Loss of Household Services
Evaluation and quantification of lost household services - the unpaid domestic work an injured person can no longer perform. Assessments cover childcare, home maintenance, meal preparation, and other household production activities.
Deciding whether to retain a household services analysis
Retain a household services analysis when a claim includes the unpaid work an injured or deceased person can no longer perform for the household. The decision counsel faces is how much of the gross household production for a demographic group is actually a case-specific loss; the analysis exists to answer that question with household-specific facts.
Gross household production is not the loss
| Question | Gross household production | Case-specific loss |
|---|---|---|
| Whose hours | The average for a demographic group, from public time-use data | This person's documented pre-injury tasks and hours |
| How much is lost | All hours in the group average | The share of each task the person can no longer perform, net of residual capacity |
| For how long | An annual figure | The period the medical evidence supports, extending to life expectancy for permanent losses |
| Overlap with care | Not addressed | Tasks already covered by attendant care or home health hours in a life care plan are excluded so the same hour is not valued twice |
Public time-use data describe how many hours people in a demographic group spend on cooking, cleaning, laundry, home and vehicle upkeep, yard work, household management, shopping, child and adult care, pet care, and related travel. Valued at replacement-cost wages, those hours are the gross household production for the group. The case-specific loss is narrower: the tasks this person actually performed before the injury, the share of each task the person can no longer perform, and the period over which the loss runs.
The replacement-cost framework behind the KWVRS valuator - American Time Use Survey hours priced with Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data - is published at the methodology page. The valuator summarizes public averages; the expert analysis applies the household's facts to that framework.
Reductions the report supports
- Pre-injury division of household labor: what the person did, documented through interview and records rather than assumed from the group average.
- Residual capacity: tasks the person still performs in full or in part, so only the lost share is valued.
- Duration: a horizon tied to the medical evidence, and to remaining life expectancy for permanent losses.
- Overlap with attendant care: where a life care plan already provides attendant care or home health hours, the tasks those hours cover are excluded from the household services claim.
From hours to present value
The report quantifies the affected tasks and the hours devoted to each using recognized household production frameworks, applies replacement-cost wage data for the tasks and geographic area, and documents the method. Present-value calculation is coordinated with a forensic economist when the case requires it.
What to send
- Records describing the household and the functional impact of the injury.
- Any documentation of pre-injury household activity, and availability of the individual and family for an interview on the prior division of household labor.
- The life care plan, if one exists, so care hours can be reconciled.
Who is responsible
Household services analysis draws on both disciplines: the task-and-hour quantification on vocational evaluation, and the replacement-cost valuation and present-value calculation on forensic economics. The discipline leads are:
- Christopher Skerritt, M.Ed., MBA - Chief of Economic ServicesOversees all forensic economic evaluations and analyses; specialties include economic damages.
- Matthew R. Putts, Ph.D. - Chief of Vocational ServicesLeads all vocational services at KWVRS.
Case Types
Household Services by Case Type
How household services applies to the specific demands of each case type: methodology, deliverables, and what counsel should expect.
Household Services by State
Northeast
Southeast
Midwest
Frequently asked: Household Services
What does a household services engagement cost?
Full retained-expert engagements are billed hourly across review, evaluation, report, and (if needed) testimony phases. Specific cost depends on case complexity and engagement scope.
Does KWVRS work plaintiff and defense?
Yes. KWVRS provides independent, objective household services for plaintiff and defense counsel. The methodology is the same regardless of which side commissions the work; KWVRS provides neutral analysis grounded in accepted protocols.
Where does KWVRS provide household services?
KWVRS accepts household services engagements in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories. State-specific framing is available on the per-state pages linked below.
What is the typical turnaround for a full household services report?
Full retained-expert reports are typically 30 to 60 days from receipt of complete records, depending on case complexity. Rush turnarounds are accommodated case-by-case.
Ready to Get Started on Household Services?
Contact KWVRS to discuss scope, timing, and the deliverables appropriate to the matter. Plaintiff and defense.