Calculating Lost Future Income Damages

Lost future income damages compensate for earnings you may be unable to earn because a car accident permanently or significantly affects your ability to work. The calculation can consider your pre-accident income, expected work life, career path, benefits, and the extent of your injury. This can include lost future wages from medical limitations that prevent you from returning to your previous job, working the same hours, or earning at your previous level.

Lost wages and loss of earning capacity are related but different. You may recover income you already lost while missing work, while loss of earning capacity addresses the longer-term effect an injury has on what you can reasonably earn in the future. 

Factors such as permanent restrictions, reduced hours, a change in job duties, career opportunities, and your education and work history may all be relevant. A Phoenix car accident attorney can work with medical, vocational, and financial experts to document these losses and build evidence supporting your claim.

Factors to Consider When Calculating Lost Future Income Damages After a Car Accident

Making accurate estimates of your lost future earnings after an accident is a complex process that requires you to involve experts, like financial auditors, economists, human resource specialists, and attorneys. Here are the main factors to consider when calculating your income damages:

Your Productive Years

Your future lost income damages will be based on the number of years you could have remained productive had the accident not happened. Therefore, the younger you are, the more productive years you’re likely to include in your calculations and the higher the lost future income.

The court considers whether your injuries are likely to cause permanent or temporary disability, your ability to perform the same roles at the same workplace, and the impact on your career progression. These decisions will be informed by experts involved in your claim.

Available Evidence

The court will rely on the available evidence to calculate your lost future wages. This is why it’s very important to hire an attorney who knows how to gather useful evidence, which includes gathering all your medical records and documents showing the days you didn’t work.

These records include hospital visit records, doctors’ appointments with treatment durations, work restriction notes, and ongoing physical therapy appointments. These documents will prove that you missed work because of injury-related reasons.

You might also need to produce police reports to support your claim, especially to prove that the medical treatment was necessary. This explains the role of traffic camera footage in filing car accident claims.

Type of Employment Contract

Your employment contract will determine your lost future income damages. If you’re paid hourly, your lost income will be estimated using the hourly rate multiplied by the hours you’re likely to miss work.

You’ll need to provide your timecards, work schedules, and pay stubs for consideration. If you earn a monthly salary, your lost income will equal your annual salary divided by your employer’s daily rate and then multiplied by the missed workdays.

You may be required to produce your employment letter, contract, monthly pay slips, and pay stubs. This way, insurance adjusters will easily understand the wages you’re likely to lose in the future. Don’t forget to include additional earnings, like tips, commissions, and overtime.

If you’re self-employed, you’re likely to undergo a more thorough scrutiny to ensure that whatever you anticipate losing is accurate. You need to provide valid records, like tax returns, invoices, business records, 1099 forms, and bank statements.

Your lost wages will be calculated according to your net income rather than your gross earnings. A good personal accident attorney should be able to make the distinction.

Issues Likely to Delay Your Compensation

Due to the complex nature of these calculations, many victims end up making mistakes that make their claims take too long to go through. Some of these mistakes include incomplete employment records, delayed medical care, inaccurate income records, missed medical follow-ups, and liability misconceptions.

Therefore, it’s important to have your documents ready and in order before filing the claim. You also need to hire a competent lawyer who can help you understand the common issues to avoid, like the misconceptions about government vehicle liability and the kind of evidence you need to gather.   

In Summary

Getting your calculations for lost future income damages right after a car accident involves working with qualified financial and human resource experts and lawyers, and presenting evidence to prove your case. With a personal injury attorney from a reputable firm like Gage Mathers, you can rest assured that your calculations will be accurate and conclusive!

About the Author

Joseph D'Aguanno

Guided by the belief that being a highly skilled specialist in a narrow field is better than being ordinary in everything, Joseph “JD” D’Aguanno leads Arizona’s best personal injury law firm in Phoenix, AZ. Having extensive cross-training in pre-litigation negotiations and trial lawyer skills, with decades of experience, JD strives to provide clients with the most valuable legal services a personal injury lawyer can provide. Under his direction, Gage Mathers Law Group is an award-winning personal injury law firm providing aggressive representation to victims of a car accident, medical malpractice, dog bite, motorcycle accident, and other injurious events. Gage Mathers is trusted by thousands of lawyers and clients throughout the country because of their reputation for getting clients the maximum compensation they deserve.

Years of experience: Over 24 years
Bar number: 020421
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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