When you have been injured, whether by a distracted driver or by a fall on someone else property, the damages you have suffered often extend far beyond your physical injuries. You may be faced with overwhelming medical bills, along with months and years of prospective treatment or rehabilitation. Your injuries also may affect your ability to work and provide for your family. Fortunately, a qualified personal injury attorney can help you seek compensation for lost income, as well as the loss of earning capacity, or both, depending on the circumstances of your case.
Economic Damages
In any personal injury claim, the injured party will nearly always seek special, or economic, damages. These type of damages are able to be calculated objectively based on actual financial losses. Economic damages in include medical bills, property damage, lost income, and other quantifiable costs. Other types of reimbursement, such as payment for pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and others, are referred to as general, or noneconomic damages.
Lost Income
If you are seeking to recover lost income or missed wages, you will need to clearly demonstrate the amount of work you have missed and the resulting reduction in your pay. This is easier for some, as they are paid a predictable salary. Others, such as bartenders, servers, or commission-based sales representatives, may be forced to use an average over several months to determine a reasonable amount for lost income. You will also need to verify that you were unable to work primarily due to the injuries you have sustained. Calculating lost wages is relatives straightforward, even if it is necessary to base the calculations on average earnings.
Loss of Earning Capacity
Determining the future impact of your injuries can be a bit more complicated, but still falls under the realm of economic damages. Following your accident, you may never regain the full ability to work as before, potentially limiting your opportunities for employment growth, or even maintaining a full time job. Your condition may only allow to work part time or in a new industry, which offers less earning potential than your previous job.
When your capacity to earn income has been diminished by the accident, you and your attorney can create a realistic estimate of how much money you will lose over your expected working life. This will be based on industry standards, average earnings, and reasonably expected promotions and personal development. Again, you will be required to prove that your injuries directly caused your loss of earning capacity.
If you have suffered a life-changing injury, you need the help of an experienced DuPage County personal injury lawyer. We will assist you in seeking recovery for medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and any other losses you may have suffered. Call us today at 630-920-8855 and start putting your life back together.
Sources:
http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1985
http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/68052/OSLJ_V19N2_0158.pdf?sequence=1
http://damages.uslegal.com/compensatory-damages-in-personal-injury-cases/