About AREA

The American Rehabilitation Economics Association (AREA) is both a professional association and a certifying body that brings together:

Vocational Expert conducting assessment

Vocational Experts

Economic Expert analyzing data

Economic Experts

Life Care Planning professionals

Life Care Planning Experts


Since 1989, for over 35 years, AREA has been dedicated to promoting communication and sharing between these separate yet connected fields to improve the best practices in litigation support. Our membership is international including members from the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.

Through its peer-reviewed journal (The Earnings Analyst), annual conference, and periodic virtual continuing educational sessions, AREA promotes an understanding of each expert's role and how those roles are tied together in litigation.

AREA's continuing education addresses:

  • Lost earning capacity/wage loss
  • Vocational analysis
  • Functional capacity testing
  • Fringe benefits
  • Worklife expectancy
  • Life expectancy
  • Lost household services
  • Personal consumption
  • Future medical costs over a person's lifetime
  • Discounting future losses or costs to present value

Mission

AREA's mission is two-fold:

  1. Recognizing the integrative use of vocational, life care planning, and economic loss assessment as a distinct discipline, and
  2. Providing a forum for peer-exchange of information from vocational, economic, and life care planning experts.

 Membership

AREA welcomes prospective members and encourages your participation in our organization. Please see our Membership page for more information, including Fee Schedule and Payments.

 Certification & Professional Designations

AREA is the only international certifying body that combines this unique blend of professions in loss assessment. Unique professional designations offered by AREA are the RFE (Registered Forensic Economist), FVE (Forensic Vocational Expert), EA (Earnings Analyst) and the CEA (Certified Earnings Analyst).

Please see our Certification page for more information on how to become a CEA.

 If you have questions or comments about AREA, we would love to hear from you! Please email [email protected] or call 619.440.2650.