KW Economics prepares rebuttal analysis for wrongful death cases venued in Puerto Rico: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Puerto Rico damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
A wrongful death report is tested on the assumptions that scale the whole figure: the personal consumption deduction and its source, the earnings base and worklife applied to the decedent, the household services hours and rates, the periods of dependency assigned to each survivor, and whether the components presented match the framework that governs the claim. The economist checks each input against the records and published data, identifies double counting between household services and support, and quantifies how the conclusion changes when the errors that matter are corrected.
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.
For a working-age decedent with dependents, net lost earnings and benefits are usually the largest component, and the personal consumption deduction is the assumption most likely to be contested because it scales the whole earnings figure. Household services can approach or exceed the earnings loss when the decedent was a full-time homemaker or a caregiver for a child or disabled family member. The length of the projection matters: life and worklife expectancy, the retirement age assumed, and whether support continues past a child's majority all change the total materially.
Puerto Rico's rules of evidence follow the federal model for expert testimony: the court 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. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming its sources and tying each assumption to the record, in the language the court requires.
Highest court: Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico).
Federal venues: District of Puerto Rico.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund Corporation (CFSE).
Puerto Rico's civil-law tort system gives each surviving relative a claim of their own for the death of a family member, covering their own economic loss and suffering, alongside the estate's inherited claim for the decedent's pre-death damages. Comparative fault reduces recovery in proportion, private-party damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and interest can be imposed on the award when a party is found to have litigated with obstinacy.
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.
A wrongful death report is tested on the assumptions that scale the whole figure: the personal consumption deduction and its source, the earnings base and worklife applied to the decedent, the household services hours and rates, the periods of dependency assigned to each survivor, and whether the components presented match the framework that governs the claim. The economist checks each input against the records and published data, identifies double counting between household services and support, and quantifies how the conclusion changes when the errors that matter are corrected.
Puerto Rico's rules of evidence follow the federal model for expert testimony: the court 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. A damages report meets that inquiry by naming its sources and tying each assumption to the record, in the language the court requires. Wrongful Death cases venued in Puerto Rico are heard in the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Primera Instancia) (General jurisdiction trial court of the Commonwealth, organized into Superior and Municipal divisions; hears civil and criminal matters), with final appeals to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico). Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico's civil-law tort system gives each surviving relative a claim of their own for the death of a family member, covering their own economic loss and suffering, alongside the estate's inherited claim for the decedent's pre-death damages. Comparative fault reduces recovery in proportion, private-party damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and interest can be imposed on the award when a party is found to have litigated with obstinacy. 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 Puerto Rico rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Rebuttal or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.