Workers' Compensation Economic Damages Expert in Louisiana

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

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

Louisiana courts and expert standards

Louisiana courts ask the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, examining whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. An economic damages report answers those questions by tying each input to the record and citing its published sources.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Louisiana Supreme Court. Federal venues: E.D. La., M.D. La., W.D. La. Court system: lasc.org.

Compensation forum: Louisiana Office of Workers' Compensation Administration. 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

Louisiana's civil code provides a survival action for the decedent's own damages and a separate wrongful death action for the designated beneficiaries' losses, both measured under a pure comparative fault system. The collateral source rule applies with exceptions the courts have carved out for amounts written off by providers, and judicial interest runs on tort awards from the date of judicial demand.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: workers' compensation cases in Louisiana

Which Louisiana courts hear workers' compensation cases?

Workers' Compensation cases venued in Louisiana are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; civil and criminal cases at the parish level). Final appeals run to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, and Western District of Louisiana.

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

Louisiana's civil code provides a survival action for the decedent's own damages and a separate wrongful death action for the designated beneficiaries' losses, both measured under a pure comparative fault system. The collateral source rule applies with exceptions the courts have carved out for amounts written off by providers, and judicial interest runs on tort awards from the date of judicial demand. Louisiana courts ask the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, examining whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. An economic damages report answers those questions by tying each input to the record and citing its published sources.

More questions about workers' compensation analysis

References

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