KW Economics prepares household services analysis for traumatic brain injury cases venued in Oregon: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Oregon damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
After a brain injury the household services loss often extends beyond the physical tasks to the management of the household itself: bill paying, scheduling, supervising children, and the planning that family members now perform. The economist measures the hours lost by category from the household's account and time-use data, distinguishes the tasks the person can no longer do from those they can do with supervision, and prices each category at the local replacement wage. Where the life care plan also carries attendant care or supervision hours, the valuation reconciles the two so the same hours are not claimed 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.
Two components usually dominate: future lost earnings across a long worklife for a young person, and the present value of attendant care and supervision when the plan calls for daily hours of paid help. Because the level of supervision and the person's residual work capacity are both matters of expert opinion, the report's total is highly sensitive to those inputs, and the life expectancy used for the care stream is a second source of dispute. Mild injury with persistent symptoms presents a narrower claim built on reduced hours, lost advancement, and periodic treatment.
Oregon courts apply a multi-factor reliability inquiry of their own to expert testimony, asking whether the method is accepted in the profession, whether it has been tested and reviewed, and whether the economist applied it to the facts of the case, with qualification resting on training and experience. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record.
Highest court: Oregon Supreme Court. Court system: courts.oregon.gov.
Federal venues: District of Oregon.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Oregon Workers' Compensation Division.
Oregon's wrongful death statute gathers the estate's and the beneficiaries' claims into one action brought by the personal representative: the decedent's pre-death losses and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, the beneficiaries' pecuniary loss, and their loss of society and companionship. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the court may reduce an award after verdict by collateral-source payments other than insurance the plaintiff purchased, federal benefits, and sources with a reimbursement right, and prejudgment interest is generally not available on unliquidated injury damages.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony and rebuttal of opposing household services opinions.
After a brain injury the household services loss often extends beyond the physical tasks to the management of the household itself: bill paying, scheduling, supervising children, and the planning that family members now perform. The economist measures the hours lost by category from the household's account and time-use data, distinguishes the tasks the person can no longer do from those they can do with supervision, and prices each category at the local replacement wage. Where the life care plan also carries attendant care or supervision hours, the valuation reconciles the two so the same hours are not claimed twice.
Oregon courts apply a multi-factor reliability inquiry of their own to expert testimony, asking whether the method is accepted in the profession, whether it has been tested and reviewed, and whether the economist applied it to the facts of the case, with qualification resting on training and experience. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record. Traumatic Brain Injury cases venued in Oregon are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; 27 judicial districts; civil, criminal, family, and probate matters), with final appeals to the Oregon Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of Oregon.
Oregon's wrongful death statute gathers the estate's and the beneficiaries' claims into one action brought by the personal representative: the decedent's pre-death losses and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, the beneficiaries' pecuniary loss, and their loss of society and companionship. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the court may reduce an award after verdict by collateral-source payments other than insurance the plaintiff purchased, federal benefits, and sources with a reimbursement right, and prejudgment interest is generally not available on unliquidated injury damages. 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 Oregon rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Household Services or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.