KW Economics prepares rebuttal analysis for wrongful death 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.
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.
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.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Worker's Compensation Division.
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.
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.
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. Wrongful Death 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), 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.