We provide thorough analysis and expert testimony for personal injury litigation.
Vianello Foresic Consulting's Approach
An economic loss calculation must reflect the expected mortality of the injured person. Many plaintiffs' damages experts use "cliff" life expectancy assumptions in their calculations of economic damages. This approach is illogical (thus, unreasonable) because it does not reflect the pattern of real human life. Humans are generally assumed to have a maximum life expectancy of 102 years at birth. Statistical life expectancy increases as a person ages, increasing the probability of actually achieving 102 years. The proper approach to estimating life expectancy when calculating economic damages is, therefore, to determine the annual risk of mortality over the expected remaining life of the plaintiff. These calculations are done using mortality data from the National Vital Statistics Reports published by the U.S. government, but require adjustment to reflect the fact that the injured person was alive at the time of injury.