Workers' Compensation Economic Damages Expert in Georgia

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

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

Georgia courts and expert standards

Georgia trial courts act as gatekeepers in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data series behind each one.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Court of Georgia. Federal venues: N.D. Ga., M.D. Ga., S.D. Ga. Court system: gasupreme.us.

Compensation forum: Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation. 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

Georgia measures wrongful death by the full value of the life of the decedent from the decedent's own standpoint, an economic component built on lost earnings and services without deduction for the decedent's personal expenses plus an intangible component, while the estate separately recovers pre-death medical expenses, pain and suffering, and funeral costs. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is tied to a written demand procedure.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a workers' compensation case venued in Georgia; 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.

Attorney guides for workers' compensation cases

Other case types in Georgia

Frequently asked: workers' compensation cases in Georgia

Which Georgia courts hear workers' compensation cases?

Workers' Compensation cases venued in Georgia are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases, felonies, domestic relations, equity) and the State Court (Civil actions regardless of amount except those reserved to the superior court, misdemeanors). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of Georgia. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Georgia, Middle District of Georgia, and Southern District of Georgia.

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

Georgia measures wrongful death by the full value of the life of the decedent from the decedent's own standpoint, an economic component built on lost earnings and services without deduction for the decedent's personal expenses plus an intangible component, while the estate separately recovers pre-death medical expenses, pain and suffering, and funeral costs. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault reaches half, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is tied to a written demand procedure. Georgia trial courts act as gatekeepers in civil cases and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method has been tested and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by stating its assumptions and naming the data series behind each one.

More questions about workers' compensation analysis

References

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