Full opinion text
OPINION AND ORDER PETTINE, Senior District Judge. This is a medical malpractice action under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) brought by the plaintiffs, Donna and Peter Reilly, on behalf of themselves and their baby daughter, Heather. They allege that the defendant, acting by and through its attending obstetrician, failed to exercise a proper degree of care in the treatment of Donna Reilly during her labor and delivery of baby Heather, and that as a consequence Heather was born with a devastated brain. Jurisdiction is vested in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2675 of the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b) and 28 U.S.C. § 1331. I. FACTS Heather is a helpless individual, “significantly delayed developmentally” and unable to see; she will never be able to walk, talk, feed or take care of herself in any way. The events giving rise to this tragedy commenced on December 11, 1984. At the time, Peter Reilly was on duty with the United States Navy stationed in Newport, Rhode Island; his 22 year old expectant wife, Donna, was in active labor. At 3:35 p.m., she was admitted to the Newport Naval Hospital and placed in the charge of Lieutenant Commander Robert Farber, an obstetrician. A clear understanding of the negligence issue requires a detailing of both the progression of the events leading up to the actual birth and the expert medical testimony interpreting these events. The first dramatic incident occurred at 9:00 p.m. when a deep deceleration in fetal heart rate, which did not respond to therapy, was evidenced on the fetal monitor. The'record shows that at the time the fetal heart rate began to decelerate, the mother had been in labor for more than six hours, the birth was progressing very slowly; the mother’s cervix was not fully dilated and she had a reasonably large baby in the occiput posterior position (head facing up rather than down). All these signs screamed that the baby was being asphyxiated and that a caesarean section should have been performed without delay. Dr. Farber pressed for a vaginal birth instead of performing a caesarean section, which the plaintiffs’ specialist Dr. Barry Schifrin testified was mandated. Transcript (“Tr.”) of 11-18-86 at 53, 99-100 (Schifrin). It should be noted that Dr. Farber himself recognized this as shown by his own actions. He did, indeed, call and mobilize the operating room crew at approximately 9:00 p.m. with the specific intention of performing just such an operation but then abandoned the idea. The seriousness of this omission was described by Dr. Schifrin: [Dr. Farber] simply has no basis for optimism, just obstetrically, quite apart from the condition of the baby. He has no obstetrical reason to consider delivery imminent or if he is going to do it mechanically that it is going to be safe. He had no basis to assume that I can deliver this baby from below [vaginally] safely and quickly. Tr. of 11-18-86 at 103 (Schifrin). In addition to the foregoing negligent conduct, it was also established that Dr. Farber negligently tried to have Mrs. Reilly push before her cervix was fully dilated, Tr. of 11-18-86 at 106, 113 (Schifrin); Tr. of 11-19-86 at 31 (Mrs. Reilly). In short, he prolonged Mrs. Reilly’s labor in spite of the crisis at hand. Dr. Schifrin testified that “right under their eyes, that pattern ... progressively deteriorate^] and deteriorate^],” id. at 108; it “bespeaks for an [unequivocal episode of progressive, relentless asphyxiation of the baby right under their eyes.” Id. Exacerbating the situation, at about 10:15 p.m., Dr. Farber moved Mrs. Reilly to the operating room, after he had “inexplicably, beyond anything reasonable and logical,” removed the electronic monitor, id. at 114. I cannot possibly understand the sense of that no matter how fair I try to be ... in my own heart of hearts, there is no possible explanation that would justify that. Id. at 116. Dr. Schifrin explained that the removal of the monitor at that point was “absolutely” a deviation from the required standard of care [b]ecause they have had several episodes of fetal distress. They have ongoing deceleration. They have a deterioration of the pattern____ and it is inconceivable that they would not bring the monitor with them, under these circumstances. .It’s going to tell them that other episodes of decelerations are occurring, the heart rate pattern is deteriorating with the rising baseline____ Id. at 124-25. The need for the monitor in the delivery room was crucial. Had they not removed the monitor, they would have seen further dramatic deterioration and even then could have made a last, frantic effort to perform a caesarean that might have saved the baby. As Dr. Schifrin stated: Reasonably it is yet recoverable and if it’s not recoverable, if it is certainly not completely recoverable, it is almost certainly going to be a better outcome than what was eventuated in this case. This is a time related phenomenon] in relationship to the asphyxia and it’s an event-related phenomen[on] in relationship for the actual delivery itself. Id. at 128. In the operating room, Mrs. Reilly still did not respond; Dr. Farber, in his persistence for a vaginal birth, compounded his negligence by applying a vacuum and suction instrument to the baby’s head. Though such a procedures may be medically acceptable in certain circumstances, here it was not because there was progressive asphyxiation “on a chronic, on a long term basis.” As Dr. Schifrin explained: On top of that, I must in all fairness add, the additional potential trauma ... of the delivery itself ... [, which] could explain a great part of this____ [W]e have an asphyxia episode, which in and of itself can explain all of the injury____ On top of this we have what séems unequivocal evidence of trauma during delivery. You need no evidence of trauma to explain what happened here. But having explained what happened here on the basis of asphyxia, you then say was there potential, was there trauma visited on the baby on top of that and the answer is yes, unequivocally. Id. at 132. Dr. Schifrin’s testimony was buttressed by another expert, Dr. Ashby Coopland, a Board Certified obstetrician, practicing at Bay State Medical Center. Dr. Coopland added that there was a further deviation from the required standard of care in that the defendant did not obtain an accurate tracing of Mrs. Reilly’s uterine contractions. Dr. Coopland explained that the monitor was not accurately recording the contractions, which the defendant should have known were there. And yet he did nothing to correct this particularly bad situation, which was preventing him from receiving vital information. A remedy was readily available; Dr. Coopland said: There are several things that we would try to do. We would adjust the [external] tocodynamometer____ If that didn’t work, we would get ... another one. If the external would not work at all, then I think we would be — we would be forced to use an internal — internal pressure catheter. Tr. of 11-24-86 at 24 (Coopland). Capping the profusion of evidence establishing negligence, there is the attending doctor’s own admission in a deposition taken on September 9, 1986 that a caesarean should have been performed at 9:15 p.m.: Q. On December 11, 1984 would the standard of care of treating a patient such as Donna Reilly at 9:15 p.m. require delivery by caesarean section? A. ... yes, it should have been done. Plaintiffs’ exhibit 22 at 54. Though the defendant in no way disputes the foregoing — it did not offer a scintilla of evidence to debate liability or the nature and extent of the injuries suffered by the plaintiffs — it does make a feckless attack in its post-trial brief. For example, at page 46 of said brief, Dr. Schifrin is said to have testified that approximately 70% of the time healthy babies are bom, although the fetal heart monitor was indicating ominous fetal stress. (Trans. 