KW Economics prepares wrongful death analysis for medical malpractice cases venued in Illinois: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Illinois damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
A medical malpractice wrongful death analysis follows the same structure as any wrongful death claim, with earnings, personal consumption, household services, and support to dependents, and one added question: the decedent's life and worklife expectancy may already have been shortened by the condition being treated. The economist uses the expectancy the medical evidence supports rather than population averages alone, measures the loss against the outcome proper care would have produced, and, where the physicians disagree on how long the decedent would have lived with proper treatment, presents the loss under each opinion so the fact finder can attach the number to its finding.
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.
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.
Illinois courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community, and separately whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and applied the method to the facts of the case. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record.
Highest court: Illinois Supreme Court. Court system: illinoiscourts.gov.
Federal venues: Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.
Illinois pairs a wrongful death action for the pecuniary injuries to the spouse and next of kin, which now include grief and loss of society, with a survival action for the decedent's own claims, including earnings lost between injury and death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the common-law collateral source rule applies with a post-verdict reduction procedure in medical malpractice cases, and prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death awards now runs from the filing of the action.
We issue the final report and provide deposition and trial testimony, rebuttal of opposing opinions, and supplemental calculations if the framework or the record changes.
The same four steps apply to a medical malpractice case venued in Illinois; 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.
Illinois courts ask whether the methodology behind an expert opinion is generally accepted in the relevant professional community, and separately whether the economist is qualified by training and experience and applied the method to the facts of the case. Forensic economic methods for lost earnings, worklife, and present value are published and long used, so the examination usually turns on the inputs and their support in the record. Medical Malpractice cases venued in Illinois are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; 25 judicial circuits across the state, including the Circuit Court of Cook County), with final appeals to the Illinois Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, and Southern District of Illinois.
Illinois pairs a wrongful death action for the pecuniary injuries to the spouse and next of kin, which now include grief and loss of society, with a survival action for the decedent's own claims, including earnings lost between injury and death. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the common-law collateral source rule applies with a post-verdict reduction procedure in medical malpractice cases, and prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death awards now runs from the filing of the action. 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 Illinois rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Wrongful Death or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.