KW Economics prepares lost earnings analysis for medical malpractice cases venued in Pennsylvania: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Pennsylvania damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
In a medical malpractice matter the lost earnings claim is measured against the outcome the patient would have had with proper care, not against perfect health. The economist takes the causation and prognosis opinions in the record as the baseline, states the but-for earnings path they support, and builds the injured path from actual post-injury earnings and the work-capacity opinions. The loss is the difference between the two paths, projected over the applicable worklife with growth and discounted to present value. Where the underlying condition would have limited work on its own, the apportionment between the injury and the condition is usually the assumption that most changes the total.
Past and future lost earnings and fringe benefits for a person whose injury has removed them from work or reduced what they can earn. The analysis builds from the earnings history, projects the but-for path over the person's expected worklife with wage growth, and discounts the future stream to present value. When the person can still work in a reduced capacity, the loss is framed as diminished earning capacity, with the post-injury path drawn from a vocational opinion or the treating record and offset against the but-for projection.
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.
Pennsylvania courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community and whether the economist is qualified by training and experience to apply it. The methods of forensic economics for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination of a damages report usually turns on its inputs and their support in the record.
Highest court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Court system: pacourts.us.
Federal venues: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
Pennsylvania keeps the wrongful death and survival actions distinct: the wrongful death claim covers the beneficiaries' lost support, services, and funeral and administration expenses, while the survival claim covers the decedent's pain and suffering and lost earnings for the rest of the projected worklife net of the decedent's personal maintenance, so the economist prepares both a support projection and a net-earnings projection. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, where past medical expenses and lost earnings already paid by certain benefits are not recoverable, and the civil rules add delay damages to bodily injury and death awards.
We issue the final report in disclosure-ready form and provide deposition and trial testimony, rebuttal of opposing economic opinions, and updated calculations as new records arrive.
The same four steps apply to a medical malpractice case venued in Pennsylvania; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total. State the but-for path the causation opinions support: what the patient would have earned, for how long, and what care the underlying condition would have required regardless. Build the injured path from actual post-injury earnings, the work-capacity opinions, and the incremental care plan. Measure each component as the difference between the two paths, projected over the applicable life or worklife expectancy with stated growth. Discount the streams to present value and present the loss under each apportionment or life expectancy scenario the physicians offer.
Pennsylvania courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community and whether the economist is qualified by training and experience to apply it. The methods of forensic economics for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination of a damages report usually turns on its inputs and their support in the record. Medical Malpractice cases venued in Pennsylvania are heard in the Court of Common Pleas (General jurisdiction; 60 judicial districts; civil, criminal, family, and orphans' court divisions), with final appeals to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, and Western District of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania keeps the wrongful death and survival actions distinct: the wrongful death claim covers the beneficiaries' lost support, services, and funeral and administration expenses, while the survival claim covers the decedent's pain and suffering and lost earnings for the rest of the projected worklife net of the decedent's personal maintenance, so the economist prepares both a support projection and a net-earnings projection. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants, the common-law collateral source rule applies outside medical malpractice, where past medical expenses and lost earnings already paid by certain benefits are not recoverable, and the civil rules add delay damages to bodily injury and death awards. 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 Pennsylvania rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Lost Earnings or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.