KW Economics prepares household services analysis for wrongful death cases venued in New Hampshire: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to New Hampshire 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.
New Hampshire courts screen expert testimony for reliability under a statutory standard: 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. A damages report is written to that inquiry, with every rate and table traced to a published source.
Highest court: New Hampshire Supreme Court. Court system: courts.state.nh.us.
Federal venues: District of New Hampshire.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the New Hampshire Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division.
New Hampshire treats a death claim as the decedent's own action carried on by the estate: recovery includes the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the probable duration of life and the capacity to earn money lost by the death, with limited separate allowances for a surviving spouse's and children's loss of comfort and society. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and interest on the award runs from the filing of the writ.
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.
New Hampshire courts screen expert testimony for reliability under a statutory standard: 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. A damages report is written to that inquiry, with every rate and table traced to a published source. Wrongful Death cases venued in New Hampshire are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases with jury trials, felonies), with final appeals to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire treats a death claim as the decedent's own action carried on by the estate: recovery includes the decedent's pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, and the probable duration of life and the capacity to earn money lost by the death, with limited separate allowances for a surviving spouse's and children's loss of comfort and society. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and interest on the award runs from the filing of the writ. 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 New Hampshire rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Household Services or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.