11/18, Pg. 156-157, 158; 159.) That [Dr. Schifrin] has seen heart rate patterns such as Heather’s, and yet the baby was born normal and healthy (Trans. 11/18 162-163.) ... there are simply no guarantees in medicine even if you do everything right (Trans. 11/18 — 165). Dr. Schifrin later deleted the word “ominous” and substituted the word “abnormal.” This argument is completely misplaced; Dr. Schifrin’s testimony is cited entirely out of context. Viewed in the context of Dr. Schifrin’s explanation, which the defendant omitted, the 70% statistic has no application to this case: I believe the statistics that you’re using are my own. That is the prediction of the heart rate pattern using no clinical information whatsoever ...it [those statistics] does not include the certain knowledge that the baby is asphyxiated. On the basis of the certain knowledge that the baby is asphyxiated, as in this case, I can say with considerable degree of medical probability, far, far in excess of fifty percent that what happened here is directly related to that outcome. And that the statistics which you are quoting represent ... a blind estimation of outcome — blind estimation of outcome based on no clinical information whatsoever, only based on the clinical interpretation of the heart rate pattern from which all other information has been removed. That is in this one sense, not real medicine, not the real world, and in this situation in which there is no question of the baby’s asphyxia, on the basis of totally objective information, there can be no doubt about ... when this event [brain damage] happened. Tr. of 11-18-86 at 159-160 (emphasis added). There is nothing, simply nothing, in this record from which one can say that there was a 70% probability Heather would have been born healthy — there was no real expectation of a safe vaginal delivery at any time. In its narrow approach, the defendant’s thinking is focused solely bn an abnormal heart rate and thus neglects the factual context of the plaintiffs’ case. Later, at page 46 of its post-trial brief, the government states: “Dr. Schifrin’s testimony indicated that the Navy obstetrician was practicing within the standard of the community and that Dr. Schifrin’s level of expertise should not be imposed on this obstetrician.” This was with reference to reading and interpreting -the fetal heart monitor indicators. I assume the innuendo of this argument is that it was beyond the standard of care to expect an obstetrician to interpret the monitor charts, as Dr. Schifrin did, and thus know a crisis was at hand. This contention has no basis in the record; indeed, it is belied by the record. As the plaintiffs state in their reply brief at page 85: “Dr. Schifrin very carefully pointed out that he would, never hold Dr. Farber to his (Dr. Schifrin’s) standard of interpretation, but was just holding him to the standard of a good, solid reliable obstetrician. [Tr. of 11/18/86, at 109 (Schifrin).]” As Dr. Schifrin stated: And let me just emphasize that that is a minimum ... a minimal standard of care ... this is a basic fundamental minimal standard of care — Tr. of 11-18-86 at 116 (emphasis added). The incredibility of the government making this frivolous argument is further manifested in the record as noted in the margin. In conclusion, the defendant tries to create in its brief what does not appear in the record: that Dr. Farber merely made an error of judgment that does not violate the standard of care for the average practitioner. No such evidence was offered or solicitéd at trial; there is not even a suggestion that Dr. Farber made an error of judgment. This argument is a pure figment and a rather reckless statement. The overwhelming evidence and unequivocal testimony of all the plaintiffs’ experts is that “the standard of care for the average practicing obstetrician treating and caring for Donna and Heather Reilly on that day [December 11, 1984] required prompt delivery.” Tr. of 11-18-86 at 52 (Schifrin); Tr. of 11-24-86 at 22 (Coopland). Dr. Coopland agreed that a caesarean section should have been performed at around 9:15 p.m., Tr. of 11-24-86 at 29, and added yet another omission: Dr. Farber further deviated from the standard of care by failing to obtain fetal scalp blood samples. Id. at 25. II. APPLICABLE LAW AND FINDINGS: NEGLIGENCE Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the United States is liable “in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances,” 28 U.S.C. § 2674, on claims against the government for personal injuries “caused by the negligent or wrongful act ... [of its employees] while acting within the scope of [their] ... employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). The federal district courts have exclusive jurisdiction to hear these actions. 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). The tortious conduct in this case took place in Rhode Island; thus the applicable law is that of Rhode Island. In this state, the standard of care imposed upon a doctor is enunciated in Wilkinson v. Vesey, 110 R.I. 606, 613, 295 A.2d 676, 682 (1972), where the court stated: The physician’s standard of care has been defined as the employment of the same degree of diligence and skill which is commonly possessed by other members of the profession who are engaged in the same type of practice in similar localities having due regard for the state of scientific knowledge at the time of treatment. Both Dr. Schifrin and Dr. Coopland testified that the deviations from the standard in this case were unacceptable for any obstetrician wherever such person might be practicing. See tr. of 11-18-86 at 115-16 (Schifrin); tr. of 11-24-86 at 22-23 (Coop-land). “Localities” as used by the state Supreme Court does not have a parochial meaning; it has been liberalized and so it follows that the standard in Rhode Island is no less than that existing in Boston, Massachusetts or New York City. Schenck v. Roger Williams General Hospital, 119 R.I. 510, 521, 382 A.2d 514, 520 (1977); Wilkinson v. Vesey, 110 R.I. at 613, 295 A.2d at 682. Based on the foregoing facts and the applicable law, I find the defendant negligent and consequently required to respond in damages. III. DAMAGES The plaintiffs seek economic damages for Heather’s future care and loss of earning capacity! They also seek non-ecónomic damages for the following: the loss of Heather’s enjoyment of the quality of life, conscious past and future pain and suffering; Mr. and Mrs. Reilly’s past and present emotional distress resulting from witnessing Heather’s traumatic birth and from caring for Heather; Mr. and Mrs. Reilly’s loss of their daughter’s love, society and affection; and Mr. and Mrs. Reilly’s loss of each other’s love, society and affection. Heather’s future care is divided into two phases: at home from 1986-2025, and residential care from 2026-2064. This will be explained in part III, B, 2, infra. For care at home, the plaintiffs seek recovery for the following seventeen items: Ranch-Style Home $ 169,545 Architectural Modifications, including Fees 68,433 Special Room Equipment 16,716 Treatment Equipment $ 21,416 Medications, Lab Tests and Special Products 105,837 Electric Wheelchair 27,933 Electric Wheelchair Maintenance 15,093 Modified Van 115,659 Van Operating Costs 68,501 Medical Support Services 144,216 Support Services: Heather 1,054,286 Support Services: Parents 59,762 L.P.N. Care 5,753,853 Babysitting 179,426 Respite Care 92,859 Rehabilitation Engineer & Equip-. ment 83,614 Special Education Teacher 361,364 Total: $8,338,513 For residential care, the itemization of damages the plaintiffs seek are as follows: Medications, Lab Tests & Special Products $ 24,722 Electric Wheelchair 12,419 Electric Wheelchair Maintenance 9,354 Modified Van 21,274 Van Operating Costs 19,363 Medical Support Services 118,145 Support Services: Heather 1,888,855 Support Services: Parents 24,085 Home Visit Care 388,105 Rehabilitation Engineer & Equipment 43,664 Special Education Teacher 354,849 Full-Time Case Manager, 2042-2064 89,400 Legal Guardian 4,194 Residential Care . 