What Vocational and Economic Damages Experts Do
These experts quantify the financial consequences of injury, disability, or death in dollar terms a jury can evaluate.
A vocational expert evaluates employability: what jobs the individual could have performed before the injury, what they can perform after, and how the injury has affected their ability to compete in the labor market. A forensic economist then translates those findings into dollar figures, calculating the present value of lost earnings over the individual's remaining work-life expectancy.
Solo vs. Dual Retention
In many cases, a single expert performs both functions, particularly when they hold dual credentials. In complex cases, attorneys retain separate vocational and economic experts. The vocational expert establishes what the plaintiff could have earned and can earn now; the economist builds the damages model, accounting for wage growth, fringe benefits, taxes, discount rates, and mortality risk.
Life Care Planning
When an injury requires ongoing medical treatment, assistive devices, home modifications, or attendant care, a life care planner documents every anticipated future need and its cost over the individual's lifetime. This plan feeds directly into the economist's analysis so that future medical expenses are properly quantified in present-value terms.
When Attorneys Need a Vocational or Economic Damages Expert
These experts matter most when a case involves lost income or diminished earning capacity.
- Personal injury: auto accidents, slip-and-fall cases, and construction incidents where the plaintiff can no longer perform their pre-injury job.
- Wrongful death: calculating the decedent's projected lifetime earnings to quantify the financial loss to surviving dependents.
- Employment discrimination and wrongful termination: quantifying back pay, front pay, and the economic impact of career interruption.
- Disability claims: evaluating residual functional capacity and identifying alternative occupations.
- Divorce and marital dissolution: assessing earning capacity for spousal support determinations.
- Medical malpractice: quantifying lost earnings and the cost of future medical treatment necessitated by substandard care.
How to Evaluate Credentials
This field draws professionals from several disciplines. Here are the key credentials to look for.
- CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor): the most widely recognized vocational credential, requiring a master's degree and national examination.
- CVE (Certified Vocational Evaluator): demonstrates competence in transferable skills analysis and labor market research.
- ABVE (American Board of Vocational Experts): board certification requiring advanced education, extensive experience, and peer review.
- PhD or master's in economics: forensic economists typically hold advanced degrees with coursework in econometrics and labor economics.
- NAFE membership: publication in the Journal of Forensic Economics signals engagement with current methods.
- Courtroom experience: ask about depositions, trial appearances, and whether testimony has ever been excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a vocational expert and a forensic economist?
A vocational expert focuses on employability, evaluating education, skills, limitations, and available jobs to answer: what can this person do for work? A forensic economist focuses on quantification, calculating the dollar value of lost earning capacity using discount rates, actuarial data, and fringe benefit projections. Complex cases often benefit from separate experts in each role.
When should a vocational expert be retained in a personal injury case?
Ideally once the plaintiff has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), typically several months after injury. However, early consultation is valuable. A vocational expert retained before MMI can advise on needed medical documentation and begin labor market research. In wrongful death cases, retain early since the analysis focuses on the decedent's projected career trajectory.
How are future lost earnings calculated?
The expert establishes base earning capacity using tax returns, pay stubs, and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, then projects it forward over remaining work-life expectancy. They account for wage growth, promotions, and fringe benefits. The difference between pre-injury and post-injury earning capacity, reduced to present value using an appropriate discount rate, yields the lost earning capacity figure.
What is a life care plan and when is one needed?
A life care plan identifies all future medical and non-medical needs resulting from an injury and estimates their lifetime costs: physician visits, surgeries, medications, therapy, assistive devices, home modifications, and attendant care. It is needed in any case involving catastrophic or permanent injury such as spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or amputations.
Can vocational experts testify about employability after injury?
Yes. This is one of their primary functions. They evaluate residual functional capacity, transferable skills, age, and local labor market conditions to determine what occupations remain accessible. Their testimony addresses whether the individual is employable at all and what reduction in earning capacity they have suffered. A well-credentialed expert who clearly explains their methods strengthens the damages case considerably.