Workers' Compensation Economic Damages Expert in Mississippi

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

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

Mississippi courts and expert standards

Mississippi trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, 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 is written to that inquiry, with each input traced to the record and each data series named.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Mississippi Supreme Court. Federal venues: N.D. Miss., S.D. Miss. Court system: courts.ms.gov.

Compensation forum: Mississippi 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

Mississippi's wrongful death statute gathers every claim arising from a death into one action: the present net cash value of the decedent's life expectancy, the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the survivors' loss of society and companionship. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the common-law collateral source rule applies, a statutory limit applies to noneconomic damages while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not awarded.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: workers' compensation cases in Mississippi

Which Mississippi courts hear workers' compensation cases?

Workers' Compensation cases venued in Mississippi are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases above the justice court threshold, felonies) and the County Court (Exists in more populous counties; mid-sized civil cases). Final appeals run to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Mississippi and Southern District of Mississippi.

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

Mississippi's wrongful death statute gathers every claim arising from a death into one action: the present net cash value of the decedent's life expectancy, the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the survivors' loss of society and companionship. Pure comparative fault reduces the award in proportion, the common-law collateral source rule applies, a statutory limit applies to noneconomic damages while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not awarded. Mississippi trial judges act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, 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 is written to that inquiry, with each input traced to the record and each data series named.

More questions about workers' compensation analysis

References

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