1,180,016 Total: $4,178,434 The plaintiffs also seek compensation for the value of Donna Reilly’s services as a “case manager” between the years 1986 and 2042, in the amount of: $1,095,695 Grand Total: $13,612,642 As accurately summarized by plaintiffs’ counsel, the testimony proved, and the government does not dispute, that Heather suffered from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy which has left her “significantly delayed developmentally” and unable to see. As already stated, she will never be able to walk, talk, feed herself, or take care of herself in any way. Compounding this complex problem is the future physical development of the child. She will develop sexually and physically which, of course, will add immeasurably to the problems attendant on her care and treatment. Though Heather’s condition is permanent, she will be able to be trained so as to recognize and become more intact and responsive to her environment. Proximate cause is not at issue here; it is as well established as is the negligence of the defendant. It follows, therefore, that the plaintiffs are entitled to all damages that are the natural and probable consequence of the negligent conduct. This is “black letter” law as enunciated by our Rhode Island courts. Main Realty Co. v. Blackstone Valley Gas & Electric Co., 59 R.I. 29, 50, 193 A. 879 (1937); see also Atlantic Tubing & Rubber Co. v. Int’l Engraving Co., 528 F.2d 1272, 1277 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 817, 97 S.Ct. 60, 50 L.Ed.2d 77 (1976). And I quite agree with the defense that such damages are recoverable so long as they are based on “legally competent evidence instead of conjecture, speculation or mere possibility.” Pescatore v. McIntosh, 113 R.I. 139, 149, 319 A.2d 21, 27 (1974). Each item of damages the plaintiffs seek will be discussed separately as to both the facts and the law. A. Non-economic Losses 1. Heather’s Past and Future Pain and Suffering In a previous confrontation with this tough task, I stated: I will now consider pain and suffering. The full measure of a tribunal’s sound discretion must be employed in assessing a fair amount as damages for the pain and suffering endured and/or to be experienced in the future by the injured party. The amorphous nature of the subject and the infinite variables that come into play make it impossible for the courts to fashion any precise rule. However, the strictures of reasonableness, good sense, nature of the injuries, length of the suffering and the eschewal of sentimentality are guides which assist in determining a fair award. Each case must be viewed in the perspective cast by its unique facts and should not be controlled by judgments rendered in other cases — identical facts in different cases can never exist. No two individuals are alike and no two injuries to separate individuals are ever counterparts of each other. Griffin v. United States, 500 F.2d 1059 (3rd Cir. 1974); Frankel v. Heym, 466 F.2d 1226 (3rd Cir.1972); Wry v. Dial, 18 Ariz.App. 503, 503 P.2d 979 (1973); 22 Am.Jur.2d Damages, Sec. 368, 476. Caron v. United States, 410 F.Supp. 378, 395 (D.R.I.), aff'd, 548 F.2d 366 (1st Cir. 1976). The plaintiff, Heather Reilly, seeks an award of more than two million dollars for the pain and suffering she has endured and will continue to suffer for the rest of her life. The government does not deny the enormity of the injuries and suffering, past and future, which she has endured and will continue to endure. Here the uncontradicted evidence shows Heather’s condition as follows: she is permanently and profoundly brain damaged; she feels pain and discomfort, especially during essential physical therapy; she used to cry and scream when touched; she now suffers and cries from colic, gas, muscle contractions and the need to be repositioned; she vomits and when she does so, she is unable to move out of the way — as a consequence, if not immediately caught, she lies in it until attended to; and she needs nasal suctioning and regular chest therapy to relieve build-up of phlegm in her lungs. All this is caused by her brain damage. This condition has been going on for the past two years, and I have heard no evidence to indicate that these difficulties will abate in the future. To the contrary, the evidence is that the condition will remain. Rhode Island law allows recovery for past and future pain and suffering in personal injury actions. See Hayhurst v. LaFlamme, 441 A.2d 544, 545 (R.I.1982). The defendant does not argue that there is no entitlement here for Heather’s past and future pain and suffering. Rather, the defendant correctly asserts that only compensatory damages can be awarded under the FTCA, and that excessive damages, though characterized as compensatory, are actually punitive and not allowable. It cites Felder v. United States, 543 F.2d 657, 669 (9th Cir.1976) in support of this position. As I stated in Caron, supra, at 396: I must exercise my discretion and make an award that comports with fairness. In all candor such an éxercise is nothing more than the administration of personalized justice. How can it be otherwise when the end product of existing decisional law confesses that the computation of an award for pain and suffering cannot be impersonalized through the formulation of any inflexible rule? As a consequence, what I do here, in the exercise of what I deem to be “sound discretion,” has to be a manifestation of my own economic predilections in repairing a harm caused by another’s wrong. However else it may be termed, it is nothing more — it is nothing less. In Caron, supra, ten years ago, I awarded $500,000 in the face of a $1,500,000 request. A court should seek to maintain some degree of uniformity in its approach to similar problems. But it must not lose sight of the differences each case presents when compared to others — if comparisons can be made with logic and intelligence. I will not attempt a comparison of the physical condition of the Caron and Reilly babies; it suffices to say both are tragically destroyed. However, it is clear, in today’s setting, the crass assessment of money must recognize its present value. Being as “dispassionate” as “my abilities allow” and “keenly sensitive to the responsibility which is mine,” I find that one million ($1,000,000) dollars is a fair award “for a lifetime of pain and suffering to be endured by this crippled mind.” 2. Psychic Injury to Mr. and Mrs. Reilly Psychic injury to a