Lost earnings analysis is billed at an hourly rate against a retainer established at the outset, with a written fee schedule and a cost estimate before work begins. The scope of the engagement, and so its cost, depends on the factors below.
How lost earnings is billed
Lost earnings analysis is billed at an hourly rate for records review, data collection, modeling, report preparation, and testimony. A retainer is established at the outset and applied against time incurred. The current rate schedule and retainer terms are provided on request and confirmed in a written engagement agreement.
What sets the scope
Lost earnings engagements are scoped to the components of the claim and the records available to support them. A wage earner with a stable earnings history and a clear return-to-work date is the narrowest scope; a self-employed claimant, a career still in training, or a contested post-injury capacity widens it. We provide a written fee schedule and a cost estimate before work begins.
What drives cost
Whether the claim is a total loss, a delayed return to work, or a reduced post-injury capacity that must be modeled against the but-for path
Volume and quality of earnings records: tax returns, wage statements, pay stubs, personnel files, and union and pension records
Whether the person was self-employed, paid on commission, or early in a career so that earnings must be projected from occupational data rather than history
Fringe benefits to be valued, including employer retirement contributions, health insurance, and paid leave
Whether worklife expectancy, wage growth, or discount rate assumptions are contested and call for sensitivity analysis
Deposition and trial testimony, including preparation and travel time
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Current Population Survey (CPS). U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC). U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov
Skoog, G. R., Ciecka, J. E., & Krueger, K. V. (2011). The Markov process model of labor force activity: Extended tables of central tendency, shape, percentile points, and bootstrap standard errors. Journal of Forensic Economics, 22(2), 165-229. doi.org
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (n.d.). Daily Treasury par yield curve rates. home.treasury.gov
National Association of Forensic Economics. (n.d.). NAFE's ethics statement. Retrieved August 27, 2026. nafe.net