Wrongful Termination Economic Damages Expert in Colorado

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

KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for wrongful termination cases venued in Colorado: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to Colorado's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.

A wrongful termination economic claim measures what the employee lost when the employment ended, as back pay, front pay, and lost benefits, and how much of that loss has been or should be replaced by other work. Read the full wrongful termination analysis guide.

Colorado courts and expert standards

Colorado applies a liberal but reliability-based inquiry: the trial court asks whether the economist's principles are reasonably reliable, whether the witness is qualified to apply them, and whether the testimony will help the jury, without requiring general acceptance. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its application to the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Colorado Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Colo. Court system: courts.state.co.us.

Damages framework

Colorado reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share reaches half. Prejudgment interest runs on a personal injury award from the date the claim accrued and, on other claims, from the date the money was wrongfully withheld, so the interval between the loss and the judgment is part of the economic picture. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, and the report separates past from future amounts so the interest computation can follow.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to a wrongful termination case venued in Colorado; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. Build the but-for compensation path from the pay history and the employer's pay and promotion practices, including the benefit accruals that would have continued.
  2. Compare it with the replacement earnings actually received, or with a reasonable job-search duration and replacement wage level drawn from local occupational data.
  3. Calculate pension and deferred compensation losses from the plan terms and equity losses from the award schedule.
  4. Discount the future components to present value at a stated rate and present back pay, front pay, and benefits separately.

Attorney guides for wrongful termination cases

Other case types in Colorado

Frequently asked: wrongful termination cases in Colorado

Which Colorado courts hear wrongful termination cases?

Wrongful Termination cases venued in Colorado are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies, domestic relations, probate). Final appeals run to the Colorado Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

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

Colorado reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share reaches half. Prejudgment interest runs on a personal injury award from the date the claim accrued and, on other claims, from the date the money was wrongfully withheld, so the interval between the loss and the judgment is part of the economic picture. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, and the report separates past from future amounts so the interest computation can follow. Colorado applies a liberal but reliability-based inquiry: the trial court asks whether the economist's principles are reasonably reliable, whether the witness is qualified to apply them, and whether the testimony will help the jury, without requiring general acceptance. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its application to the record.

More questions about wrongful termination analysis

References

Request a consultation on wrongful termination cases in Colorado or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.