Household Services Analysis

In wrongful death cases and catastrophic injury cases, economic losses may include calculation of the value of household services the decedent or seriously injured individual previously performed for the benefit of surviving family members (e.g. spouse or children). Common examples of household services of potential value to other household members include the following: inside housework; food cooking and clean-up; pets, home and vehicle maintenance; household management; shopping for goods; obtaining household services; travel for household activity; caring for and helping household children; caring for and helping household adults; travel related to helping household members.  The valuation of lost household service provision involves estimating the cost to replace such services for the typical number of hours the decedent or seriously injured individual performed them pre-injury or incident (or based on averages of similarly-situated individuals). Depending on case circumstances, the hourly cost of household services can usually be estimated by considering the remuneration of workers including but not limited to maids and housekeeping cleaners, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, food preparation workers, personal and home care aides and laundry and dry-cleaning workers.