Household services analysis applied to spinal cord injury litigation: methodology, deliverables, and case-specific considerations.
A spinal cord injury usually removes most or all of a person's household work permanently, so the household services loss runs across the person's expected life and is often a total loss in the physical categories. The economist draws the pre-injury hours from the household's account and time-use data, identifies any categories the person can still perform, prices each category at the local replacement wage, and projects the loss over the life expectancy the medical evidence supports with wage growth before discounting. Because the life care plan for spinal cord injury carries attendant care hours, the valuation reconciles the two so household tasks covered by attendant care are not counted twice.
Replacement-cost valuation of the household production an injured or deceased person can no longer provide: meal preparation, cleaning, home and vehicle maintenance, shopping, child care, and care of other household members. The hours are drawn from national time-use data adjusted to the person's household composition and pre-injury role, and each category is priced at the local wage for the occupation that would replace it, then projected and discounted over the period of loss.
The claim consists of lost earnings and earning capacity, measured as a total loss when the person cannot return to work or as the gap between the prior path and a sedentary or part-time alternative when they can; lost fringe benefits; the replacement value of household services across the person's life; and the present value of the life care plan, which for spinal cord injury is dominated by attendant care, wheelchair and equipment replacement cycles, supplies, home and vehicle modifications, and periodic hospitalization for complications. The drivers are the earnings and benefit history, the work-capacity opinions in the record, and a life care plan with frequencies and replacement intervals stated for each item.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony and rebuttal of opposing household services opinions.
The physical categories: cleaning, meal preparation, home and vehicle maintenance, yard work, shopping, and the physical care of children or other household members. Management tasks such as bill paying may remain, and the report values only the categories the record shows are lost or reduced.
Yes. The same life expectancy sets the horizon for both, and the economist applies the expectancy the medical evidence supports to each. Where physicians disagree, the report presents the household services value under each so the two components stay consistent.
Request a consultation on Household Services or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.