KW Economics prepares personal injury economic damages analysis for medical malpractice 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.
In a medical malpractice claim every component of the integrated report is measured as the difference between two paths: the outcome the patient would have had with proper care and the outcome the injury produced. The economist takes the causation and prognosis opinions as the baseline, builds the but-for earnings and care profile from them, and measures only the incremental earnings loss, household services loss, and care cost the injury added. Where physicians disagree on life expectancy or apportionment, the report presents the total under each scenario so the fact finder can attach the number to its finding.
An integrated economic damages report for an injured person: lost earnings and fringe benefits, lost household services, and the present value of future medical and care costs supplied by treating providers or a life care plan. One report carries every economic component to a single present value with consistent growth, discount, and life expectancy assumptions, so counsel can present the damages as a whole and the jury sees one set of numbers.
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.
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 economic reports, and recalculation when the life care plan or the medical record is updated.
In a medical malpractice claim every component of the integrated report is measured as the difference between two paths: the outcome the patient would have had with proper care and the outcome the injury produced. The economist takes the causation and prognosis opinions as the baseline, builds the but-for earnings and care profile from them, and measures only the incremental earnings loss, household services loss, and care cost the injury added. Where physicians disagree on life expectancy or apportionment, the report presents the total under each scenario so the fact finder can attach the number to its finding.
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. Medical Malpractice 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 Personal Injury or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.