KW Economics prepares life care plan costing for medical malpractice cases venued in Wyoming: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Wyoming damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
In a medical malpractice matter the life care plan often distinguishes the incremental care the injury requires from the care the underlying condition would have required anyway, and the present value must respect that line. The economist values the incremental items only, applies category-specific medical cost growth, and discounts the stream over the life expectancy the medical evidence supports, which may already have been reduced by the condition being treated. Where the physicians disagree on life expectancy or on which items are incremental, the report presents the present value under each scenario so the fact finder can attach the number to its finding.
Reduction of a life care plan's line items to a single present value. The plan's items, frequencies, durations, and unit costs are carried forward with medical cost growth appropriate to each category, then discounted over the applicable life expectancy. Plan authorship stays with the life care planner; our role is the economic translation of the plan into a damages figure that reconciles with the plan and can be examined item by item.
Because the underlying condition often affected work capacity or life expectancy on its own, the apportionment between the injury and the pre-existing condition is usually the most contested assumption and the one that most changes the total. In cases of permanent disability the incremental care costs and the earnings loss are both large and run across a long horizon, and the life expectancy used for each stream is a second point of contention. In delayed-diagnosis cases the loss may be measured as the difference between two outcome paths, each with its own earnings and care profile.
Wyoming trial courts act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it fits the facts of the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by tying each input to the record and naming the published source behind every assumption.
Highest court: Wyoming Supreme Court. Court system: courts.state.wy.us.
Federal venues: District of Wyoming.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Workers' Compensation Division.
Wyoming's wrongful death action is brought by a representative for the beneficiaries' losses, including pecuniary loss and loss of care, comfort, and society, alongside a survival action for the estate, and the state constitution bars any legislative limit on damages for injury or death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony, rebuttal of opposing present value opinions, and revaluation when the plan is updated.
In a medical malpractice matter the life care plan often distinguishes the incremental care the injury requires from the care the underlying condition would have required anyway, and the present value must respect that line. The economist values the incremental items only, applies category-specific medical cost growth, and discounts the stream over the life expectancy the medical evidence supports, which may already have been reduced by the condition being treated. Where the physicians disagree on life expectancy or on which items are incremental, the report presents the present value under each scenario so the fact finder can attach the number to its finding.
Wyoming trial courts act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it fits the facts of the case. A damages report meets that inquiry by tying each input to the record and naming the published source behind every assumption. Medical Malpractice cases venued in Wyoming are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; 9 judicial districts across 23 counties), with final appeals to the Wyoming Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of Wyoming.
Wyoming's wrongful death action is brought by a representative for the beneficiaries' losses, including pecuniary loss and loss of care, comfort, and society, alongside a survival action for the estate, and the state constitution bars any legislative limit on damages for injury or death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums. 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 Wyoming rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Life Care Plan Costing or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.