Learn about the processes, economic studies, online statistics and well known statistical studies used in a personal injury and wrongful death loss of earning capacity economic damages analysis.
Unlocking the Power of ChatGPT and AI in Testing - A Real-World Look, present...
Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Economic Damages Analysis
1. The Numbers, Studies and Statistics Behind a
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death Economic
Damages Analysis
Presented by:
Robert Vance, CPA, ABV, CFF, CVA, CFP
Forensic & Valuation Services, PLC
901-507-9173
www.ForensicVal.com
rvance@ForensicVal.com
2. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Determining Economic Damages, James
Publishing, Gerald Martin, Ph.D.
ValuSource.com is beta testing Advocate Personal
Injury Economist, Employment Law Economist
and Wrongful Death Economist
National Association for Forensic Economists
www.nafe.net which publishes the Journal of
Forensic Economics
A number of studies and websites will be referenced
throughout
3. WHAT IS DISCOUNTING TO PRESENT VALUE?
The process of converting future cash flow(s)
into a current, present value, lump-sum figure
Cash flows are discounted to account for the
“Time Value of Money”
End of Year
0 +1 +2 +3 +4
3%
$1,000 $1,000 $1,000
$970.87
$942.60
$915.14
$2,828.61 = PVA3
4. WHY DOES PRESENT VALUE MATTER?
Economic losses are calculated to the “Present
Value” to quantify a steady stream of lost past
and lost future income into a single, lump-sum
figure for settlement or award purposes
The Present Value of the economic losses is
“The Replacement Value of a Life”
5. THE REPLACEMENT VALUE OF A LIFE
Essential Elements
1. Loss of Earning Capacity that would have been
earned from jobs or occupations, less mitigating
earnings, if any
2. Loss of Fringe Benefits that are part of the jobs
or occupational income streams
3. Loss of Household Services that would have
been performed, less services still able to
perform
6. THE REPLACEMENT VALUE OF A LIFE
Essential Elements
4. Medical & Rehabilitation Bills incurred in the
past plus estimates of future bills from a Life
Care Plan
5. Discount all Losses to Present Value, usually to
the Trial Date
7. TIMELINE FOR A DAMAGES ANALYSIS
Loss of Earning Capacity & Loss of Fringe Benefits
Loss of Household Services & Medical Bills
Injury Trial Worklife Life
Date Date Expectancy Expectancy
Past or Future or
Pre-Trial Post-Trial
11. Essential Elements
1. LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY
c) Inflation often removed from earnings
increases (and correspondingly from the
discount rate) under the “Constant Dollar”
method
d) Earnings based on education, training &
experience
Consider promotions & career ladder at employer
Age, health, intelligence & record of employment
12. Essential Elements
1. LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY
f) Deduct the mitigating earnings still able to
earn
g) Taxes are not usually deducted
h) Injury or death of a child
No work history and usually not married & no children
Project earnings based upon a survey of family
educational background and socio-economic status
13. Joan Smith
10-30-95
12-20-06
Gregory Smith - Father
Allison Smith - Mother
BA - Business
Assoc Degree
Assoc Degree / Navy
Asst Mgr – Diet Consultant
District Market Mgr ($50,000)
Carol Nesmith (sister) (Nashville, TN) Susan White (sister)
David Smith (brother)
PhD – Law Assoc – Applied Science
(Deerfield Beach, FL)
BS – Nursing / Assoc – Applied Sciences Certified Diagnostic Sonography
MS – Computer IS / BA – Accounting
Atty at Law ($50,000) RT(R),RDMS,RVT,RCS ($91,000)
Chief Ops Officer ($100,000)
Thomas Nesmith (brother-in-law) Mike White (brother-in-law) (Age 39)
Margaret Smith (sister-in-law)
PhD – Medicine BA – Marketing
BA – Journalism
BS – Biology Assoc – Electronic Tech
Special Events Coordinator
Chief of Vascular Surgery ($800,000) Facility Ops Spvr ($57,000)
Eugene Smith Alma Sue Elway
Thomas Elway
BS – Econ/Fin Wilma Jean Smith Assoc Degree BA – Sociology
PhD – Veterinary / Army
MA – Education Teacher / Child Care Provider Teacher / Social Case Worker
Medical Officer – US Dept Agr ($73,000)
Bus/IT Instructor ($100,000)
Sara Smith RE Smith
BA – Education Owner / Operator
Teacher RT Smith Lumber Company
Elijah Smith
Raymond Smith
MS - Business
Owner / Operator
BA – Business
RT Smith Lumber Company
Business Manager
14. Joan Smith
Family Member Education and Income Summary
Annual Value Annual Value
Annual Weekly in Indexed to Future
Occupation SOC Co d e Wage Salary and Education Attainment Table** Hours 2005 Dollars Future Year Year
Attorney 2 3 10 11 50,000 Wage and Salary Workers (Part-Time) High School 20 12,818 14,019 2014
Business Manager 119 19 9 65,430 * Wage and Salary Workers (Full-Time) Some College 40 29,640 33,068 2016
Business/IT Instructor 2 510 11 100,000 Wage and Salary Workers (Full-Time) Bachelor's 40 42,276 48,114 2018
Certified Diagnostic Sonography 2 9 112 4 91,000 Wage and Salary Workers (Full-Time) Bachelor's/Advanced 40 51,116 60,537 2022
Chief of Vascular Surgery 2 9 10 6 7 800,000
Chief Operating Officer 1110 11 100,000 **Current Population Survey, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, T able 17: Median usual weekly earnings
CPA 13 2 0 11 43,650 * of full-time wage and salary workers 25 years and over by educational attainment and sex, 2005 annual averages.
