KW Economics prepares wrongful death analysis for product liability cases venued in Texas: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Texas 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.
Texas trial courts act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied to the facts of the case rather than to assumptions the record does not support. A damages report meets that inquiry by stating each assumption and its source so the analytical gap the court looks for is not there.
Highest court: Supreme Court of Texas. Court system: txcourts.gov.
Federal venues: Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas.
Outside the civil courts, wage-loss disputes in workers' compensation matters proceed before the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation.
Texas pairs a wrongful death action for the surviving spouse, children, and parents with a survival action for the estate's own claims, and the recovery of medical expenses is limited to the amounts actually paid or incurred rather than the amounts billed. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's responsibility exceeds half, statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in health care liability claims while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest accrues on past damages from a defined point after the defendant receives notice of the claim but is not awarded on future damages.
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 product liability case venued in Texas; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total. Establish the but-for path from the earnings history or, for a child, student, or homemaker, from the educational path, occupational data, or the household work performed. Draw the post-injury path from actual earnings and the work-capacity opinions, and project both paths over the applicable worklife or life expectancy with growth. Value household services from time-use data and local rates, and price future care from the life care plan with category-specific cost growth. Discount every stream to present value at a stated rate and, where there are multiple claimants, apply one documented methodology to each record.
Texas trial courts act as gatekeepers for expert testimony and ask whether the economist is qualified, whether the method is reliable and accepted in the profession, and whether it was applied to the facts of the case rather than to assumptions the record does not support. A damages report meets that inquiry by stating each assumption and its source so the analytical gap the court looks for is not there. Product Liability cases venued in Texas are heard in the District Court (General jurisdiction; civil cases above the justice court threshold, felonies, domestic relations) and the County Court at Law (Statutory courts; mid-sized civil cases, misdemeanors), with final appeals to the Supreme Court of Texas. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, and Western District of Texas.
Texas pairs a wrongful death action for the surviving spouse, children, and parents with a survival action for the estate's own claims, and the recovery of medical expenses is limited to the amounts actually paid or incurred rather than the amounts billed. Recovery is barred once the plaintiff's responsibility exceeds half, statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in health care liability claims while economic damages are unlimited, and prejudgment interest accrues on past damages from a defined point after the defendant receives notice of the claim but is not awarded on future damages. 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 Texas rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Wrongful Death or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.