Economic Analyst : Vocational Economic Analyst : Economic Analysis

Case Specifics

When do you need a vocational and/or economic expert? And what kind of expert do you need?

Sometimes attorneys assume that there is no vocational loss because the accident victim had no history of earnings. This is not always the case.
- An obvious example is a student in medical school who is injured to the extent that he or she can no longer practice medicine.

On the other hand, a history of earnings is not always predictive of future earnings.
- An example of that is a former worker in a unionized automobile factory who has been laid off and has little chance of being re-employed in that capacity.

Some vocational experts rely heavily upon vocational testing in order to predict future earnings.

Unfortunately, testing, while sometimes invaluable for predicting what a person can do, is not a good tool for predicting what a person will do.
For the latter...
- we need outcome data rather than input data.
- Knowledge of survey data is a very good place to begin.
Also important is attention to individual propensities, historical activities and the use of good common sense.

Whenever you use a vocational expert you also need some sort of economic analysis in order to arrive at a future value and/or present value calculation.

For many years I have been performing the role of vocational and economic expert with good results for my clients.
Vocational economic experts like myself can assist attorneys at a lower cost and without the risk that the vocational and economic experts might utter conflicting testimonies.

Different Types of Vocational/Economic Analyses

The typical plaintiff attorney in personal injury or medical malpractice cases wants to know how much the case is worth for purposes of settlement negotiations. If it is a New York State case he or she needs a future value amount to present to the court. In other states it is required that present value amounts be presented. In some states, such as New Jersey, a tax analysis is required.

Sometimes a defense attorney only wants a critique of the plaintiff’s vocational or economic report. At other times he or she wants a report as well as a critique.

In marital cases the question of work-life often does not arise and the only question asked is one that relates to earning capacity. But at other times, especially if one of the spouses is disabled, the question of work-life may arise.

For economic analyses of life-care plans the pertinent questions have to do with growth rates for particular types of services and commodities. For the life-care plan itself (as well as critiques of such plans) what is required is critical examination of what an injured person will need in the future. While I am not a life-care planner, I do have the experience and ability to put together simple and reasonable plans with the help of health care providers such as doctors or group homes.

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