parent caused by observing the physical injury of her child was first determined to be compensable under Rhode Island law by this Court in D’Ambra v. United States, 354 F.Supp. 810 (D.R.I.), aff'd in part and vacated in part, 481 F.2d 14 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1075, 94 S.Ct. 592, 38 L.Ed.2d 482 (1973), aff'd, 518 F.2d 275 (1st Cir.1975). A finding of liability resulted in an appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which court certified the following question to the Rhode Island Supreme Court: May a non-negligent plaintiff mother, who is foreseeably in the vicinity of her minor child but not in the child’s zone of danger, recover damages for mental and emotional harm, accompanied by physical symptoms, caused by observing the death of her child resulting exclusively from the negligence of defendant in driving the truck which struck the child, although she suffered no physical impact? The State Supreme Court in D'Ambra v. United States, 114 R.I. 643, 338 A.2d 524 (1975) gave an affirmative answer to that inquiry, announcing at the same time certain criteria to be satisfied: “physical proximity, the actual witnessing of the accident, and the personal relationship existing between the bystander-plaintiff and the victim.” 114 R.I. at 656, 338 A.2d at 531. It follows that within the framework of the question, psychic injury is recoverable if “accompanied by physical symptoms.” Therein lies the difficulty of this controversy, because Mrs. Reilly does not appear to have suffered any physical symptoms, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court neither was asked in DAmbra nor has subsequently decided whether bystanders may recover emotional distress damages when they have suffered no accompanying physical symptoms. If I were of the same mind, there would be no way I could improve on the extensive and scholarly analysis of this criterion for recovery as expounded by Judge Selya in Plummer v. Abbott Laboratories, 568 F.Supp. 920, 925-27 (D.R.I.1983). He concluded his examination of this issue by saying: There is no valid reason to believe that the state supreme court, especially given its prior pronouncements in related matters, would not once again align itself with the overwhelming weight of authority across the nation____ [T]he wave of modern jurisprudence still crests upon the tenet that psychic trauma is not actionable where, as here, both impact and physical manifestations of the asserted emotional harm are absent. Id. at 926-27. However, I am more impressed by the treatise in Culbert v. Sampson’s Supermarkets, Inc., 444 A.2d 433 (Me.1982), which jettisoned the symptomatology requirement in bystander emotional distress actions. Accepting there is ah overwhelming weight of authority, as asserted in Plummer, I cannot conclude that it should be followed when juxtaposed with such sound and learned reasoning to the. contrary. If I were to choose, I would travel the road laid out by Culbert. I find Justice Violette’s arguments most persuasive; after reviewing the debate in this area, in writing for the court, he concluded: Several courts appear to further restrict liability to instances where the mental distress is evidenced by physical symptoms or injuries. See, e.g., Dziokonski v. Babineau, 375 Mass. 555, 380 N.E.2d 1295 (1978); Corso v. Merrill, 119 N.H. 647, 406 A.2d 300 (1979). In Wallace v. Coca-Cola Bottling Plants, Inc., Me., 269 A.2d 117 (1970), this Court required proof of “objective symptomatology” (in that case, nausea) before the plaintiff could recover for mental distress. We now reject the notion that the plaintiff must allege or prove physical injuries or physical manifestations of the distress, as required by Wallace, supra, as well as emotional and mental trauma, in order to prevail. We do so for three reasons. First, the requirement in its application is overinclusive since it permits recovery for demonstrably trivial mental distress claims accompanied by physical symptoms. Second, it is under-inclusive since serious distress is arbitrarily deemed not compensable if not accompanied by physical symptoms. Third, such a rule “encourages extravagant pleading and distorted testimony.” Molien v. Kaiser Foundation, 27 Cal.3d 916, 929,167 Cal.Rptr. 831, 838, 616 P.2d 813, 820 (1980). Given the state of modern medical science, we can safely conclude that proof of “objective symptomatology” is no longer necessary, although it may be highly persuasive evidence, to establish mental distress. Sinn v. Burd, 404 A.2d at 679. Id. at 437. In view of such reasoning, I find it very difficult to predict whether the Rhode Island courts would adopt the majority rule on this issue. I therefore believe this question should be certified to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. This inclination is strengthened because, in the first instance, the First Circuit Court of Appeals certified the psychic injury question in D’Ambra, supra. In addition, the quantum of damages being sought by the plaintiffs is most substantial. Because a certification as to symptomatology should not be made unless all the established D’Ambra criteria have been satisfied, however, I will discuss the “physical proximity, the actual witnessing of the accident, and the personal relationship existing between the bystander-plaintiff[s] and the victim.” 114 R.I. at 656, 338 A.2d at 531. It cannot be disputed that all exist in this case. Mr. and Mrs. Reilly were present throughout the delivery; they were aware of all the difficulties being encountered, which awareness culminated in seeing Heather’s physical condition. Plaintiffs’ counsel vividly describes this with reference to the transcript, in his post-trial brief at page 73: Instead of Heather’s birth being the end of this traumatic episode, both Mr. and Mrs. Reilly were keenly aware of the problems that were being encountered. When Mr. Reilly saw his daughter for the first time he was shocked and scared to immediately notice that she looked blue ‘[f]rom mid chest up [to] her head.’ [Tr. of 11/14/86, at 82 (Mr. Reilly).] Mrs. Reilly instructed Peter to go over and check the baby’s condition, knowing that there was a problem. {Id. at 82) They both noticed a strange silence from Heather, she had yet to cry. Through the crowd of doctors and medical staff that were working on Heather, Mr. and Mrs. Reilly watched as Heather’s limbs were lifted two or three times from the table and dropped like dead weight. They thought that their baby was dead. The doctor called for sodium biocarb and that just reinforced their fears. [Tr. of 11/19/86, at 35 (Mrs. Reilly); Tr. of 11/24/86, at 81-82 (Mr. Reilly).] I cannot conceive of a situation having greater physical proximity, relationship, and witnessing of the incident. With the three established D’Ambra criteria satisfied, this matter is ripe for certification. As I have already stated, there is no proof of “objective symptomatology” for Mrs. Reilly; and though Mr. Reilly’s depression may be causally related to Heather’s birth, their mental distress claims should be considered jointly. This item of damages will therefore not be considered at this time. The question will be certified to the State Supreme Court. The plaintiffs will draft the question and appropriate certification. 