A neutral, court-ready framework for turning impairment into defensible, task-level household-services valuation.
Why Labels Matter—But Function Drives Value
“Partial” and “total” impairment are useful clinical or descriptive labels. In valuation, though, what matters is function: which specific household tasks the person can perform now, how often, how long, and with what assistance.
A task-level lens converts clinical reality into credible hours—and only then into dollars. (Standards vary by jurisdiction; this article is informational, not legal advice.)
Impairment vs. Disability vs. Functional Capacity (Scope & Roles)
- Medical impairment (clinician): Diagnoses, restrictions, and—where applicable—impairment ratings.
- Disability (legal/social): Ability to meet role demands given limitations and context.
- Functional capacity (vocational): What tasks can be performed, with what frequency, duration, intensity, and need for assistance.
- Economic valuation (economist): Assigns market replacement costs and—if needed—present value.
Clear boundaries preserve credibility. Vocational experts do not diagnose or assign medical ratings. Economists do not opine on functional capacity. Each discipline stays in its lane.
Defining “Total” vs. “Partial” Impairment—At the Task Level
- Total impairment (for a specific task or category): The individual cannot perform the task safely or consistently (e.g., snow removal, lifting a toddler into a car seat), even with reasonable pacing or assistive devices.
- Partial impairment: The task can still be performed, but with reduced frequency, shorter duration, lower intensity, efficiency loss (it takes longer), or assistance (setup, lifting, transfers, cueing, supervision).
Avoid blanket person-level statements (“totally impaired”) that obscure reality. Use a task matrix to classify each task.
Example Task Matrix (simplified)
|
Task |
Pre-Injury Hrs/Wk |
Post-Injury Hrs/Wk |
Assistance Needed |
Classification |
Delta Hrs/Wk |
|
Meal prep + cleanup |
7.5 |
3.5 |
Lift/carry pots (10 min) |
Partial |
4.0 |
|
Weekly housecleaning (floors) |
2.0 |
0.0 |
— |
Total |
2.0 |
|
School drop-off/pick-up |
3.0 |
3.0 |
Occasional supervision |
Partial |
0.0 |
|
Snow removal (seasonal) |
0.8 (avg/yr) |
0.0 |
— |
Total |
0.8 |
(Seasonal tasks should be averaged correctly; see below.)
Valuing Total Impairment
When a task is no longer feasible:
- Replacement assumption: 100% of pre-injury hours require coverage.
- Provider mapping: Match the task to an appropriate provider (housekeeper, childcare provider, personal care aide, lawn/snow service).
- Scheduling realities: Consider agency premiums, minimum visit times, travel, weekends/holidays, and supervision intensity for dependents.
- Duration: Temporary vs. long-term; economists may apply discounting for future streams.
Valuing Partial Impairment
For tasks still performed, valuation focuses on the incremental burden or split coverage:
- Efficiency loss: Count the extra minutes/hours now needed to complete the same task (e.g., +30 minutes per dinner due to rest breaks).
- Assistance time: Add helper time for setup, lifting, transfers, cueing, or close supervision.
- Reduced frequency/duration: Quantify the delta compared to baseline (e.g., vacuuming now monthly vs. weekly).
- Task substitution: When a portion is outsourced (e.g., grocery delivery + light meal assembly), value only the replaced portion.
- Ranges and sensitivity: Use defensible ranges where variability is normal (e.g., 2–3 hours/week) and consider sensitivity analyses for transparency.
Temporary vs. Permanent Loss (Timelines & Assumptions)
- Recovery horizons/MMI: Tie projections to medical records indicating expected improvement or maximum medical improvement (MMI).
- Phased projections: Acute (e.g., 0–3 months) → Subacute (3–12 months) → Long-term baseline.
- Permanent losses: Economists typically apply life-expectancy or need-duration assumptions and discount future costs to present value. Vocational analysis remains focused on hours and capacity, not dollars.
Building the Evidence Base
Pre-Injury Baseline
- Task inventory by category, with frequency and average time.
- Seasonal tasks (snow removal, school logistics, leaf cleanup).
- Role context (shared tasks, travel weeks, alternating responsibilities).
Post-Injury Reality
- Interviews with the individual and household members.
- Therapy/OT/PT notes, Functional Capacity Evaluations (where available), physician restrictions.
- Daily or two-week logs capturing time, assistance, rest breaks, supervision intensity.
- Substitutions: Invoices/receipts (housekeeping, childcare, lawn/snow), delivery logs.
- Assistive devices/technology in use (and their impact on time).
Corroboration & Consistency
- Align narratives across sources.
- Document assumptions and data gaps; use ranges where appropriate.
Pricing & Provider Mapping
Not all hours are equal. Map each delta hour to a reasonable provider type at local market rates:
- General housekeeping vs. deep cleaning/organizing
- Childcare (age/needs-driven, supervision intensity)
- Personal care aide (non-clinical assistance with ADLs/IADLs)
- Yard/snow services (event-based with seasonal averaging)
Avoid a single blended rate when tasks require different skills. Reflect real-world scheduling (minimum visit times, travel) and bundled services (e.g., weekly deep clean plus daily light tasks the household still performs).
Reporting & Admissibility Considerations
A court-ready report is transparent, consistent, and bounded by role:
- Transparency: Identify data sources, show calculations step-by-step, and state assumptions clearly.
- Consistency: Apply the same logic across all tasks and time frames (e.g., how passive machine time is treated).
- Role separation: Vocational = capacity/time; Economic = dollars/discounting.
- Seasonality & household diversity: Adjust for weather-dependent tasks and nontraditional/shared roles.
- Scenario bands: Where evidence supports ranges, provide best/mid/worst cases to show robustness.
Common Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)
- Equating a medical impairment % to % hours lost. Not valid; stick to task-level function.
- Person-level absolutes. Use task-level classifications (partial/total) with reasons.
- Double counting simultaneous time. Avoid attributing the same minutes to two tasks (e.g., laundry cycles and meal prep).
- Ignoring supervision intensity. Infant or complex care ≠ independent teen oversight.
- Annualizing seasonal tasks without adjustment. Average event-based tasks appropriately for the locale and period.
Illustrative Scenarios (Brief)
- Partial impairment (meal prep): Pre: 7.5 hrs/wk. Post: 3.5 hrs/wk + 10 min helper time per dinner for lifting. Delta = 4.0 hrs/wk + 50 min/wk helper time. Value replaced portion and helper minutes at appropriate rates.
- Total impairment (snow removal): Pre: Avg 0.8 hrs/wk (seasonally averaged). Post: 0.0. Value per-event service across typical season, averaged annually.
- Mixed: Light housekeeping feasible; personal care tasks require aide 3×/week (1 hr/visit, agency minimums apply). Housekeeping valued at partial delta; personal care valued at full replacement for those visits.
How KWVRS Can Help
KWVRS provides neutral, method-driven vocational analyses that convert impairment into task-level capacity and hours, and collaborates with forensic economists to value those hours using appropriate local rates and, when needed, present-value methods. Our reports emphasize transparency, role discipline, and courtroom defensibility.
