A Reply to “A Comment on Self-Consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?”

Abstract

This Reply responds to a comment made to our article titled “Self-consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?” published recently in the Journal of Forensic Economics 2009. The Comment's two main points are that our definition of the “make-whole” doctrine is not exclusive and the forensic economic literature is not able as yet to forecast total household income. It is our contention that the first point is simply incorrect and that the second point, although containing some validity, does not justify using a method of calculating economic loss just because the forensic economist will find it difficult to forecast the earnings of two individuals rather than one individual.