KW Economics prepares rebuttal analysis for workers' compensation cases venued in Wisconsin: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Wisconsin damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
In a workers' compensation setting the opposing analysis may value future indemnity for a settlement, measure loss of earning capacity for the benefit determination, or present the full loss in a third-party action, and the review checks that the report answered the question the setting actually asks. The economist tests the pre-injury wage base against the employer's records, the post-injury earnings path against the work-capacity opinions, the mortality and discount assumptions behind any indemnity present value, and whether benefits already paid are identified so lien and offset questions can be addressed from the same numbers.
Critique of an opposing economic damages, valuation, or forensic accounting report for plaintiff or defense counsel. The review tests the assumptions, data sources, discount rates, worklife and life expectancy inputs, growth rates, mitigation treatment, and arithmetic behind the opposing number, identifies the errors that matter, and quantifies how the conclusion changes when they are corrected. The result supports cross-examination, a rebuttal report, or a motion directed at the reliability of the opinion.
In a settlement, the present value of a long stream of indemnity payments is the central figure, and the discount rate and the claimant's life or worklife expectancy control it. In a third-party action the exposure resembles any personal injury claim, with the added task of identifying the benefits already paid so the lien and offset questions counsel raises can be answered from the same numbers. Where the benefit turns on earning capacity, the gap between pre-injury wages and what the person can now earn is the contested figure, and the post-injury wage level is the assumption that moves it.
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.
Highest court: Wisconsin Supreme Court. Court system: wicourts.gov.
Federal venues: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin.
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.
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.
We issue a rebuttal report where one is disclosed and provide deposition and trial testimony, cross-examination outlines, and support for motions directed at the opinion.
In a workers' compensation setting the opposing analysis may value future indemnity for a settlement, measure loss of earning capacity for the benefit determination, or present the full loss in a third-party action, and the review checks that the report answered the question the setting actually asks. The economist tests the pre-injury wage base against the employer's records, the post-injury earnings path against the work-capacity opinions, the mortality and discount assumptions behind any indemnity present value, and whether benefits already paid are identified so lien and offset questions can be addressed from the same numbers.
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. Workers' Compensation claims in Wisconsin proceed before the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Worker's Compensation Division, and third-party actions arising from the same injury are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; one in each of 72 counties; all civil, criminal, family, and probate matters), with final appeals to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Western District of Wisconsin.
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. The report presents past and future amounts separately, states every rate and table with its source, and shows the result under the alternatives the other side is likely to argue, so counsel can apply the Wisconsin rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Rebuttal or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.