KW Economics prepares wrongful death analysis for product liability cases venued in Indiana: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Indiana damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
When a product causes a death, the economic claim follows the wrongful death structure with the personal consumption deduction as the key assumption. Because product cases often involve children, homemakers, and retirees, the household services and support components frequently carry more of the loss than the earnings component, and the economist builds the analysis from the household's account and time-use data where wage records do not exist. Earnings for a child or student are projected from the educational path and occupational data, personal consumption from household expenditure data adjusted to the household, and each survivor's loss is discounted to present value.
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.
The exposure tracks the injury: burns, amputations, and neurological injuries produce large future earnings and care losses; less severe injuries produce a bounded past loss and limited future treatment. Because product cases often involve children, homemakers, and retirees, the household services and care components frequently outweigh the earnings loss, and the analysis must be built from those components rather than from wage records that do not exist. For fatal injuries the exposure follows the wrongful death structure with the personal consumption deduction as the key assumption.
Indiana courts require that the principles behind expert scientific testimony be reliable and treat the federal reliability factors as helpful rather than controlling; for economic damages testimony the inquiry is whether the witness is qualified and whether the method and its inputs rest on a sound basis. A report that names its sources and ties each assumption to the record meets that standard.
Highest court: Indiana Supreme Court. Court system: in.gov.
Federal venues: Northern District of Indiana, Southern District of Indiana.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana.
Indiana's wrongful death remedies differ by who died: the general act measures the loss to a spouse or dependents, a separate act covers adults without dependents with limited nonpecuniary recovery, and a child act covers minors, so the economist's role depends on which act applies. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the jury may hear evidence of collateral-source payments other than insurance the plaintiff or family paid for and governmental benefits, and prejudgment interest in tort turns on a statutory settlement-offer procedure.
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.
When a product causes a death, the economic claim follows the wrongful death structure with the personal consumption deduction as the key assumption. Because product cases often involve children, homemakers, and retirees, the household services and support components frequently carry more of the loss than the earnings component, and the economist builds the analysis from the household's account and time-use data where wage records do not exist. Earnings for a child or student are projected from the educational path and occupational data, personal consumption from household expenditure data adjusted to the household, and each survivor's loss is discounted to present value.
Indiana courts require that the principles behind expert scientific testimony be reliable and treat the federal reliability factors as helpful rather than controlling; for economic damages testimony the inquiry is whether the witness is qualified and whether the method and its inputs rest on a sound basis. A report that names its sources and ties each assumption to the record meets that standard. Product Liability cases venued in Indiana are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; oldest courts in each county) and the Superior Court (General jurisdiction; exists in most counties alongside circuit courts), with final appeals to the Indiana Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Northern District of Indiana and Southern District of Indiana.
Indiana's wrongful death remedies differ by who died: the general act measures the loss to a spouse or dependents, a separate act covers adults without dependents with limited nonpecuniary recovery, and a child act covers minors, so the economist's role depends on which act applies. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's fault exceeds half, the jury may hear evidence of collateral-source payments other than insurance the plaintiff or family paid for and governmental benefits, and prejudgment interest in tort turns on a statutory settlement-offer procedure. 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 Indiana rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Wrongful Death or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.