Time to Hire An Economic Damages Expert?

The saying, “timing is everything” applies to litigation just as it applies to all other aspects of life. It rings true throughout the course of litigation, and often includes the important decision of when to hire an economic damages expert.

Every case does not necessarily require you to retain an economic damage expert for the benefit of your client. For instance, an economic damages expert may not be needed for those cases where the economic damages claimed are low in amount or easily calculated. However, even in the most straightforward of cases, an economic damages expert can provide great assistance in developing your case.

Sooner Rather Than Later

Regardless of whether the case is straightforward or complex, the economic damages expert can play integral roles in properly and effectively developing the case pre-trial and the manner in which it is presented to the trier of fact. The right economic damages expert can provide critical assistance in identifying potential damage issues you and the client may not be aware of and in developing winning strategies to further his or her interests in the litigation at hand.

Further, as a result of tort reform caps on non-economic damages, economic damages have been thrust into a position of increasing prominence in many litigation matters. As a result, the decision of when to engage an economic damages expert has become a critical part of a winning litigation strategy.

Ultimately, when faced with the question of when to hire the economic damages expert, a winning litigation strategy points to hiring the expert sooner, rather than later. 

At the Outset of Litigation

Hiring an economic damages expert during the early stages of litigation should provide you and the insured with an ample opportunity to accurately and efficiently develop damage theories and provide you and the insured with an edge in identifying, managing and defending against possible damage theories that your opponent intends to advance.

This early assessment may also provide great assistance with respect to exploring settlement options before significant sums of time, money and energy are invested in the litigation process.

During the Discovery Phase of Litigation

Hiring an economic damages expert at the outset of the discovery phase of litigation should greatly assist you in developing a purposeful and productive discovery strategy, one that is concentrated on bringing about the best possible result for the client.

A good economic damages expert should be capable of assisting you and the insured in focusing discovery efforts toward the heart of the economic damage issues at hand and should also be capable of providing critical advice in regard to how to best prepare and respond to discovery requests focused on the economic damages of your client's case.

The Outset of Settlement Activities

Hiring an economic damages expert at the outset of settlement activities should translate into you being better equipped to tackle and drive the direction of pre-trial settlement activities, such as mediation and pre-trial settlement negotiations, toward the client's desired result.

During these stages of litigation, an economic damages expert can provide you and your client with significant assistance in analyzing your opponent's economic damage claims and provide you with a credible evaluation of the value (or lack thereof) of your opponent's economic damage claim so you and the client can determine how to best handle and respond to pre-trial settlement activities.

When making the determination of when to hire an economic damage expert, it is better to be proactive instead of reactive. Waiting until the late stages of litigation to engage an economic damage expert could result in higher litigation costs to you and the client. In the worst-case scenario, this can result in a loss when a win was achievable.