TEA.12.3

Description

A compensable loss generally exists when a plaintiff suffers an injury that requires the plaintiff post-injury to purchase a new (for the plaintiff) service; for example, nursing care. Financial management services for a lump sum award should follow the same logic. However, the costs of financial management services are not routinely included in the loss estimate by damages experts. The law requires the pecuniary damages expert (DE), in calculating future values of damages, to use a specific investment strategy (i.e., best and safest); however, regardless of assumed investment strategy the plaintiff may need financial management services. Perhaps this exclusion is due to DEs confusing two discrete tasks: the DE’s task of estimating the “best and safest” investment rate for use in calculating damages versus the task of actually managing funds after the defendant pays the court ordered award.