Forensic Economists in Idaho

KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses - lost earnings, wrongful death economic loss, household services, employment damages, and business damages - for matters venued in Idaho. Wage levels and the cost of living in Idaho vary between its metropolitan areas and its rural counties, so an earnings projection is anchored to the plaintiff's own work history and to wage data for the area where the plaintiff actually worked rather than to a statewide average. Plaintiff and defense.

With about 1.8 million residents, Idaho contains more than one distinct wage market, and the analysis uses the one the plaintiff actually worked in: occupational wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for that metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area, and household and cost-of-living data from the American Community Survey. Fringe benefits, worklife expectancy, wage growth, and the discount rate are each documented with their source so every figure in the projection can be traced and tested at deposition.

Expert Services in Idaho

Our forensic economists prepare lost earnings, wrongful death, household services, employment, and business damages analyses and rebuttals for Idaho litigation. Each projection is anchored to the plaintiff's own records and to Idaho wage data, and written to the jurisdiction's expert evidence standards.

Analyses for Idaho matters are directed by Christopher Skerritt, M.Ed., MBA, Chief of Economic Services, who is available to testify to them.

Cities We Serve in Idaho

KW Economics accepts cases from attorneys across Idaho. Select a city for local wage-market and venue context.

Where Idaho Damages Claims Are Litigated

An economic damages report is written for the forum that will examine it and around the damages rules that forum applies.

Damages Framework

Idaho pairs a wrongful death action for the heirs' losses with a survival action in which the estate recovers the decedent's pre-death economic losses but not pain and suffering. Awards are reduced after verdict by collateral-source payments other than those with a right of subrogation and certain federal and life insurance benefits, recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', and prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums.

Workers' Compensation Forum

Idaho Industrial Commission

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Idaho Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Idaho.

Case Types We Support in Idaho

Expert Credentials in Idaho

Idaho's District Court is the primary trial-level forum for the personal injury, wrongful death, employment, and commercial damages claims these analyses support. Workers' compensation claims, where the dispute is over wage-loss benefits rather than tort damages, are administered by the Idaho Industrial Commission. Final appeals in the Idaho court system run to the Idaho Supreme Court. Idaho is served by 1 federal district court, where the same analyses are offered under the federal expert-disclosure framework.

Frequently asked: Idaho expert services

Does KW Economics provide forensic economics services for Idaho cases?

Yes. KW Economics prepares lost earnings, wrongful death economic loss, household services, employment damages, lost profits, and business valuation analyses, and reviews and rebuts opposing economic reports, for attorneys handling matters venued in Idaho, for plaintiff and defense counsel alike. Every projection is anchored to the plaintiff's own records and to wage data for the area of Idaho where the plaintiff actually worked.

How does a forensic economist account for Idaho wage levels in a lost earnings claim?

The starting point is the plaintiff's own earnings history - tax returns, W-2s, pay records, and benefit statements - rather than an average. Occupational wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the plaintiff's metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area in Idaho is used to test that history, to project a career that was still developing, and to value residual earnings after the injury, and household composition and cost-of-living data come from the American Community Survey. The source behind each figure is documented in the report.

Which courts in Idaho hear the damages claims your reports support?

Personal injury, wrongful death, employment, and commercial damages claims are heard in Idaho's general-jurisdiction trial courts and, where jurisdiction allows, in the federal district courts serving Idaho. Wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the compensation forum rather than the civil courts. Attorneys are responsible for confirming the venue and the governing damages rules for their specific case.

How is present value calculated for a wrongful death claim in Idaho?

The decedent's earnings and fringe benefits are projected over a documented worklife expectancy, reduced by the decedent's own personal consumption where the measure of damages in Idaho calls for it, and combined with the value of the household services the decedent would have provided. Each future year is then discounted to present value at a documented rate tied to the growth assumptions, so the report shows the lump sum that replaces the lost stream today. Which components are recoverable is a question of Idaho law that counsel confirms; the report is structured so each component can be included or removed.

Request a consultation on Idaho cases or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.