KW Economics prepares life care plan costing for motor vehicle accident cases venued in North Carolina: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to North Carolina 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.
North Carolina courts apply a reliability inquiry to expert testimony: the trial 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 standard, with each input tied to the record and each data series named.
Highest court: Supreme Court of North Carolina. Court system: nccourts.gov.
Federal venues: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the North Carolina Industrial Commission.
North Carolina's wrongful death recovery covers the decedent's pre-death medical expenses and pain and suffering together with the present monetary value of the decedent to the beneficiaries, measured by net income, services, protection, care, society, and companionship, in a single action. Contributory negligence remains a complete bar, medical expenses are proved by the amounts actually paid or required to satisfy the bills rather than the amounts billed, and prejudgment interest on compensatory damages runs from the date the action was commenced.
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 North Carolina; 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.
North Carolina courts apply a reliability inquiry to expert testimony: the trial 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 standard, with each input tied to the record and each data series named. Motor Vehicle Accident cases venued in North Carolina are heard in the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies), with final appeals to the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, and Western District of North Carolina.
North Carolina's wrongful death recovery covers the decedent's pre-death medical expenses and pain and suffering together with the present monetary value of the decedent to the beneficiaries, measured by net income, services, protection, care, society, and companionship, in a single action. Contributory negligence remains a complete bar, medical expenses are proved by the amounts actually paid or required to satisfy the bills rather than the amounts billed, and prejudgment interest on compensatory damages runs from the date the action was commenced. 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 North Carolina rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Life Care Plan Costing or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.