Michael L. Brookshire

A 2015 Survey of Forensic Economists: Their Methods, Estimates, and Perspectives

In January 2012, 583 e-mail invitations to complete an electronic survey were sent to National Association of Forensic Economics (NAFE) members, with libraries and attorneys excluded. The return rate was 32.42p, which is almost 9 percentage points higher than the last paper survey in 2003. The survey covered many of the major topics included in earlier surveys, such as values of important economic variables (e.g., discount rates), trends in the practice of forensic economics (e.g., personal sources of earnings), and open-ended questions concerning ethics and reactions to the survey instrument. There were several new questions. Very few respondents have estimated damages in such categories as pain and suffering, companionship, and guidance; few add agency fees to household services estimates; and it is uncommon for respondents to estimate worklife expectancy differently for self-employed persons versus employees.

Self-Consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?

In most states, it is necessary to deduct self-consumption of the deceased when estimating lost earning capacity from wrongful death. The impact whether this deduction is taken only from deceased earnings or from total family income can be substantial. As an example, assume that the now deceased wife earned

Estimating Lost Household Services: Persons over 50

30,000 while the surviving husband earned

Assessing Damages in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation: The State of West Virginia

100,000. For simplicity, assume that self-consumption is 30% of earnings regardless of the level of earnings. Self-consumption based upon the decedent’s income is

Forensic Economists and Their Changing Viewpoints Over Time

9,000 and the loss would be

The Forensic Economics of Medical Monitoring Damages in the United States

21,000. However, self-consumption based upon family income is .3(30,000 + 100,000) =

On the interpretation of age-earnings profiles

39,000 and the loss would be -

Hedonic damages and personal injury: A conceptual approach

9,000. It would seem that somehow the surviving spouse is better off financially now that their spouse has died. Such incongruous results are some of the issues that have created a split among forensic economists concerning whether consumption should be based upon income of the family or income of just the decedent. In a recent survey (Brookshire, et al., 2006), the following question was asked: “Given no legal constraints, do you deduct consumption from the decedent’s income or family income?” 53.4% indicated they would use the decedent’s income and 46.6% indicated they would use family income. Comments provided showed a wide range of reasons for supporting either side. For example, several stated that using decedent’s income was a matter of fairness, while those using family income cited the fact that published studies measuring self-consumption are based upon family income. A similar question, with the addition of a numerical example for clarity, was asked in the 2009 survey and the numbers changed significantly. 38.7% indicated they would use the decedent’s income while 61.3% would use total family income, a swing of about 15 percentage points. Still, there is no consensus concerning this question among forensic economists. (Brookshire, et al., 2009) There may be little difference between using the decedent’s income versus family income. If, say, the husband died and he was the sole breadwinner, then decedent’s income and family income are identical. Further, there would be only a small difference if the surviving spouse worked part-time or at a relatively low-paying job. On the other hand, if the deceased were the individual with relatively low earnings in the labor market, then the difference would be significant.

Forecasting Earnings Using Age-Earnings Profiles And Longitudinal Data

Article provides recommended methods for applying a replacement cost theory to economic loss calculations for household services. Empirical studies are recommended for use in adjusting reported (lost) hours of services at injury or death, for factors which would be expected to change hours of services regardless of the injury. The leading example has been changes in adult hours of services as children leave the home. Article then uses PSID data for 1993, released in Spring 1998, to identify significant variables affecting services hours for men and women after age 50. Two practical results are a table which may allow forensic economists to adjust household services estimates in older-age-brackets for women and a table which shows the effect of health status on household services hours for men. This research is a first step in addressing how (lost) hours of household services should be adjusted as men and women age beyond 50.

The Emerging Industry of Forensic Economics: A Survey of NAFE Members

Abstract Current changes in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death in the state of West Virginia.