In this post, we’ll walk you through all you need to know about the loss of earning capacity and how it is calculated. In serious injury cases with permanent disability or death, Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers will prove loss of earning capacity.
What’s In This Post:
- How is loss of earning capacity calculated?
- What is loss of earning capacity?
- Difference between loss of earning capacity and lost wages
- Why is it difficult to prove loss of earning capacity?
- How to determine your loss of earning capacity
- How an attorney can help
How is loss of earning capacity calculated?
Typically, lost earning capacity can be determined using evidence of past wage earnings and testimonies from experts such as the plaintiff’s doctor and employer.
Determining lost earning capacity can be challenging, given that you’re trying to forecast what someone could have earned in the future. Yet, this facet of your claim for damages after an accident can be relatively significant. Therefore, it’s vital that you are conversant with the accurate way of calculating your loss of earning capacity.
The expert attorneys at Flora Templeton Stuart law have represented several injury victims and are conversant with the various steps involved in determining lost earning capacity. Our personal injury attorneys are available for a free case evaluation at our Bowling Green office.
What is loss of earning capacity?
Loss of earning capacity refers to the reduction of one’s ability to earn income as a result of an injury. Typically, these scenarios come about when the injury is serious and renders the victim disabled or forces them to venture into a different occupation. For instance, if someone who worked in a position requiring heavy lifting incurs a debilitating back injury, they may be forced to shift to a less tasking work type. Damages that emanate from the loss of capacity to earn may warrant compensation for the victim.
Difference between loss of earning capacity and lost wages
When someone incurs an injury from an accident, the chances are that they won’t be able to go to work for some time. The accident victim may be admitted to the emergency room or required to regularly visit a doctor for follow-ups during their normal work hours. The doctor may even restrict them from working for a given period so that they can recuperate. This means that the victim may have to use vacation time or sick leave to heal from the accident fully. In such a circumstance, the victim may be entitled to receive compensation for loss of wages and other benefits.
Whereas lost wages are based on specified losses, lost earning capacity strives to determine the overall effect the injury caused on the victim’s ability to earn a living. This entails the victim’s potential future losses—those losses that presently haven’t been incurred but are rather a forecast of losses that the victims may incur in the future.
In a nutshell, lost wages are unemployment benefits that someone loses due to an injury that led to them filing the personal injury claim. It refers to the monetary losses that a person incurs due to the injury afflicted by an at-fault party during an accident. On the other hand, loss of earning capacity refers to an individual’s loss of future earning capacity or impairment of earning power.
Why is it difficult to prove loss of earning capacity?
Lost income is typically easy to prove, given that personal injury attorneys can refer to medical records and employment records to determine the days missed from work because of the injury. Lost wages/income can be determined by comparing a victim’s pays stub with their work attendance records.
Conversely, proving lost earning capacity is more challenging. In order to calculate these losses, it is crucial to make a reasonable forecast about the victim’s ability to work and their possible future earnings.
For a victim to recover damages in a personal injury case, need to show beyond doubt that the defendant’s negligent action caused the accident. Moreover, to receive compensation for lost earning capacity, the victim will have to prove that the defendant’s negligent actions led to them suffering an injury that resulted in the loss of their earning capacity.
How to determine your loss of earning capacity
Loss of capacity to earn considers the economic losses that the injured party will incur until such a time that their work-life expectancy ends. This loss is usually proven through the testimonies of expert witnesses such as the plaintiff’s doctor and employer. They assess the victim’s employment records and work history to come up with reasonable estimates of the victim’s possible future earnings prior to and after the accident occurred.
Among the factors that the expert witness may analyze to determine the afflicted person’s loss of earning capacity in Bowling Green include:
- The occupation of the victim
- The location of the victim’s place of work
- The work history of the victim
- The education of the victim
- The victim’s talents, abilities, and skills
- The transferability of the victim’s skills to a different profession
- The current wage rates and work values
- The current age and expected remaining work years of the victim
- The duration that the disabilities, injuries, and impairments are expected to last
- The victim’s history of raises, promotion, and improvements in skills.
- The victim’s pre-accident health and life expectancy.
You can be of great help to your attorney with your claim by working closely with them and furnishing them with documents that establish your earning capacity and work history, such as your employment records.
How an attorney can help
After someone has incurred an injury due to another person’s negligent act, their life may be altered forever. Personal injury victims usually incur disabling conditions that may hinder them from returning to work or force them to try out a different occupation altogether.
Suppose your earning capacity has been reduced because of an injury, a Bowling Green personal injury attorney at Flora Templeton Stuart law firm can help you. We have years of experience assisting accident victims who have suffered personal injuries get the compensation they deserve. We know how to prove loss of earning capacity—regardless of whether you are salaried, self-employed, or paid on a commission basis.
Whether it be tediously going through numerous employment records, medical records, or other documents, we’ve worked through several challenges that recovering your lost earning capacity may throw at us.
If you have been involved in an accident and have lost your capacity to earn, attorneys at Flora Templeton Stuart law firm can assist. Given that we operate on a contingency basis, we don’t charge upfront fees and only receive payment after your claim is successful. Contact us today for a free review of your case.
