Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) measure utility lost to nonfatal health problems. Economists using existing, empirically validated QALY scales, either in unmonetized or monetized form, can help to guide jury valuations of suffering and quality of life loss, increase award predictability, and thus encourage settlement. Valuing a plaintiff's utility loss starts with a medical assessment of health status changes on a QALY scale. Key considerations in scale selection are the ability to accurately measure the plaintiff's functional losses (e.g., coverage of sensory losses for a hearing-loss victim) and availability of a good calibration that converts functional loss to utility loss. QALYs are replicable and objective. In regulatory analyses, their most controversial aspect is the method for converting functional losses to QALY losses, which theory suggests should be probabilistic. In forensic and other post-event application, probabilistic rating is not a theoretical requirement. Simple thermometer ratings will yield valid multi-attribute utility loss estimates. (Author/publisher)
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