Diet Consultant 2 9 10 3 1 40,080 *
District Market Manager 112 0 2 2 50,000
Electrical Engineer 172 0 71 59,730 *
Facility Operations Supervisor 119 19 9 57,000 The use of government statistical wage and salary earnings is justified
Marketing Manager 112 0 2 1 89,380 * given that the family history of annual earnings on average is in fact higher.
Medical Office Manager 119 111 66,740 *
Medical Officer 119 111 73,000
Owner / Operator 1110 2 1 50,000 *
Owner / Operator 1110 2 1 50,000 *
Special Events Coordinator 13 112 1 42,230 *
Teacher 2 52 0 2 1 45,560 *
Teacher 2 52 0 2 1 45,560 *
Teacher / Child Care Provider 2 53 0 9 9 34,540 *
Teacher / Social Case Worker 2 53 0 9 9 34,540 *
VP of Marketing 112 0 2 1 126,470 *
Average Annual Wage 96,132
*Occupational wage information provided by U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, May 2005, Annual Median Wage, Area T N-MS-AR; otherwise by family members.
Degree(s) Held by Family Members
High School Associates Bachelor's Advanced
22 6 18 9
100% 27% 82% 41%
15. Essential Elements
1. LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY
h) Sources of Income Data:
W-2s, 1040s, paystubs, depos of family
Government surveys and statistics
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of
Labor, “Occupational Employment Statistics (OES)
Survey” http:/stat.bls.gov/oes/home.htm
• US Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: “Money
Income of Households…Money Earnings by Sex, Age &
Education,” & “US Industry & Trade Outlook”
16. Essential Elements
1. LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY
h) Sources of Income Data (cont’d):
A vocational rehabilitation expert (also: impairment)
Industry specific
• Accounting: American Institute of CPAs, Robert Half &
Assoc.
• Legal: ABA, Altman Weil, Inc., FindLaw.com
• Medical: AMA, Medical Group Management
Assoc., Medical Economics
• Military: Military.com
17. Essential Elements
1. LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY
i) Personal Consumption - in WD
cases, generally subtract a % (might justify
the lower Personal Maintenance)
Purchases made by an individual family member
exclusively for his or her own benefit, such as
haircuts, food, clothes, toiletries, jewelry, medical
expenses, etc.
The amount of income that would have gone toward the
consumption of the decedent is usually subtracted from
the projected lost income
20. Essential Elements
2. LOSS OF FRINGE BENEFITS
a) Part of the job or occupation
b) Expressed in the calculation as a % of gross
lost Earning Capacity
c) Can be 20% - 40%
21. Essential Elements
2. LOSS OF FRINGE BENEFITS
c) Examples:
11.7% Employer paid FICA, Unemployment & Worker’s
Comp. (Legally-Required)
11.6% Health & Other Insurance
3.0% Retirement Plans
9.8% Employer paid Holidays & Vacations
? On-site Child Care & Meals
36.1%
22. Traditional Fringe Benefits-Private Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics Economic News Release, June 7, 2012, "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation",
March 2012, Table A. Relative importance of employer costs for employee compensation, All Workers.
