Personal Injury Evaluations

Experience

These cases include a wide range of personal injury matters, involving claims for the loss of past and future earning capacity; the loss of household services; the cost of future medical and related care needs; and/or the “life care needs” of an injured plaintiff. Cases involving multi-plaintiff claims, multi-option life care plans, and differential life expectancy assumptions are routinely evaluated.

Methodology

First, to estimate future value, Raffa Consulting Economists researches and relies on relevant historical data to develop earnings growth rates and inflation rates that are specific to the nature of each individual element of a claim. In turn, applying an interest or discount rate based upon a long-term U.S. Treasury Bond Portfolio — updated monthly by Raffa Consulting Economists — a present value analysis of each claim is accomplished. This methodology is detailed in the co-authored volumes 9, 10, and 11 of Damages in Tort Actions, published by the LexisNexis Group.

Catastrophic Claims

Raffa Consulting Economists has developed special expertise in evaluating catastrophic injury claims, including claims brought in large multi-plaintiff actions. Catastrophic injuries resulting from spinal cord and nervous system impairments (including quadriplegia and paraplegia), amputation, burns, head injury, sensory impairments, and birth injuries are routinely evaluated.

The analysis format we use provides an item-specific present value analysis of the life care needs of an injured individual. As appropriate, a year-by-year cumulative annual summary of all future and present value equivalents will be provided.