Business Liability and Economic Damages

Businesses exist to provide goods and services to customers, and in so doing they take risks. Among these risks is the possibility of losing money in lawsuits filed by customers, employees, or others negatively impacted by the business. Insurance provides some protection against these liabilities, but lawsuits still take their toll. This book covers the subject of economic damages and their role in lawsuits against businesses. In brief, economic damages are claimed losses that can be valued in terms of some market equivalent. As such, economic damages are a reasonably objective and predictable component of liability risk. Business managers and students working toward a business degree can and should get a handle on economic damages. The book shows readers how that can be accomplished by introducing them to relevant economic fundamentals and applying those fundamentals to a range of lawsuits, including tort claims of personal injury and wrongful death, wrongful termination of employees, and business contract disputes.

About the Author

Scott Gilbert, PhD, is an economist who is currently an associate professor of economics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and has been director of graduate and undergraduate economic studies there. He teaches courses in economic and business statistics, econometrics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, financial economics, and monetary economics.