Workers' Compensation Economic Damages Expert in Wisconsin

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

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

Wisconsin courts and expert standards

Wisconsin courts screen expert testimony for reliability: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. An economic damages report is written to that inquiry, with each rate and table traced to a published source.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Wisconsin Supreme Court. Federal venues: E.D. Wis., W.D. Wis. Court system: wicourts.gov.

Compensation forum: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Worker's Compensation Division. 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

Wisconsin pairs a wrongful death action for the beneficiaries' pecuniary injury and a limited allowance for loss of society and companionship with a survival action for the decedent's own claims. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the defendant's, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice where evidence of collateral payments is admissible, statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims, and interest on a verdict that beats a rejected statutory offer of settlement runs from the date of the offer.

How the analysis is built

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

Frequently asked: workers' compensation cases in Wisconsin

Which Wisconsin courts hear workers' compensation cases?

Workers' Compensation cases venued in Wisconsin are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; one in each of 72 counties; all civil, criminal, family, and probate matters). Final appeals run to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Western District of Wisconsin.

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

Wisconsin pairs a wrongful death action for the beneficiaries' pecuniary injury and a limited allowance for loss of society and companionship with a survival action for the decedent's own claims. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the defendant's, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice where evidence of collateral payments is admissible, statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims, and interest on a verdict that beats a rejected statutory offer of settlement runs from the date of the offer. Wisconsin courts screen expert testimony for reliability: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. An economic damages report is written to that inquiry, with each rate and table traced to a published source.

More questions about workers' compensation analysis

References

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