If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, depending on the severity of your injuries, you may require extensive medical treatment, temporarily or permanently losing the ability to return to work. If your injuries prevent you from working, either because of physical limitations or emotional trauma from the accident, you can seek compensation for your past and future lost wages. Proving your future lost earnings can be much more complex than proving your past lost earnings. Please continue reading to learn when you can seek future lost wages in a personal injury case and how our proficient Jefferson County Personal Injury Lawyers can help you bolster your claim with detailed evidence to maximize your chances of achieving favorable results.
What Damages Are Available in Personal Injury Cases?
If you have been seriously injured due to another person’s negligence, you can take legal action against that party to seek monetary compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages represent the tangible losses you have suffered or will suffer because of the accident. Economic damages are calculable losses that can be readily documented. Economic damages may include past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages, property damage, vocational rehabilitation, household services, etc.
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, represent subjective losses. They don’t come with a receipt or other objective documentation, so they are often harder to prove. Non-economic damages may include pain and suffering, emotional distress, inconvenience, loss of consortium, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, etc. It’s crucial to note that while these damages may be available in most personal injury cases, they still need to be proven to the court. Therefore, it’s crucial to keep meticulous documentation of your out-of-pocket expenses.
How Are Lost Future Wages Calculated?
As mentioned above, you can seek compensation for your lost wages in a personal injury claim. Lost wages are any income you cannot receive due to injury. The phrase “loss of future earnings” refers to the specific amount of income that an injured party would have earned if they had been able to continue working. The court will examine various factors, including your earnings before the accident, your health, prospects of advancement, and the time you would have reasonably been expected to work to calculate the loss of future earnings. It’s crucial to note that in most cases, future lost earnings are typically not awarded for periods beyond what would be considered normal retirement age.
If your injuries have prevented you from working, please don’t hesitate to contact a dedicated lawyer from Alabama Personal Injury Lawyers, LLC, who can help you prove your injury has reduced your ability to earn money.
