Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Conn. Court system: jud.ct.gov.

Compensation forum: Connecticut Workers' Compensation Commission. Third-party actions arising from the same injury proceed in the civil courts listed above, and the report separates what the compensation system pays from what the civil claim adds.

Damages framework

Connecticut measures wrongful death from the decedent's standpoint: the estate recovers for the destruction of the capacity to carry on life's activities and for lost earning power net of the decedent's own living expenses, so the economist's net earnings projection is central. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments unless the source holds a right of reimbursement, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, and interest can attach to a verdict that beats a rejected offer of compromise.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a workers' compensation case venued in Connecticut; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. Assemble the pre-injury wage base from the employer's records and tax documents.
  2. Establish the post-injury earnings path from actual earnings or the work-capacity opinions, and measure the loss over the applicable worklife with wage growth.
  3. Value future indemnity streams with stated mortality and discount assumptions, and grow and discount future medical by category when a treatment projection exists.
  4. Separate the amounts the compensation system pays from the components a third-party claim adds, and reconcile the two so the same facts support both.

Experts serving Connecticut

Attorney guides for workers' compensation cases

Other case types in Connecticut

Frequently asked: workers' compensation cases in Connecticut

Which Connecticut courts hear workers' compensation cases?

Workers' Compensation cases venued in Connecticut are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; handles all civil, criminal, family, and housing matters). Final appeals run to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

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

Connecticut measures wrongful death from the decedent's standpoint: the estate recovers for the destruction of the capacity to carry on life's activities and for lost earning power net of the decedent's own living expenses, so the economist's net earnings projection is central. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments unless the source holds a right of reimbursement, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, and interest can attach to a verdict that beats a rejected offer of compromise. Connecticut trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the methodology is reliable, whether it has been tested, reviewed, and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied to the facts of the case, with the witness qualified by training and experience. An economic damages report is built to that inquiry, with every input traced to the record and every data series named.

More questions about workers' compensation analysis

References

Request a consultation on workers' compensation cases in Connecticut or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.