In personal injury and wrongful death matters, plaintiffs are often entitled not only to lost earnings and earnings capacity, but also to the pecuniary value of lost fringe benefits. For many employees, fringe benefits include paid time off, retirement benefits and savings plans and health care coverage for the employee and his or her family.
In government studies, fringe benefits are calculated as a percentage of total labor costs. Typically, these studies show the average hourly cost to pay individuals (regular earnings) as well as the average hourly cost of direct employer costs for benefit-type programs. Some economists rely on these studies to estimate the pecuniary loss of the injured party. However, this is done blindly in too many instances and leads to results that are inaccurate. If pointed out, this may undermine your expert’s credibility in front of a judge or jury. Hence, attorneys should have a fundamental understanding of the data, the concepts and the calculation of fringe benefits.
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