KW Economics prepares household services analysis for spinal cord injury cases venued in Louisiana: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Louisiana damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
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 present value of attendant care over a lifetime is usually the largest figure, followed by future lost earnings for a person injured early in a working life. Equipment costs recur on replacement cycles and are sensitive to the cost growth rate applied, and home and vehicle modifications add one-time and recurring items. Because the level of injury determines attendant care hours and the person's capacity for alternative work, the report's total moves with those inputs, and the life expectancy the medical evidence supports sets the horizon for every stream.
Louisiana courts ask the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, examining whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. An economic damages report answers those questions by tying each input to the record and citing its published sources.
Highest court: Louisiana Supreme Court. Court system: lasc.org.
Federal venues: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Louisiana Office of Workers' Compensation Administration.
Louisiana's civil code provides a survival action for the decedent's own damages and a separate wrongful death action for the designated beneficiaries' losses, both measured under a pure comparative fault system. The collateral source rule applies with exceptions the courts have carved out for amounts written off by providers, and judicial interest runs on tort awards from the date of judicial demand.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony and rebuttal of opposing household services opinions.
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.
Louisiana courts ask the trial judge to act as gatekeeper for expert testimony, examining whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied reliably to the facts of the case. An economic damages report answers those questions by tying each input to the record and citing its published sources. Spinal Cord Injury cases venued in Louisiana are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; civil and criminal cases at the parish level), with final appeals to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, and Western District of Louisiana.
Louisiana's civil code provides a survival action for the decedent's own damages and a separate wrongful death action for the designated beneficiaries' losses, both measured under a pure comparative fault system. The collateral source rule applies with exceptions the courts have carved out for amounts written off by providers, and judicial interest runs on tort awards from the date of judicial demand. 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 Louisiana rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Household Services or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.