Private Industry
Paid leave 9.8%
Health Insurance 11.0%
Other Insurance 0.6%
Defined contribution plan 3.0%
Legally required 11.7%
Percentage of Wages 36.1%
Civilian Workers Private Industry
Comp. Comp.
Component % of Wages Component % of Wages
Wages and salaries 69.3% 70.3%
Benefits 30.7% 29.7%
100.0% 100.0%
Paid leave 7.0% 10.1% 6.9% 9.8%
Supplemental pay 2.4% 3.5% 2.9% 4.1%
Health Insurance 8.5% 12.3% 7.7% 11.0%
Other Insurance 0.4% 0.6% 0.4% 0.6%
Defined benefit plan 2.8% 4.0% 1.5% 2.1%
Defined contribution plan 1.8% 2.6% 2.1% 3.0%
Legally required 7.8% 11.3% 8.2% 11.7%
30.7% 44.4% 29.7% 42.3%
23. Essential Elements
2. LOSS OF FRINGE BENEFITS
d) Sources of fringe benefit data:
Interview or depo of employer or family
Government & private surveys & statistics
• U.S. Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, in a study titled "Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation, June 7, 2012
• U.S. Research and Analysis Center, U.S. Chamber of
Commerce , "The 2008 Employee Benefits Study"
24. Essential Elements
2. LOSS OF FRINGE BENEFITS
e) Unvested or unconventional benefits
Lucrative defined benefit pension plans
Stock options
Stock performance awards
Unfunded retirement plans
Deferred compensation plans
Use of company vehicles
25. Essential Elements
3. LOSS OF HOUSEHOLD SERVICES
a) Services that can no longer be performed due
to injury or death
b) Not just for the loss of a homemaker
c) Include unpaid tasks that maintain and
enhance the lives of those in household
Cooking, Cleaning, Lawn care, Child care &
transportation, Home & vehicle maintenance &
repairs, Gardening, Shopping, etc.
26. Essential Elements
3. LOSS OF HOUSEHOLD SERVICES
d) The loss, even though not directly compen-
sated like regular employment, has value to
the family nonetheless since the tasks will:
Not be done at all or not as often
Be done by someone else in the household (at the expense
of other things the "someone else" might have been
doing)
Require outside assistance who may have to be
compensated
27. Essential Elements
3. LOSS OF HOUSEHOLD SERVICES
e) Valuation methods are generally based on
hours spent times an hourly rate
Opportunity Cost Method (reference to what the
individual could have earned in the marketplace)
Replacement Cost Method (reference to the cost to hire in
the marketplace)
f) Over the life expectancy
Source: National Vital Statistics Reports
28. Essential Elements
3. LOSS OF HOUSEHOLD SERVICES
g) Most do not keep a log of hours spent on
household chores
h) Source:
“The Dollar Value of a Day”, Expectancy Data (estimated
hours by chore along with hourly rates)
www.expectancydata.com
29. Table 6. Married males that work full-time, wife does not work, youngest child ages 13 to 17
Dollar Weekly Waking Hours Standard
Weekly Hourly Participation
Value Secondary With Error
Time Use Category Hours Value At Home Rate
of a Day Child Care Family Percent
Inside Housework 0.87 $10.33 $1.28 0.00 0.46 0.87 14.6% 21.1%
Food Cooking & Clean-up 1.29 9.86 1.81 0.00 0.80 1.10 30.1 15.5
Pets, Home & Vehicles 5.05 12.11 8.74 0.00 2.01 4.81 38.9 9.2
Household Management 0.76 15.02 1.63 0.00 0.38 0.58 25.4 15.8
Shopping 1.78 11.46 2.91 0.00 1.19 0.13 32.1 11.2
Obtaining Services 0.10 13.18 0.18 0.00 0.02 0.05 2.3 26.4
Travel for Household Activity 1.81 11.96 3.09 0.00 1.09 0.01 40.2 7.9
Household Production 11.65 11.81 19.65 0.00 5.95 7.55 78.3 5.6
Household Children 1.26 11.01 1.99 n/a 1.08 0.56 22.3 18.4
Household Adults 0.17 11.23 0.28 0.00 0.15 0.12 5.7 51.2
