MICRA Evolution: A New Dawn for Medical Malpractice Compensation

Since its establishment in 1975, the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) has been a cornerstone of California’s legal landscape, particularly in the realm of medical malpractice litigation. At the heart of this legislation was a contentious $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, including pain and suffering. However, in 2022, California’s legal landscape witnessed a significant […]
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Unlocking the Mysteries of Damages Calculation: Nominal Rates vs. Net Discount Rate Methodologies

In the realm of forensic economics, calculating damages is a nuanced and intricate task. Forensic economists play a pivotal role in quantifying the economic impact of various factors in legal cases. Two primary methodologies employed in this field are the Nominal Rates Method and the Net Discount Rate Method. While both the Nominal Rates Method […]
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Interest Rates and Why They Matter

A fair-share of attorneys have told us that they went to law school to avoid doing math. While calculus and linear algebra are not important in securing a winning verdict, a basic understanding of interest rates and present value is crucial for all attorneys to understand. Courts require all future economic damages be discounted to […]
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Punitive Damages

In litigation, attorneys may demand economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages. Economic damages include monetary losses from income and benefits, as well as medical expenses, property loss and so on. These are all areas where it is useful to designate an economist as an expert witness. Non-economic damages such as pain & suffering, loss […]
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Don’t be messy with your case by ignoring Household Services

We have all heard Benjamin Franklin’s famous saying: “Time is Money”.  However, when it comes to calculating economic damages, usually people tend to think of only income and benefits as having value.  The time one spends providing services for their household can often be overlooked, specifically in injuries that result in death. Each member of a household […]
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How the Coronavirus Will Affect Economic Damages

The COVD-19 virus is a pandemic unlike anything most of us have ever experienced.  As the United States appears to be on the downward trajectory of new cases reported, the aftermath of this virus will continue for months, or more likely, years. There have already been a significant number of lawsuits filed.  There are a number of […]
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Determining Personal Consumption

When dealing with a personal injury or medical malpractice matter that results in a wrongful death, it is important to remove the personal consumption of the Decedent when calculating damages.  Indivisible expenses are not to be included as part of the Decedent’s personal consumption at all. When calculating personal consumption, it is important to take […]
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How to Estimate a Plaintiff’s Retirement Age

When a Plaintiff can no longer work due to an injury, the loss of future earnings will span from the date of the incident all the way through their pre-incident retirement date. When most people think of retirement, age 65 is usually what pops into mind. To qualify for full Social Security Retirement Benefits, individuals […]
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Arbitration Agreements Waiving Class Actions Do Not Violate the NLRA, Rules Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that arbitration agreements requiring that an employer and an employee resolve any employment disputes through one-on-one arbitration do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In an opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court ruled 5-to-4 that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) dictates that arbitration agreements be enforced, […]
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