Excerpt from Chapter 9: Hedonic Damages
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
Intangible damages resulting from the loss of life have resisted objective quantification in the past.
Intangible damages from profound injury, and the loss of society and companionship have likewise been difficult to quantify.

Excerpt from Chapter 4: Fringe Benefits
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
General Approaches to Estimating Fringe Benefits
Most commonly, the estimation of fringe benefit loss is based upon the market theory of loss.

Excerpt from Chapter 4: Fringe Benefits
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
Several theoretical bases exist for including employer contributions to fringe benefits in estimates of the earning capacity, and therefore of the lost earning capacity, of individuals rendered incapable of work.

Excerpt from Chapter 4: Fringe Benefits
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
The definition of fringe benefits is a residual definition.

Excerpt from Chapter 3: The Basics of Estimating Wage or Salary Loss
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys
by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
The $856,115 loss estimate in Table 7 is still not the appropriate loss estimate in most circumstances.

Alternative Approaches in Selecting Wage Growth Rates Versus Discount Rates
Excerpt from Chapter 3: The Basics of Estimating Wage or Salary Loss
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys
by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
A key assumption in lost earning capacity estimates concerns the relationship between wage growth rates and interest (discount) rates.

Excerpt from Chapter 2: Issues Preliminary to a Written Analysis of Economic Loss
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys
by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
An economic expert can estimate damages without providing a formal written report. On the plaintiff's side, a thorough written report is normally requested. The plaintiff is the party with the invited burdens and desires a written report either for settlement or as the basis of testimony.

Excerpt from Chapter 2: Issues Preliminary to a Written Analysis of Economic Loss
Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys
by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
Fees charged by economic experts, for both written analyses of lost earning capacity and for testimony, vary widely by region of the country and, often, by the experience level of the expert.

Economic/Hedonic Damages: The Practice Book for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys
by Michael L. Brookshire and Stan V. Smith
A logical first question is whether a search for an economic expert should even be undertaken. Normally, it is the plaintiff attorney who—representing the party with the burden of producing evidence and burden of proof—first addresses this multi-dimensional question.

At the time this article was written, Wisconsin courts had not clearly addressed the issue of separation between pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life damages. This was due to the fear that awards in personal injury and wrongful death cases may be duplicative, thus possibly be grossly inaccurate.