KW Economics prepares household services analysis for wrongful death cases venued in Maine: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Maine damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
In a wrongful death claim the household services component measures the housework, child care, home and vehicle maintenance, shopping, and care of other household members the decedent provided and can no longer provide. The economist draws the hours from the household's account and time-use data for a person of similar circumstances, prices each category at the local replacement wage, and projects the loss over the period the survivors would have received the services, which changes as children age and the household changes. The component stands on its own and can approach or exceed the earnings loss when the decedent was a full-time homemaker or a caregiver.
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.
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.
Maine courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable foundation, and whether it will help the fact finder, under the state's own reliability inquiry. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record.
Highest court: Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Court system: courts.maine.gov.
Federal venues: District of Maine.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Maine Workers' Compensation Board.
Maine's wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative for the beneficiaries' pecuniary injuries, with separate and limited allowances for loss of comfort, society, and companionship, alongside a survival action for the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest runs from the filing of the notice of claim or complaint.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony and rebuttal of opposing household services opinions.
In a wrongful death claim the household services component measures the housework, child care, home and vehicle maintenance, shopping, and care of other household members the decedent provided and can no longer provide. The economist draws the hours from the household's account and time-use data for a person of similar circumstances, prices each category at the local replacement wage, and projects the loss over the period the survivors would have received the services, which changes as children age and the household changes. The component stands on its own and can approach or exceed the earnings loss when the decedent was a full-time homemaker or a caregiver.
Maine courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable foundation, and whether it will help the fact finder, under the state's own reliability inquiry. A damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its fit with the record. Wrongful Death cases venued in Maine are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases, jury trials in major criminal cases), with final appeals to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of Maine.
Maine's wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative for the beneficiaries' pecuniary injuries, with separate and limited allowances for loss of comfort, society, and companionship, alongside a survival action for the estate. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault equals or exceeds the defendants', the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest runs from the filing of the notice of claim or complaint. 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 Maine rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Household Services or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.