Product liability and other tort cases present unique challenges in answering the question “How much is this claim really worth?” Determining economic damages or claim values in these cases is extremely complex:  they often involve multiple plaintiffs and/or multiple defendants; product identification can be unclear or virtually non-existent; and potential exposure is often hard to pinpoint and may have occurred years in the past. However, determining possible settlement values or potential verdict ranges is a crucial part of a company’s and counsel’s strategy in resolving the claim.

LLM helps companies and their counsel resolve these challenges by providing grounded analyses that allow them to confidently and fully evaluate their settlement and litigation options and help alleviate concerns about potential exposure and “overpaying.”  Personal injury claim verdicts vary widely depending on the specifics of the case– jurisdiction, plaintiff details, strength of causation and/or product identification, and exposure information–which can all materially impact potential outcomes.  LLM identifies the cost drivers for a particular case and determines the scope of potential jury verdicts, as follows:

Compensatory Damages – Our compensatory damages model quantifies the present value of alleged loss of income by incorporating historic income, work-life expectancy, consumption patterns, and compensation growth trajectory. We then run various sensitivity analyses to isolate the most influential variables and present the likely verdict ranges.

Special and/or Punitive Damages – Identifying a range of possible special damages (pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and damages for plaintiff and family members) is more art than science. Although it is impossible to predict the outcome of any jury-rendered verdict, LLM can provide some clarity through our experience with other similar matters for other defendants, coupled with focused research on similar cases to provide a range of potential outcomes.

Once these damages categories are better understood, we overlay the analysis with other factors, such as possible defense and trial costs, as well as trial and other risk factors.

In these difficult cases, LLM can provide its clients with some peace of mind and help them plot their defense and settlement strategy to achieve the most advantageous outcome for their business.