Suffering a severe personal injury can be devastating to your health and finances in the short-term. Sometimes severe injuries leave permanent damage and victims experience symptoms for the rest of their lives. This can affect their ability to continue working, or at least continue working as many hours or in the same capacity as before.
If your future earning capacity is affected by a personal injury, you may be eligible to seek compensation. Below, learn more about how attorneys evaluate lost earning capacity to calculate how much compensation they should pursue in an injury claim. There are many factors to consider, and it is important to make an accurate calculation, so victims can support themselves and their families with a significant injury.
One of the most important reasons to work with a licensed attorney is that he or she knows how to determine the full value of your damages. While compensation can never erase what happened, it helps many victims as they look to move forward.
Assessing What Your Future Earning Capacity May Have Been
Each case is unique, but our attorneys are likely to examine certain factors to determine what you may have earned if the injury never happened. For example, our attorneys are likely to look at your current job and career path. What do people who work in this career usually earn?
Other questions we may look to answer when assessing future earning capacity may include:
- How many promotions have you achieved in your career?
- What are your current earnings?
- How much have your earnings increased over the last few years?
- What skills and education do you have?
- What is your life expectancy?
- Do you have any professional certifications?
- How valuable are your skills in the marketplace?
- How is your injury likely to affect your ability to do different aspects of your job?
It is important to provide your Harrisburg personal injury attorney as much information as you can about your career up to the date of your injury.
If you are still able to work in some capacity, your claim for loss of earning capacity is going to be worth much less than a claim from someone who can barely work at all or someone who has to work in a different job.
Proving Your Injuries are Permanent
You will have a hard time recovering compensation for loss of earning capacity if you cannot prove you have a permanent injury that limits your ability to work.
Be sure to explain to your doctor what you can no longer do because of your injuries. It is important to relay this information while doctors are waiting for your injury to stabilize. This will help your doctor to make an accurate assessment of your physical abilities once you reach the point of maximum medical improvement.
Make sure to follow your doctor’s orders about not working. If the doctor tells you not to work, do not work. If you do, the other side is likely to claim your injury is not that serious, and this may devalue your claim.
Injury victims will most likely need their medical records to validate a claim for loss of earning capacity. They may also need testimony from expert witnesses, like doctors and employment professionals. Pay stubs from before and after your injury showing a decrease in income can also be helpful.
Compensation for lost earning capacity may still be available if you are self-employed. You will need to provide detailed information about your business, particularly income and profit records.
Gathering the information to validate a claim can be very difficult on your own. You may not know where to look or what specific documents to obtain. That is why you should strongly consider seeking experienced legal representation.
Did You Suffer Lost Earning Capacity or Other Damages? Call Today
Schmidt Kramer’s experienced attorneys understand how devastating many personal injuries are on a physical, emotional and financial level.
We have assisted many injury victims in obtaining compensation for their damages – our firm has obtained more than $100 million in compensation on behalf of our clients.
There are no upfront fees, which means no risk to you. The initial consultation is also free of charge.
Need Legal Assistance? Schmidt Kramer is here to help. Call (717) 888-8888