Expert Reports

A personal injury case may involve a claim for loss of earnings. Columbia Pacific can provide you with a reliable projection of lifetime earnings using the approach best suited to plaintiff’s circumstances:

• For an injured high school student, we often would rely on earnings statistics by level of education.
• For a worker in mid-career, we might also consider details from tax returns and collective agreements.
• For a self-employed real estate agent, we may rely on financial statements and local real estate trends.

Some personal injury claims involve a reduced life expectancy, and in those cases we can help you address the Lost Years’ Deduction.

Columbia Pacific can help you understand pension loss.

Pension Plans normally fall under one of two categories – Defined Contribution or Defined Benefit.

With Defined Contribution Plans, a member’s retirement pension will depend on accumulated contributions and on market returns. Under this type of plan, the member’s net economic benefit will equal the amount of contributions that the employer contributed on the member’s behalf.

With Defined Benefit Plans, a member’s retirement pension will depend on final salary and length of service. Under this type of plan, the member’s net economic benefit equals the difference between projected retirement benefits and projected member contributions.

Columbia Pacific can provide you with a lump-sum estimate of specific future costs of care. The present value will depend on the plaintiff’s annual needs, on the future the discount rate, and on life expectancy.

In cases where life expectancy is normal, we rely in published mortality rates for the general population. In cases where life expectancy is reduced, we can help you with the appropriate adjustments.

The economists at Columbia Pacific can help with the assessment of financial loss in a wrongful death claim. When assessing financial loss, we consider both the decedent’s financial contribution and his or her financial consumption.

A person’s financial contribution often includes employment income, but might also include pensions and other income sources. A person’s consumption would normally include a portion of the household’s income, but might also extend to pre-existing household assets.

All households are different, and Columbia Pacific will work with you to determine which details are needed to accurately assess the loss.

Columbia Pacific can help you estimate the value of lost household services. To estimate such a loss, we consider both the decedent’s contribution and consumption.

To estimate a person’s net contribution of household services, we normally undertake an analysis of general statistics on time use collected from similar individuals. Further adjustments may be required in situations where a spouse works out of town , or where special circumstances limit a person’s ability to provide household work.

Columbia Pacific will work with you to determine which details are needed to properly assess the claim for household services.

Columbia Pacific can help you in estimating the “gross ups” that may be needed to offset future income taxes and fund management fees.

The experts at Columbia Pacific have many years of experience with gross-ups, and will gladly assist you assessing what gross-ups might apply in specific situations.

Columbia Pacific can also help you with other forms of economic loss that include:

 

1. 1. Financial benefit of a marriage;
   2. Benefits and costs of structured settlements;
   3. Underinsured Motorist Protection (UMP) claims;
   4. Financial losses arising from Estate and Family Law matters;
   5. Financial damages resulting from land expropriation; and,
   6. Pre- and post-judgment interest on awarded damages.