Personal injury economic damages 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 personal injury is billed
Integrated damages 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
Integrated damages engagements are scoped to the number of loss components and the records behind each. A claim limited to lost earnings is the narrowest scope; adding household services, fringe benefits, and a future medical cost stream drawn from a life care plan or treating provider recommendations widens both the record and the modeling. We provide a written fee schedule and a cost estimate before work begins.
What drives cost
Number of economic components claimed: lost earnings, fringe benefits, household services, and future medical or care costs
Volume of earnings, tax, and employment records to review
Whether future medical costs are supplied as a life care plan, as treating provider recommendations, or must be assembled from the medical record with counsel
Number of care scenarios to value, such as home-based and facility-based alternatives
Whether medical cost growth, discount rate, or life expectancy assumptions are contested and call for sensitivity analysis
Deposition and trial testimony, including preparation and travel time