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Social and Behavioral Sciences

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College of the Holy Cross

2006

Forensic economics

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Research Note: Assessing Household Service Losses With Joint Survival Probabilities, Victor Matheson, Robert Baade Dec 2006

Research Note: Assessing Household Service Losses With Joint Survival Probabilities, Victor Matheson, Robert Baade

Economics Department Working Papers

Traditional analyses of household service losses in personal injury and wrongful death litigation calculate the losses over the expected lifetime of the injured or deceased individual. In fact, the losses to the surviving family members are more accurately described by using joint survival probabilities of the injured or deceased person and their survivors, or a “joint life expectancy.” The use of joint probabilities will always serve to reduce expected household service losses and these reductions can be especially significant when the deceased is significantly younger than the surviving spouse or if the survivor has a relatively low remaining life expectancy.


(Much) More On The Collateral Source Rule, David Schap, Andrew Feeley Jun 2006

(Much) More On The Collateral Source Rule, David Schap, Andrew Feeley

Economics Department Working Papers

The collateral source rule is a common law norm that permits recovery of accident-related damages from both the victim’s insurer and the injurer. Many jurisdictions have modified the rule through statutory reform during the last twenty-five years. Forensic economists in assessing damages need to be aware of the variations in the application of the rule in the jurisdictions in which they practice. The authors present a tabular summary of the statutory variations that exist in the collateral source rule across state jurisdictions and the detailed status of the statutory modifications to the rule for each state.


The Collateral Source Rule: A Common Law Norm Under Special Interest Attack, David Schap, Andrew Feeley Jun 2006

The Collateral Source Rule: A Common Law Norm Under Special Interest Attack, David Schap, Andrew Feeley

Economics Department Working Papers

According to Posnerian law and economics, common law (i.e., judge-made law) tends to promote efficiency. Public choice teaches that statutory (legislated) law need have no such efficiency property because, unlike appointed judges, legislators are subject to short election cycles and are beholden to special interests for election and re-election. The collateral source rule is a common law norm that permits an injured party to recover damages from both the tortfeasor (injurer) and from private insurance. Published work in the law and economics literature indicates that despite an appearance that the rule permits unwarranted double recover, the rule is indeed generally …