Non-Household Members 0.68 11.39 1.10 0.00 0.42 0.27 8.5 32.2
Travel for Household Members 0.63 13.15 1.18 0.00 0.47 0.00 15.4 10.6
Travel for Non-Household Members 0.30 13.15 0.56 0.00 0.17 0.00 8.0 19.5
Caring and Helping 3.04 11.76 5.10 0.00 2.30 0.96 30.8 11.5
Table 35. Married females that are not in the labor force and not disabled, husband works,
youngest child under age 13
Dollar Weekly Waking Hours Standard
Weekly Hourly Participation
Value Secondary With Error
Time Use Category Hours Value At Home Rate
of a Day Child Care Family Percent
Inside Housework 12.29 $10.33 $18.14 8.75 6.21 11.99 79.6% 1.9%
Food Cooking & Clean-up 9.98 9.86 14.06 7.93 5.72 9.80 89.4 1.2
Pets, Home & Vehicles 2.39 12.11 4.13 1.74 1.51 2.13 24.0 4.2
Household Management 1.48 15.02 3.17 1.00 0.85 1.25 30.1 4.5
Shopping 4.99 11.46 8.17 3.32 3.78 0.09 55.0 2.4
Obtaining Services 0.22 13.18 0.42 0.14 0.11 0.16 5.5 12.3
Travel for Household Activity 2.81 11.96 4.81 1.90 2.23 0.07 58.1 2.4
Household Production 34.16 10.84 52.89 24.79 20.40 25.49 98.1 1.0
Household Children 19.94 11.01 31.37 n/a 19.42 16.95 88.4 1.3
Household Adults 0.24 11.23 0.38 0.13 0.19 0.13 7.9 12.6
Non-Household Members 0.74 11.39 1.21 0.38 0.59 0.16 13.6 10.5
Travel for Household Members 2.24 13.15 4.21 0.18 1.83 0.03 44.4 2.1
Travel for Non-Household Members 0.37 13.15 0.69 0.20 0.27 0.00 11.5 5.0
Caring and Helping 23.54 11.26 37.87 0.89 22.30 17.27 89.9 1.2
“The Dollar Value of a Day”, 2003
30. Essential Elements
4. MEDICAL AND REHABILITATION BILLS
a) Bills already incurred
b) Estimated future bills from a Life Care Plan
Indexed using the Medical Price Index rather than the
general Consumer Price Index
c) Present valuing a Life Care Plan is often a
separate engagement
31. Essential Elements
5. DISCOUNT ALL LOSSES TO PRESENT VALUE
a) Pre-Trial Losses
Calculate losses prior to Trial Date (past) and compound
with interest to Present Value
-1 Trial Date +1 +2 +3
32. Essential Elements
5. DISCOUNT ALL LOSSES TO PRESENT VALUE
b) Post-Trial Losses
Calculate losses after Trial Date (future) and discount to
Present Value
-1 Trial Date +1 +2 +3
33. Essential Elements
5. DISCOUNT ALL LOSSES TO PRESENT VALUE
c) Discount Rate
Using a “risk-free” rate (U.S. Treasury Bonds)
The “best and safest investments” as per Jones and
Laughlin Steel Corporation v. Howard E. Pfeifer (462
U.S. 523; 1983; US Supreme Court)
Inflation often removed from the discount rate (and
correspondingly from earnings increases ) under the
“Constant Dollar” method
“Real” rate of interest thought to be around 2-3%
34. Bring the 5 Essential Elements Together
Wrongful Death Economic Damages Report
Case Information
Plaintiff James Smith "Injury" Date 08/23/2011
Sex Male Age at Injury 41.4
Race White Injury Year Fraction 0.36
Birthdate 03/25/1970 Life Expectancy 38.1
Worklife Expectancy 23.0 Age at End of Life Expectancy 79.5
Retirement Age 64.4 End of Life Date 9/28/2049
End of Worklife Date 8/22/2034 Life Date Fraction 0.46
Worklife Year Fraction 0.36 Valuation Date 04/13/2013
Discount Rate 1.8% Assumed "Trial" Date 04/13/2013
Trial Year Fraction 0.28
Damages Summary
Future Values Present Values
Type of Damage Past Future Past Future
Income Loss 139,551 2,001,670 139,551 1,645,826
Fringe Benefits Loss 62,473 960,200 62,473 785,952
Household Production Loss 13,871 482,172 13,871 331,166
Future Medical Costs 0 0 0 0
Total Damages 215,895 3,444,042 215,895 2,762,944
Grand Total Damages 3,659,937 2,978,838
Rounded 2,979,000