KW Economics prepares life care plan costing for motor vehicle accident cases venued in Illinois: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Illinois damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
After a catastrophic crash the present value of the life care plan can exceed the earnings loss, and the attendant care, equipment, and future surgery items in the plan drive the total. The economist reduces the plan to present value with category-specific medical cost growth over the life expectancy the medical evidence supports, presents the total under alternative care scenarios where the plan offers them, and states every assumption so the valuation can be examined item by item. Because policy limits often frame the practical range, the report shows the plan's present value by category so counsel can evaluate settlement against the components that carry the most weight.
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.
In moderate injury the exposure is concentrated in the period out of work and any future surgery or treatment, and the numbers can usually be built directly from the records. Once an injury prevents a return to the prior occupation, the future earnings gap across the remaining worklife becomes the dominant figure, and in catastrophic injury the present value of attendant care and equipment in the life care plan can exceed the earnings loss. Policy limits often frame the practical range, so counsel commonly ask for a report that presents each component separately for settlement evaluation and for trial.
Illinois courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community, and separately whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and applied the method to the facts of the case. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.
Highest court: Illinois Supreme Court. Court system: illinoiscourts.gov.
Federal venues: Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.
Illinois pairs a wrongful death action for the pecuniary injuries to the spouse and next of kin, which now include grief and loss of society, with a survival action for the decedent's own claims, including earnings lost between injury and death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the common-law collateral source rule applies with a post-verdict reduction procedure in medical malpractice cases, and prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death awards now runs from the filing of the action.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony, rebuttal of opposing present value opinions, and revaluation when the plan is updated.
The same four steps apply to a motor vehicle accident case venued in Illinois; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total. Document the earnings history, the date the person left work, and any return to work at full or reduced capacity. Project the but-for earnings over a worklife expectancy with a stated wage growth rate and compare it with the post-injury path. Value fringe benefits from plan documents or published employer cost data, household services from time-use data, and future care from the life care plan. Discount each stream to present value at a stated rate and present the alternative scenarios where the return-to-work date or capacity is disputed.
Illinois courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community, and separately whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and applied the method to the facts of the case. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record. Motor Vehicle Accident cases venued in Illinois are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; 25 judicial circuits across the state, including the Circuit Court of Cook County), with final appeals to the Illinois Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, and Southern District of Illinois.
Illinois pairs a wrongful death action for the pecuniary injuries to the spouse and next of kin, which now include grief and loss of society, with a survival action for the decedent's own claims, including earnings lost between injury and death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the common-law collateral source rule applies with a post-verdict reduction procedure in medical malpractice cases, and prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death awards now runs from the filing of the action. 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 Illinois rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Life Care Plan Costing or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.