KW Economics prepares life care plan costing for motor vehicle accident cases venued in Puerto Rico: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Puerto Rico 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.
Puerto Rico's rules of evidence follow the federal model for expert testimony: the court 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 meets that inquiry by naming its sources and tying each assumption to the record, in the language the court requires.
Highest court: Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico).
Federal venues: District of Puerto Rico.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund Corporation (CFSE).
Puerto Rico's civil-law tort system gives each surviving relative a claim of their own for the death of a family member, covering their own economic loss and suffering, alongside the estate's inherited claim for the decedent's pre-death damages. Comparative fault reduces recovery in proportion, private-party damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and interest can be imposed on the award when a party is found to have litigated with obstinacy.
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.
Puerto Rico's rules of evidence follow the federal model for expert testimony: the court 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 meets that inquiry by naming its sources and tying each assumption to the record, in the language the court requires. Motor Vehicle Accident cases venued in Puerto Rico are heard in the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Primera Instancia) (General jurisdiction trial court of the Commonwealth, organized into Superior and Municipal divisions; hears civil and criminal matters), with final appeals to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico). Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the District of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico's civil-law tort system gives each surviving relative a claim of their own for the death of a family member, covering their own economic loss and suffering, alongside the estate's inherited claim for the decedent's pre-death damages. Comparative fault reduces recovery in proportion, private-party damages are not subject to a general statutory limit, and interest can be imposed on the award when a party is found to have litigated with obstinacy. 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 Puerto Rico rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Life Care Plan Costing or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.