DAMAGE ESTIMATION FAQS

Frequently asked questions about our role as expert economist in personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, wrongful discharge, products liability, toxic tort or insurance coverage cases:

1. What kind of training and what credentials should the expert have?

2. Are Integral Research's experts all Ph.D. economists and are they also labor economists?

3. Do Integral's experts have extensive experience in expert-witness work?

4. Is it important for the expert to have a reputation for doing both plaintiff- and defense-side work?

5. Does your company work for both the defense and plaintiff sides?

6. Does economics provide a systematic methodology for projecting future earnings or are the damage estimates we see in court mostly a question of one expert's opinion versus another's?

7. Does economics provide a systematic methodology for estimating damages or is damage estimation really just a question of one expert's opinion versus another's?

8. What information do you require to prepare a critique of plaintiff's expert report?

9. What information do you require to prepare an affirmative analysis?

10. How much time do you need to prepare a critique of plaintiff's expert report?

11. How much time do you need to prepare an affirmative analysis?

12. Do you ever prepare affirmative damage estimates for the defense side?

13. Does Integral Research Inc. employ full-time experts or are your experts mostly academics employed full time at a college or university?

1. What kind of training and what credentials should the expert have?

The expert should be a Ph.D. economist and, if possible, should have a specialization in labor economics. Courts may be willing to accept an expert in a different economic specialty and with a less advanced degree. But it is in labor economics that the principles and concepts employed in projecting future earnings are taught. And only in Ph.D. programs are these principles and concepts taught in the depth and detail competent expert-witness work requires.

2. Are Integral Research's experts all Ph.D. economists and are they also labor economists?

Yes, we are. Although courts may accept an expert with a lower degree or with a Ph.D. in a different economic specialty, we wouldn't be comfortable without both credentials. Only a Ph.D. program can provide the in-depth training expert witness work requires. And labor economics is the sub field that focuses on the economics of the labor market and the economics of income determination.

3. Do Integral's experts have extensive experience in expert-witness work?

Yes, Integral Research has been continuously serving the legal community for over twenty years now. We have testified in over a hundred personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death and wrongful discharge cases. Click here for our client list.

4. Is it important for the expert to have a reputation for doing both plaintiff- and defense-side work?

Definitely, yes. Routinely working for both the plaintiff- and defense-bar is the best way for an expert to protect his or her reputation as an objective analyst. Working exclusively or almost exclusively for one side or the other risks creating the appearance of bias.

5. Does your company work for both the defense and plaintiff sides?

Yes. In our defense-side cases, we review the plaintiff's expert report and prepare a critique of the methodology underlying his/her damage estimate. In our plaintiff-side cases we prepare an affirmative damage estimate as we believe it should be done. We are able to do both types of cases without any danger of inconsistency because the methodology we employ in our damage estimation is the same methodology that informs our critiques. This methodology is based on the economic principles and practice generally accepted by professional labor economists inside and outside of academia. It is a methodology our Ph.D. economists have taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and it does not and should not vary from case to case.

6. Does economics provide a systematic methodology for projecting future earnings or are the damage estimates we see in court mostly a question of one expert's opinion versus another's?

The future is uncertain. Economists do not have a crystal ball. That said, theoretical and empirical work by labor economists over the past forty years has contributed greatly to our understanding of how and why earnings grow over the life cycle. The theories and the estimation techniques that have been developed are a standard part of the curriculum at colleges and universities today and are widely known, widely accepted, and widely used outside academia as well. They generally provide the surest foundation upon which to build a credible damage estimate.

7. What information do you require to prepare a critique of plaintiff's expert report?

The amount of documentation we require depends on the nature of the critique we prepare. The plaintiff's report will usually include a description of the estimation methodology relied upon and - if our task is limited to a methodological critique - we require no further documentation to write it. Often, we can also determine on the basis of the report itself whether the expert has, in fact, carried out his or her calculations in the manner described in the text. To go beyond these first two levels of criticism, usually requires documentation of plaintiff's education, employment, salary and benefits history as well as similar data for other household members where relevant.

8. What information do you require to prepare an affirmative analysis?

To prepare an affirmative analysis, we require documentation - in the form of tax returns and personnel records - of plaintiff's past earnings-and-employment history. Information on his or her educational background and on any further training obtained once in the labor force is also very important. Similar information for other household members may be relevant.

9. How much time do you need to prepare a critique of plaintiff's expert report?

That depends on the amount of work to be done. A general methodological critique can usually be done within a week. Fully replicating the expert's analysis to confirm that the procedures described in the report are the ones actually used and that there are no calculation errors takes longer. Finally, the preparation of an affirmative estimate requires additional time.

10. How much time do you need to prepare an affirmative analysis?

In general, it is wise to allow us several weeks to do our work. Often the plaintiff has not yet obtained some of the documents we need. A credible projection of the plaintiff's future income usually requires substantial knowledge of his/her past education, employment and earnings experience. In some cases, a complete damage estimate requires this information for plaintiff's spouse and/or children as well. And often we must estimate the value of lost household production. However, if all of the necessary documentation is immediately available, we can usually complete the damage estimation in a week.

11. Does Integral Research Inc. employ full-time experts or are your experts mostly academics employed full time at a college or university?

Our expert economists and statisticians have taught labor economics and statistics at the graduate as well as the undergraduate levels. Our teaching commitments now are limited to Integral's Continuing Legal Education Program. Free of classroom or research commitments, we can accommodate your schedule rather than asking you to accommodate ours.

12. Do you ever prepare affirmative damage estimates for the defense side?

13. Does Integral Research Inc. employ full-time experts or are your experts mostly academics employed full time at a college or university?

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