The economic loss to survivors when a wage earner or homemaker dies: the decedent's lost earnings and fringe benefits net of personal consumption, the household services the decedent would have provided, and the financial support that would have flowed to dependents. Which elements are recoverable, and whether the loss is measured to the estate or to the survivors, vary by state, so the analysis is structured to the framework counsel identifies and every assumption is stated so it can be examined.
KW Economics prepares wrongful death analysis for plaintiff and defense counsel nationwide; the method is the same whichever side retains the economist.
Wrongful death analysis at KW Economics is directed by Christopher Skerritt, M.Ed., MBA, Chief of Economic Services, who is available to testify to it.
How wrongful death analysis applies to the specific demands of each case type: methodology, deliverables, and what counsel should expect.
The decedent's lost earnings and fringe benefits over a projected worklife, less the share the decedent would have consumed personally; the replacement value of the household services the decedent provided; and the financial support each dependent would have received over the period of dependency. Where the governing framework provides for it, the analysis also measures the accumulation the decedent would have left to the estate. Each component is presented separately so counsel can include or exclude it as the framework requires.
From published household expenditure data adjusted to the size and income of the decedent's household, so the deduction reflects what a person in that household would have spent on personal needs rather than on the family. The report states the percentage applied and its source and shows the effect of a higher or lower figure.
Yes. The household services component stands on its own: the hours of housework, child care, and care of other household members the decedent provided are drawn from the household's account and time-use data for a person of similar circumstances, then valued at the cost of replacing them with paid help and projected over the period the survivors would have received them.
The framework counsel identifies determines which components are recoverable and whether the loss is measured to the estate or to the survivors, and the report is organized to it. The underlying calculations do not change from state to state; what changes is which components are presented and to whom they are attributed, so the same analysis can be restructured if the venue or the pleading changes.
No state licenses forensic economists. Qualification to testify on wrongful death analysis is decided case by case on education, method, and testimony history; these pages explain what each credential establishes and what it does not.
Request a consultation on Wrongful Death or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.