Workers' Compensation Economic Damages Expert in Massachusetts

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

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

Massachusetts courts and expert standards

Massachusetts courts ask whether the reasoning and methodology behind an expert opinion are reliable, which can be shown either by general acceptance in the profession or by the reliability factors the federal courts use, and whether the witness is qualified by training and experience. Forensic economic methods satisfy that inquiry through their published literature, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Judicial Court. Federal venues: D. Mass. Court system: mass.gov.

Compensation forum: Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents. 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

Massachusetts measures wrongful death by the fair monetary value of the decedent to the beneficiaries, including lost income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, and companionship, and permits punitive damages for gross negligence, with the decedent's own conscious suffering recovered by the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest on tort awards runs from the commencement of the action.

How the analysis is built

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

Attorney guides for workers' compensation cases

Other case types in Massachusetts

Frequently asked: workers' compensation cases in Massachusetts

Which Massachusetts courts hear workers' compensation cases?

Workers' Compensation cases venued in Massachusetts are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, major criminal cases). Final appeals run to the Supreme Judicial Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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

Massachusetts measures wrongful death by the fair monetary value of the decedent to the beneficiaries, including lost income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, and companionship, and permits punitive damages for gross negligence, with the decedent's own conscious suffering recovered by the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, and prejudgment interest on tort awards runs from the commencement of the action. Massachusetts courts ask whether the reasoning and methodology behind an expert opinion are reliable, which can be shown either by general acceptance in the profession or by the reliability factors the federal courts use, and whether the witness is qualified by training and experience. Forensic economic methods satisfy that inquiry through their published literature, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.

More questions about workers' compensation analysis

References

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