Household Services Engagement Process
A household services engagement proceeds in six steps, from engagement and records review to testimony. Counsel opens it by settling scope, conflicts and the retainer in writing and by sending the records that describe the household and the functional impact of the injury. The interview with the individual and family comes when appropriate, to document the pre-injury division of household labor the records leave out, and the valuation follows the hours it establishes.
Engagement process
- Engagement and records review: We confirm scope and conflicts, establish the retainer, and review records describing the household and the injury's functional impact.
- Household activity interview: When appropriate, we interview the individual and family to document the pre-injury division of household labor and current limitations.
- Task and hour quantification: We quantify the household tasks affected and the hours typically devoted to each, using recognized household production frameworks.
- Replacement-cost valuation: We apply replacement-cost wage data for the relevant tasks and geographic area.
- Report: We document the methodology and findings in a written report, coordinating present-value calculation with a forensic economist when required.
- Testimony: We provide deposition and trial testimony as needed.
Questions about household services engagement process
What happens first in a household services engagement?
Scope, the conflict check and the retainer are fixed in a written engagement agreement, together with the deadline the report must meet, and the assignment is defined: a single individual or a household with dependents, and whether the loss arises from a personal injury or a wrongful death. The records describing the household and the injury's functional effect are read before any interview is scheduled.
What records does KWVRS need to begin a household services engagement?
Records that describe the household and the functional impact of the injury, so the tasks affected can be identified; whatever documents the person's pre-injury household activity, since the loss is measured against what this person actually did rather than a demographic average; and the life care plan where one exists, because tasks already covered by attendant care or home health hours are excluded from the claim.
Is an interview always part of a household services engagement?
No. The interview with the individual and family is scheduled when appropriate, when the records do not document the pre-injury division of household labor or the current limitations well enough to quantify the tasks and hours. Where that record exists, the quantification proceeds from it, and the report states which facts came from documents and which from the interview so either side can test them.
What does KWVRS deliver at the end of a household services engagement?
A written report that identifies the household tasks affected, quantifies the hours devoted to each with a recognized household production framework, applies replacement-cost wage data for the tasks and the area, and documents the method and the reductions applied: residual capacity, the horizon the medical evidence supports, and any overlap with attendant care. Present value is added by a forensic economist when the case requires it.
Who at KWVRS works on a household services engagement?
Both discipline leads, because the analysis spans two disciplines: the task and hour quantification is vocational work under Matthew Putts, the Chief of Rehabilitation Services, and the replacement-cost valuation and any present-value calculation are economic work under Christopher Skerritt, the Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer. The public household services valuator summarizes the same replacement-cost framework at the level of demographic averages.
Related reading
Ready to Get Started on household services engagements?
Contact KWVRS to discuss scope, timing, and the deliverables appropriate to the matter. Plaintiff and defense.