3. Loss of Consortium Mr. and Mrs. Reilly have each requested $1,000,000 in damages for the loss of spousal consortium and $1,000,000 in damages for the loss of Heather’s society and companionship. The defendant’s objection to these claims is premised on the failure of the plaintiffs to make them administratively and the fact that they are being sought “via an amended complaint, ^Miich was filed on the day of trial” and so was prejudicial; furthermore, the defendant argues, they should not be allowed since “such claim[s] would have [their] foundation on plaintiffs’ psychic injury claim which is not recognized under Rhode Island law, in the circumstances of this case.” Defendant’s post-trial reply memorandum at 5. R.I.G.L. § 9-1-41 provides in pertinent part: (a) A married person is entitled to recover damages for loss of consortium caused by tortious injury to his or her spouse. (c) Parents are entitled to recover damages for the loss of their unemancipated minor child’s society and companionship caused by tortious injury to said minor. Rhode Island law thus clearly allows Mr. and Mrs. Reilly to recover for the loss of Heather’s society and companionship. The tragedy being endured by Heather’s parents is so acute that it would be a needless exercise to attempt to articulate the depth of their societal and companionship loss. They have been deprived of the enrichment of life a baby brings to parents. As evidenced in their testimony, Mr. and Mrs. Reilly will never experience the legion of joys a parent reaps in the progression of companionship with a daughter as a baby, child, teenager and adult. However, it is unclear whether the facts of this case entitle Mr. and Mrs. Reilly to recover for the loss of each other’s spousal consortium. The statutory remedy requires tortious injury to the spouse whose consortium has been lost. Here, the cognizability of such injury turns on whether Rhode Island law allows bystander emotional distress claims in the absence of physical symptomatology. Since I have decided to certify this question to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, I must defer ruling on the spousal consortium claims. Moreover, because I believe that this item and the claims for the loss of Heather’s society and companionship should be considered together, I will not rule on any loss of consortium claims at this time. B. Economic Losses 1. Loss of Earning Capacity (Heather) Loss of earning capacity is an entitlement under Rhode Island law. In Markham v. Cross Transportation, Inc., 119 R.I. 213, 222, 376 A.2d 1359, 1364 (1977), wherein the plaintiff, because of injuries she received due to the negligence of the defendant, “was forced to give up her job” and was “only able to work part-time,” the court approved recovery for loss of future earning capacity. And in D'Andrea v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 109 R.I. 479, 488-89, 287 A.2d 629, 633 (1972), the court sustained the father’s right to recover for the impairment or diminution of his minor child’s earning capacity. It is indisputable that Heather is permanently injured and will ever be totally deprived of earning power. Nevertheless, the defendant offers several arguments in support of its position that this item of damages should be disallowed. First, the defendant maintains that an award for lost earning capacity would be punitive and hence not allowable under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Second, the defendant disputes the plaintiffs’ calculations of Heather’s lost earning capacity, on three grounds: that inflation was erroneously considered; that the wrong tables were used to predict the lost work expectancy; and that the future earnings were incorrectly discounted to present value. I will discuss each of these objections separately, after which I will comprehensively review the parties’ economic calculations. a. Punitiveness The defense maintains that since the plaintiffs seek an award for future medical and maintenance expenses for Heather, an award for lost earning capacity would be punitive. The rationale for this conclusion is the postulate that a medical and maintenance award would provide “all the necessary living expenses for Heather [and would also include an] award for institutionalization when her parents are no longer capable of caring for her.” In support, the defendant cites Flannery v. United States, 718 F.2d 108, 112 (4th Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 467 U.S. 1226, 104 S.Ct. 2679, 81 L.Ed.2d 874 (1984), and Corrigan v. United States, 609 F.Supp. 720, 733 (E.D.Va.1985), rev’d on other grounds, 815 F.2d 954 (4th Cir.1987). In Flannery, the court felt compelled to reduce the award “for lost earnings because in part, it duplicates the award of future medical expenses.” 718 F.2d at 112. The court reasoned: An award of lost earnings is made to an incapacitated plaintiff so that he may provide for himself and his dependents those necessities, comforts and niceties he would have provided out of his earned income had he not been injured. In an FTCA wrongful death action, the survivors are entitled to an award based upon lost future earnings of the decedent only after a deduction of the decedent’s estimated living expenses, for the survivors are entitled to no greater benefit than they would have enjoyed had the decedent lived and continued working. Hartz v. United States, 415 F.2d 259 (5th Cir. 1969). A successful plaintiff is entitled to be made as financially secure as he would have been had there been no injury or death, but no more. In the usual case, a living plaintiff must pay his own living expenses, though an award for lost earnings may be the source of his funds. In this case, however, the plaintiff will be required to pay nothing, for the award of future medical expenses includes all of the personal expenses that the plaintiff will incur. Indeed, the testimony was that, in the future, he will need little skilled medical care. His personal expenses will be to provide himself with housing, food, and nursing and custodial care of the kind provided in a nursing home. That is the expense covered by the award for future medical expense. The label should not be permitted to mislead us, for, in truth, the judgment requires the United States to pay the plaintiff’s personal living expenses twice. Thus, the award for lost earnings, as finally deter^ mined, should be reduced by the amount of the award for future medical expenses. Id. at 112-13. I cannot accept the majority opinion in Flannery as controlling decisional law to be applied in this case. To begin with, it was not a unanimous opinion. I agree with the dissent, which viewed the federal court as bound by a state law that entitled a personal injury plaintiff to damages both for lost earning capacity and for future medical expenses. The United States did not question the district court’s award for lost earning capacity; rather, the Flannery court sua sponte raised this issue. Apart from this, I believe the opinion is flawed in the scope of coverage it attaches to medical expenses; regardless of the factual analogies to Flannery, I cannot reason as that court did. The question is whether or not there will be duplicate payments. The answer is “no”. The medical expenses do not cover the personal expenses the plaintiff would have incurred in earning her living, such as housing, food, and clothing. The Flannery court considered nursing and custodial care as part of these estimated personal expenses; with all due respect, I cannot accept this. Looking to Rhode Island law, I find that in analogous cases “personal expenses” are confined to those the claimant “ ‘would have to lay out