KW Economics prepares life care plan costing for motor vehicle accident cases venued in Maryland: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Maryland 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.
Maryland courts now apply a reliability inquiry to all expert testimony: the trial judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is one the profession has tested and accepted, and whether it was reliably applied to the facts of the case. An economic damages report is written to that standard, with each rate and table traced to its source.
Highest court: Supreme Court of Maryland. Court system: courts.state.md.us.
Federal venues: District of Maryland.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission.
Maryland pairs a wrongful death action for the beneficiaries' pecuniary loss and solatium with a survival action for the estate, and a statutory limit applies to the noneconomic portion of most awards while economic damages are unlimited. Contributory negligence remains a complete bar, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not available.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony, rebuttal of opposing present value opinions, and revaluation when the plan is updated.
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.
Maryland courts now apply a reliability inquiry to all expert testimony: the trial judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is one the profession has tested and accepted, and whether it was reliably applied to the facts of the case. An economic damages report is written to that standard, with each rate and table traced to its source. Motor Vehicle Accident cases venued in Maryland are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies, equity, domestic relations), with final appeals to the Supreme Court of Maryland. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of Maryland.
Maryland pairs a wrongful death action for the beneficiaries' pecuniary loss and solatium with a survival action for the estate, and a statutory limit applies to the noneconomic portion of most awards while economic damages are unlimited. Contributory negligence remains a complete bar, the common-law collateral source rule applies, and prejudgment interest on unliquidated tort damages is generally not available. 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 Maryland rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Life Care Plan Costing or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.