Anytime there is a permanent injury in a personal injury case, life expectancy will play a part in calculating damages for a settlement or trial testimony.  The jury must determine the value of the non-economic or general damages ("pain and suffering") based in part on how long that will last.  In terms of economic damages (special damages), life expectancy can impact diminished earning capacity (sometimes called future wage loss) and the duration of projections for future health care services.  In states with a separate category of damages for permanent impairment, the duration of life with that impairment also helps jurors determine the fair value of the loss.

In some cases, a difference of a few years can result in a major change in your patient's damages. Some pattern jury instructions, or case law, will suggest using the mortality tables. But what if the mortality tables are wrong for your patient, and the difference will leave your patient uncompensated for years of financial losses?

In this Trial Guides webinar, doctor and forensic epidemiologist Dr. Michael Freeman discusses the calculation of life expectancy. He explains how the defense misuses the mortality tables, and why plaintiffs' lawyers, who depend upon these mortality tables for calculating future economic losses, presently misunderstand them. He discusses how the mortality tables underestimate life expectancy by as much as 50 percent, thereby improperly decreasing claim value. Dr. Freeman shows how to calculate life expectancy correctly, how to quantify errors in the defense projections, and how to obtain valid life expectancy values in cases where such a projection is needed.

This video is important for physician testimony, life care planners, vocational rehabilitation experts, or economists who testify about future damages.  Since this is an issue commonly dealt with during pre-trial motions, or motion in limine, you should make deviations from the mortality tables known well in advance of trial.

Damages: Correctly Determining Life Expectancy from Trial Guides on Vimeo.