as a producer to render the service or to acquire the money that he might be expected to produce’____ ‘Personal expenses’ ... include] the expenses he would have to incur to generate his estimated future earnings or income.” Romano v. Duke, 111 R.I. 459, 461-61, 304 A.2d 47, 49 (1973) (ascertaining damages receivable under Rhode Island wrongful death statute). To me, nursing and custodial care do not fall within the foregoing definition, which I feel is perfectly applicable to this case. As the future care programs prepared by Drs. Minsky and Dr. Bussey indicate, see exhibits 37 and 38, Heather’s future care needs, because of her condition, are a far cry from personal expenses incurred in earning a gross income. As these are two separate and distinct compensable losses, it can be said that an award for both does not result in a windfall. I reject the contrary view espoused by Flannery, just as the Ninth Circuit did in Shaw v. United States, 741 F.2d 1202, 1208 (9th Cir.1984). The plaintiffs rightfully point out that in Shaw, wherein an $11,732,345.43 award had been made by the trial judge, the Court of Appeals flatly rejected the Flannery holding that damages beyond future care costs are punitive under federal law, stating: [t]he Ninth Circuit has squarely rejected this analysis____ In Felder, supra, we recognized that such an expansive view of federal law would “impinge seriously upon the architecture of the [Federal Tort Claims] Act which provides for recovery according to the lex loci delictus.” 741 F.2d at 1208 (citing Felder v. United States, 543 F.2d 657, 675 (9th Cir.1976)). Further, I point out that the Shaw court accepted the following definition of punitive damages: [D]amages are “punitive” only when “awarded separately for the sole purpose of punishing a tortfeasor who inflicted injuries ‘maliciously or wantonly, and with circumstances of contumely or indignity.’ ” 741 F.2d at 1208 (Kalavity v. United States, 584 F.2d 809, 811 n. 1 (6th Cir. 1978)). I agree. I also agree that coercing the government into double compensation may be considered punitive, but that this simply is not the case here. I therefore find that Heather’s loss of earning capacity is compensable. Furthermore, even if it may be said that the expenses to earn the projected lost earnings should be deducted, the defendant in keeping with its consistent conduct in the defense of this case offered no evidence in this regard. b. Inflation Should the Court make an award for lost wages, the defendant further argues it is improper because the economist considered inflation, which the defendant maintains is not allowed under Rhode Island law. Rhode Island law does not preclude consideration of the effects of inflation. In Markham v. Cross Transportation, Inc., 119 R.I. 213, 222-23 and n. 5, 376 A.2d 1359, 1364 and n. 5 (1977), the court said: Although there is little authority in our jurisdiction to guide us in enumerating admissible factors in determining loss of future earning capacity, we do have the often-stated standard in negligence cases that “ ‘[c]onsequences which are contingent, speculative, or merely possible, are not proper to be considered in ascertaining the damages.’” MacGregor v. Rhode Island Co., 27 R.I. 85, 87, 60 A. 761, 762 (1905). We do not feel that predictions of wage growth due to economic conditions over a period of time are so speculative as to be patently inadmissible. We see them as no more speculative than testimony as to prospects for future advancement. See Miller v. Rhode Island Co., 82 A. 787 (R.I.1912), 22 Am.Jur.2d Damages § 315 (1965). Thus, if the trial justice considers the information material and relevant to the issue of damages in a particular case and based on competent evidence of economic conditions, then the jury is entitled to give it whatever weight, in its judgment, is warranted. The trial justice thus did not err in allowing the economics expert to testify, as to predicted future growth of wages due to economic conditions for the benefit of the jury’s assessment of damages. Markham is still the law with regard to inflation. The government also looks for support to Turcotte v. Ford Motor Co., 494 F.2d 173 (1st Cir.1974). This case was decided before Markham. In Turcotte, the First Circuit did not refuse to allow adjustment for inflationary factors as the defendant alleges. In pertinent part, the court said: We next turn to Ford’s contentions concerning the accounting at trial for future inflation and productivity increases. However, the record is unclear as to precisely how [the expert] made his final adjustments for inflation and productivity. We cannot tell whether in fact he made the error which Ford suggests. It does seem clear, however, that the Rhode Island damages statute does not require adjustments for inflation and productivity to be made only after projected earnings are reduced to present value. The sentence in paragraph 3 of § 10-7-1.1 which authorizes consideration of “economic trends,” see n. 14, is best interpreted as a general observation on the overall computation process. Therefore, to avoid the possibility of error suggested above, we think it advisable, upon remand, that decedent’s projected lifetime earnings and expenses be adjusted to reflect future inflation and increases in productivity before the final net earnings figure is reduced to present value. Id. at 186 (emphasis in original). The Turcotte court remanded the case ordering that adjustments for future inflation be made before the final net earnings figure was reduced to present value, and not because inflationary factors were considered. The government, for further support, cites Caron, supra, and Foskey v. United States, 490 F.Supp. 1047 (D.R.I.1980). Both Caron and Foskey are inapposite. Rhode Island law did not apply to either of these cases. In Foskey, the substantive law was that of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 490 F.Supp. at 1065; the law in Pennsylvania unequivocally stated that inflation could not be considered. Id. It is true that in Foskey, I also looked to federal law for guidance on future inflation, in light of the plaintiff’s argument that “state law merely controls the recoverable items of damages,” not the amount or method of calculating each recoverable item. Id. at 1065. And because the Third Circuit provided no guidance as to whether inflationary factors should be considered, I looked to Williams v. United States, 435 F.2d 804 (1st Cir.1970). Since Williams, like Penn-' sylvania, rejected the use of inflationary factors, I refused to take inflation into account in Foskey. 