KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for workers' compensation cases venued in Illinois: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to Illinois'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.
Illinois courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community, and separately whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and applied the method to the facts of the case. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.
Highest court: Illinois Supreme Court. Federal venues: N.D. Ill., C.D. Ill., S.D. Ill. Court system: illinoiscourts.gov.
Compensation forum: Illinois 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.
Illinois pairs a wrongful death action for the pecuniary injuries to the spouse and next of kin, which now include grief and loss of society, with a survival action for the decedent's own claims, including earnings lost between injury and death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the common-law collateral source rule applies with a post-verdict reduction procedure in medical malpractice cases, and prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death awards now runs from the filing of the action.
The same four steps apply to a workers' compensation case venued in Illinois; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.
Workers' Compensation cases venued in Illinois are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; 25 judicial circuits across the state, including the Circuit Court of Cook County). Final appeals run to the Illinois Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, and Southern District of Illinois.
Illinois pairs a wrongful death action for the pecuniary injuries to the spouse and next of kin, which now include grief and loss of society, with a survival action for the decedent's own claims, including earnings lost between injury and death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the common-law collateral source rule applies with a post-verdict reduction procedure in medical malpractice cases, and prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death awards now runs from the filing of the action. Illinois courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community, and separately whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and applied the method to the facts of the case. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.
Request a consultation on workers' compensation cases in Illinois or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.