WPI 30.01.02 Economic Damages—Definition

RCW 4.56.250(1)(a).

The statute defines economic damages as “objectively verifiable monetary losses, including medical expenses, loss of earnings, burial costs, loss of use of property, cost of replacement or repair, cost of obtaining substitute domestic services, loss of employment and loss of business or employment opportunities.”

The WPI Committee chose not to define economic damages for the jury. The WPI Committee believes a separate definition is not necessary because economic damages are defined by example in the general instructions on the measure of economic and noneconomic damages. See WPI 30.01.01 (Measure of Economic and Noneconomic Damages—Personal Injury—No Contributory Negligence), WPI 30.02.01 (Measure of Economic and Noneconomic Damages—Personal Injury—Contributory Negligence—No Counterclaim), and WPI 30.03.01 (Measure of Economic and Noneconomic Damages—Personal Injury—Counterclaim). The approach of not defining economic damages also eliminates speculation about the meaning of the term “objectively verifiable,” which is not defined by the statute.

If it is necessary to define economic damages for the jury, a possible definition, which avoids the use of “objectively verifiable,” would be: “Economic damages are monetary losses that are reasonably capable of being verified.”

There is no authority to support the proposition that economic damages includes only the types of damages specifically called out in the statute. The WPI Committee is satisfied that the word “includes” indicates that all “verifiable monetary losses” are recoverable, even if the type of loss is not specifically called out in the statute.

For instructions which define specific claims, see WPI 30.08.01 (Measure of Economic Damages—Elements of Past Damages—Loss of Earnings—Adult Plaintiff, Emancipated Minor, or Minor Whose Parent Has Waived Wage Claim) and WPI 30.08.02 (Measure of Economic Damages—Elements of Future Damages—Loss of Earnings—Adult Plaintiff, Emancipated Minor, or Minor Whose Parent Has Waived Wage Claim) (both instructions include earning capacity as an element); WPI 30.09.01 (Measure of Economic Damages—Elements of Past Damages—Domestic Services/Nonmedical Expenses) and WPI 30.09.02 (Measure of Economic Damages—Elements of Future Damages—Domestic Services/Nonmedical Expenses) (both instructions include nonmedical expenses as an element); and WPI 30.10 (Measure of Damages—Damages to Personal Property—Repairs and Depreciation or Difference in Value Before and After Damage), WPI 30.11 (Measure of Damages—Damages to Personal Property—Repairs or Difference in Value Before and After Damage), WPI 30.12 (Measure of Damages—Damages to Personal Property—Cost of Repairs and Depreciation of Repaired Property), WPI 30.14 (Measure of Damages—Damages to Personal Property—Difference in Value Before and After Damage), and WPI 30.15 (Measure of Damages—Damages to Personal Property—Value Before Damage—No Salvage) (all are property damage instructions that include unlisted elements).