490 F.Supp. at 1065-66. Nevertheless, the Williams court’s holding that anticipated future earnings could not be increased by some inflationary multiple is not controlling here. As the plaintiffs pointed out in argument, Williams was decided “before the Rhode Island Supreme Court had given its approval of inflationary consideration in Markham and under a different wrongful death statute than that discussed in Turcotte. Unlike the Turcotte statute, the statute in Williams, which had to be strictly construed, did not expressly allow for the consideration of inflationary factors.” Furthermore, it is important to note that the Rhode Island legislature responded directly to the Williams decision: it amended the Rhode Island death statute to make clear that expenditures for the support of the decedent’s dependents were to be disregarded and that evidence of inflationary and deflationary factors could be considered; so that we can say with veritable certainty that both this state’s legislature and this state’s highest court have approved the consideration of inflation in projecting future lost earnings under Rhode Island law. Consequently, even if inflation is found to have been considered by the plaintiffs’ expert in making their projections, it would not negate their calculation. In fact, the plaintiffs’ experts only “considered” inflation insofar as they excluded inflationary factors from both the estimate of lost earnings and the discounting to present value, as explained in part III, B, 1, d, infra. c. Use of Wrong Tables Another objection by the government is that the plaintiffs, in their computation, erroneously used life expectancy tables instead of work life expectancy tables as they should have. It cites in support, R.I. G.L. § 9-19-38 as amended. It argues that [t]he act without question makes a specific distinction as to what tables are used when determining life expectancy and work life expectancy ... [t]here is a distinction. Pray v. Narragansett Improvement [434 A.2d 923, 930 (R.I. 1981) ]; Gonyer v. Russell, 160 F.Supp. 537 (U.S.D.C.R.I.1958), — cited in Pray; Williams v. United States, 435 F.2d 804 (1st Cir.1970).... It is clear that earning capacity in a personal injury (medical malpractice) case, is equated with “work life” expectancy. Defendant’s post-trial reply memorandum at 7. I find it rather difficult to understand why this argument is being made. Unless I have misread the evidence, the plaintiffs’ experts did base their calculations on “work expectancy” and not on “life expectancy.” This is clearly set forth in plaintiff’s reply brief at 50-51: In Heather’s case, the economists assumed her work expectancy would be from age 22 to age 70, retirement age. [Tr. of 11/25/86, at 37-38 (Green); Tr. of 11/26/86, at 45 (Wright).] Heather’s life expectancy is 78-79 years. [Tr. of 11/25/86, at 51 (Green); Tr. of 11/26/86, at 45 (Wright).] The economists also calculated Mrs. Reilly’s work expectancy up to retirement age. [Tr. of 11/25/86, at 41-42 (Green); Tr. of 11/26/86, at 49 (Wright).] (emphasis in original). I interpret this testimony in the same way. The government’s expert also assumed Heather’s and Mrs. Reilly’s work expectancy extended to age 70. Although the government's expert thereafter reduced the work expectancy by 40%, I have found this latter reduction unacceptable, for reasons discussed in part III, B, 1, e, infra. Finally, the government’s legal arguments are misplaced. I fail to see how an evidentiary statute, section 9-19-38 applies to this case, and even if it did, where it mandates the use of any specific tables, or supports the defendant’s expert’s reduction of work expectancy by 40%. The very cases cited by the defense do not support its position. d. Discounting Methods The defendant’s last objection concerns the methodology of the plaintiffs’ economists in discounting the projected stream of future earnings to present value. It maintains that the method chosen by the plaintiffs’ economists violates the teachings of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Pfeifer, 462 U.S. 523, 103 S.Ct. 2541, 76 L.Ed.2d 768 (1983). I disagree. Jones & Laughlin involved a personal injury suit brought by a coal barge employee against the barge owner under the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. § 905(b). In awarding damages, the district court had applied the forum state’s “total offset method” of projecting and discounting the plaintiff’s lost future income. Under local law, the total offset method presumed that future inflation would be equal to the relevant future interest rates. Since this presumption meant that the two factors would cancel each other out, the court left both factors out of its calculations: the projected future income stream was not multiplied by an inflation rate, and the resulting stream of income was not discounted by an interest rate. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. 678 F.2d 453 (3d Cir. 1982). The Supreme Court vacated the damages award and remanded for further consideration, instructing the district court to “make a deliberate choice” in its method of discounting, “rather than assuming that it is bound by a rule of state law.” 462 U.S. at 553, 103 S.Ct. at 2558. Earlier in its opinion, the Supreme Court had noted that calculating the present value of future damages involves two steps: estimating the future stream of money; and discounting the future stream to present value. 462 U.S. at 537-38,103 S.Ct. at 2551. Later, in requiring the district court to choose an appropriate federal rule for dealing with the consequences of inflation, the Supreme Court sketched out certain guidelines to govern these calculations. These are well summed up by the plaintiffs in their memorandum of May 22, 1987 relevant to Dr. Wright’s testimony (“plaintiffs’ Wright memorandum”) at 2: [I]f in estimating the relevant future [money] stream, inflation is factored into the calculation, then the chosen discount rate must also include an inflationary factor. On the other hand, if in estimating the relevant future stream, inflation is not factored into the calculation, then the discount rate must likewise be inflation free. [462 U.S. at 547-48 [103 S.Ct. at 2556]]. In other words, the basic guideline established by the Supreme Court is that both steps of the process must treat inflation in the same way. In Jones & Laughlin, which focused on lost future income, the Supreme Court described three alternative methods of calculating lost income that fall within these guidelines. First, if the future income stream is adjusted upward to reflect the consequences of inflation, “then the proper discount rate would be the after-tax market interest rate.” 462 U.S. at 547-48, 103 S.Ct. at 2556. This market-rate discounting method takes account of inflation at both ends of the calculation, because existing rates of return are already adjusted upward by the market to reflect anticipated price inflation. 462 U.S. at 538-39, 103 S.Ct. at 2551. Second, if the income stream is not adjusted upward to reflect anticipated inflation, then the court must discount the income stream with a below-market rate that does not incorporate the marketplace’s inflationary expectations. 462 U.S. at 548, 103 S.Ct. at 2556. This below-market rate, also known as the “real” interest rate, is obtained by subtracting the anticipated inflation rate from the appropriate market rate; according to the Supreme Court, judges applying this method should “adopt[] a rate between 1 and 3%____” 462 U.S. at 549, 103 S.Ct. at 2556. Third, as a variation of the second alternative, the Supreme Court approved the “total offset” method of calculating future income losses. As described by the Court, this method presumes that the market interest rate equals the sum of the anticipated inflation rate and the anticipated productivity growth rate, such that the latter two trends combine to offset the effects of the market interest rate. 462 U.S. at 449-50, 103 S.Ct. at 2557. To apply this method, a court must estimate the future income stream assuming both zero inflation and zero societal productivity growth; then, no discounting whatsoever is needed to obtain the present value of the future income stream. In this case, it is abundantly clear from the record that the plaintiffs applied the second of the three methods approved in Jones & Laughlin, i.e., the