If a serious car accident leaves you with lasting injuries, the financial consequences can ex-tend beyond your immediate medical bills and time away from work. Permanent injuries can fundamentally change your career path, limit your job opportunities, and force you into low-er-paying work for years to come. If another driver caused your injuries, you may have a right to seek compensation for your loss of future earning capacity after a car accident.
Loss of earning capacity refers to the reduction in your ability to earn money over the re-mainder of your working life due to permanent or long-term injuries from a car crash. An ex-perienced personal injury attorney can review your injuries and diminished earning capacity and help you demand compensation for future lost earnings.
Loss of Earning Capacity vs. Lost Wages
Many people confuse lost wages and loss of earning capacity. In a personal injury claim, they cover separate periods of financial loss.
A claim for lost wages covers the income you missed while recovering from the crash. If you were out of work for three months and lost $15,000 during that time, you could seek compensation for the specific amount of lost income or lost wages. The calculation of loss of earnings is usually straightforward because it’s based on actual paychecks you didn’t receive.
A loss-of-earning-capacity claim, on the other hand, looks to the future. It seeks to compensate you for the income you won’t be able to earn in the years ahead because of your serious injuries. The lost future earnings may include being forced to work fewer hours, taking a less demanding, lower-paying job, or being unable to return to work.
Consider a truck driver who suffers a severe back injury in a crash caused by another motorist. The back injury prevents the truck driver from sitting for long periods of time. Even if the driver returns to work in a different role at the same company, the individual may earn significantly less than he or she would have made continuing as a driver. If the injured driver pursues a personal injury claim against the at-fault motorist who caused the accident, the driver may seek compensation for diminished earning capacity.
How Do I Prove Loss of Future Earning Capacity?
Proving loss of earning capacity requires solid medical evidence of your reduced ability to work and projections of future income losses. You are seeking fair compensation for income you haven’t lost yet. Insurance companies often fight loss-of-earning-capacity claims, arguing that the losses are too uncertain.
Certain factors help establish your claim:
- Your age when the accident occurred: Younger workers may be eligible for larger awards of future lost wages because they typically have more years of potential earnings ahead.
- Your work history and income before the crash: Tax returns, pay stubs, and W-2 forms show what you were earning and your career trajectory.
- The severity and permanence of your injuries: Medical records and expert testimony must demonstrate that your injuries will have lasting effects on your ability to work and earn income.
- Your education and training: Higher education or specialized skills and training certifications can show the income potential you’ve lost.
Expert witnesses play a crucial role in these types of cases. Medical experts explain the permanence of your injuries and how they limit your ability. Vocational experts analyze how your injuries limit your job options and earning potential. Economic experts calculate the financial value of your reduced earning capacity over your remaining work life.
For example, if a 35-year-old construction supervisor earning $80,000 per year suffers a traumatic brain injury that forces him into a desk job paying $45,000, an economist might calculate the loss at $35,000 per year. Multiplied over 30 remaining work years, the claim could reach more than $1 million when adjusted for inflation and present value.
Documentation is crucial in these cases. Keep copies of:
- All medical records and treatment plans
- Pre-accident tax returns and income statements
- Employment records showing your position and responsibilities
- Letters from employers about your job performance and advancement potential
- Any retraining or vocational rehabilitation records
Can I Still Claim Loss of Earning Capacity If I Return to Work?
Returning to work doesn’t automatically eliminate your right to seek compensation for reduced earning capacity. The question is whether you’re earning the same income you would have earned without the automobile accident, or whether your injuries have limited your future opportunities.
Many accident victims return to some form of employment but face significant limitations. You might work part-time instead of full-time, take a position with less responsibility, or accept lower pay because you can no longer handle the physical demands of your previous job. These situations still qualify you for loss of earning capacity claims.
Insurance companies might try to argue that because you’re working, you haven’t lost earning capacity. As such, having strong legal representation matters. An experienced attorney can demonstrate the gap between your past earnings and diminished earning capacity after the accident due to permanent limitations.
How a Gulfport Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help
Loss-of-earning-capacity claims are among the most complex aspects of a personal injury case. Insurance companies know that these claims can be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, so they fight hard to minimize or deny them.
A skilled Gulfport car accident lawyer can strengthen your case by:
- Gathering thorough documentation of your work history and income potential
- Demonstrating the real-world effects your injuries have on your daily work life
- Hiring qualified medical and financial expert witnesses to evaluate your injuries and calculate your loss of income in the future
- Countering insurance company arguments that your losses are speculative or exaggerated
- Presenting your case persuasively to insurance adjusters or, if necessary, a court
Contact Our Gulfport Car Accident Lawyers
If you have experienced reduced earning capacity due to a car accident, you need trusted guidance about your legal options. At Haug, Farrar, Franco & Ruiz, PLLC, our legal team has been fighting for accident victims across the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 2014. Our injury attorneys understand that serious injuries can change your entire financial future. That’s why we will work tirelessly to seek maximum compensation for both your current and future losses.
Our lawyers have secured significant recoveries for injured clients, including a $750,000 uninsured motorist settlement and a $700,000 car accident injury settlement. As our client shared, “Joshua Henderson has provided us with excellent counsel during an incredibly stressful time. He and his partners work hard, use resources efficiently, and get results”.
We never charge upfront legal fees for personal injury cases. We only receive legal fees if our law firm secures compensation for you through a personal injury settlement or court award. You can focus on your recovery while we handle the legal fight. Contact us at (228) 872-8752 or complete our contact form for a free consultation to discuss your claim for loss of future earning capacity.