below-market rate discounting method. The plaintiffs presented two economists to testify as to the present value of Heather’s lost earning capacity: Dr. Jerry Green from Harvard University and Dr. Arthur Wright from the University of Connecticut. Consistent with the approved below-market rate discounting method, Dr. Green testified that he excluded inflation both from the lost future income estimate and from the rate used in discounting that estimate to present value: I think it’s important to point out that since I didn’t include a factor for inflation in the cost projection then the correct method of discounting that to the [present] is to use a net of inflation interest rate, so all that is internally consistent. Tr. of 11-25-86 at 61-62 (Green) (emphasis added). Dr. Wright likewise testified as follows: Q. Mr. Sammartino kept asking you about whether you took inflation into consideration. Is it a fair statement that you took inflation into consideration by being sure that your calculations were inflation free? A. Yes. Q. By deducting inflation so that your calculations would not be affected by it? A. At every step, both sides. Tr. of 5-5-87 at 63 (Wright) (emphasis added); accord, Tr. of 4-16-87 at 58 (Wright). The plaintiffs’ experts consistently followed Jones v. Laughlin not only in their general methodology, but also in their particular choice of a discount rate. As indicated above, the Supreme Court provided the following guideline with respect to the below-market discount rate method: “we do not believe a trial court adopting such an approach ... should be reversed if it adopts a rate between 1 and 3% and explains :its choice.” 462 U.S. at 548-49, 103 S.Ct. at 2556. Here, Dr. Wright used a 2% real after-tax rate of interest and explained his choice as follows: As an estimate of the real rate of interest, I have used two percent — by the way this is real after tax rate of interest. The basis for that is as follows: ... I’m going to define the real rate of interest as the nominal rate of interest on a one year treasury debt instrument, a one year treasury note, and ... I want to deduct from that the expected rate of inflation over the same period, so that if I have a one year treasury note, I want to get some measure of expected rates of inflation on one year intervals. There is a source of data time series on expected rate[s] of inflation that is maintained and published by something called the Livingston Survey, and the Livingston Survey has found that over a long period the estimated real rate of interest according to this technique has been something over 2 percent. Something between 2 and 2 and V2 percent. If we then adjust roughly speaking by 25 to 30 percent for the federal tax liability on that, the result is about 2 percent, and so I discounted all of the net earning capacities at 2 percent per year as the real rate of interest. Tr. of 11-26-86 at 42-43 (Wright) (emphasis added); accord, Tr. of 5-5-87 at 39-41 (Wright); Tr. of 4-16-87 at 55-56 (Wright). In spite of Jones & Laughlin's clear approval of, inter alia, the below-market rate discounting method, the government maintains that its adoption by this Court would be error. First, the government asserts, “[i]t is obvious from the Court’s discussion, especially in the footnote [at 462 U.S. 523, 542, 103 S.Ct. at 2553], that this approach is not the best____” Defendant’s Wright memorandum at 6. In fact, the Court noted only that “a slight distortion” may result from below-market rate discounting, 462 U.S. at 542-43, n. 26, 103 S.Ct. at 2553, n. 26, whereas later in its opinion, the Court indicated a clear preference for either the below-market rate method or the total offset method, as against the market-rate discounting method. Market rate discounting “will normally be a costly and ultimately unproductive waste of ... resources ... [such that] both plaintiffs and trial courts should be discouraged from pursuing that approach.” 462 U.S. at 548, 103 S.Ct. at 2556. Second, the government cites a series of cases in support of the proposition that “Courts in this Circuit, and others have prohibited an adjustment for inflation when computing the discount figure, especially in Federal Tort Claims [c]ases.” Defendant's Wright memorandum at 11-12. The government’s strongest authority on point is Williams v. United States, 435 F.2d 804 (1st Cir.1970), which held that adjusting future earnings projections by some inflationary multiple constitutes inadmissible speculation, id. at 807. This case, like all the others cited in the government’s memorandum, was decided before Jones & Laughlin and as such can no longer be considered authoritative. Had Jones & Laughlin merely deemed inflation to be a permissible factor in setting discount rates, then the government’s argument from Williams, et al. might warrant closer scrutiny. But Jones v. Laughlin appears to have held that where inflationary trends are left out of the initial future damages estimate, then they must, if proved by sufficient evidence, be subtracted from the discount rate: the Court prefaced its summary of the three alternative discounting methods by stating, “we shall define the general boundaries within which a particular award will be considered legally acceptable.” 462 U.S. at 547, 103 S.Ct. at 2555. In light of the foregoing, I cannot accept the government’s contention that, under Jones & Laughlin, the court must adopt an inherently inflated market rate of “somewhere around 6%” in discounting the damages award to present value. Defendant’s Wright memorandum at 12. This contention, coupled with the government’s previously discussed argument that inflation may not be factored into the estimation of lost future income, constitutes advocacy of the precise inequity that the Jones & Laughlin court sought to eliminate from future damages awards; the government’s position, as the Supreme Court described it, would “deny the plaintiff the benefit of the impact of inflation on his future earnings, while giving the defendant the benefit of inflation’s impact on the interest rate that is used to discount those earnings to present value ... [This] inequity can no longer be tolerated.” 462 U.S. at 540-41, 103 S.Ct. at 2552. Both the clear reasoning of Jones & Laughlin and common sense principles of fairness require that I approve. the discounting method used by the plaintiffs’ expert economists. e. The Economists’ Calculations of Lost Earning Capacity Having disposed of the defendant’s specific objections to the plaintiffs’ methodology, I can proceed to review the actual calculations of the parties’ economic experts. Three distinguished economists testified. As discussed previously, two economists testified for the plaintiffs: Dr. Jerry Richard Green, a professor and chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University; and Dr. Arthur N. Wright, a professor and chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of Connecticut. One economist testified for the defendant: Dr. Joseph P. Mooney, a professor and former chairman of the Economics Department at LaSalle University. All three have written and published many scholarly works and are recognized as authorities in this discipline, which can be as complicated as the cybernetics of the most sophisticated computers. Dr. Mooney is in disagreement with only “some aspects” of the procedures used in calculating the plaintiffs’ claimed damages. In this section, I will compare the calculations of Doctors Wright and Moon