If you were involved in an accident that caused you any type of injury it can affect your mental health and physical well-being. Depending on the extent of your injuries you may have accumulated extensive medical bills and you may even have to take a leave of absence from work to recover properly. If the accident was caused by the negligence or recklessness of someone else, it is their fault that you will be missing out on income opportunities. You may be able to sue for lost future wages to make up for the paychecks that you no longer receive while you are in recovery. For assistance in your injury case, reach out to a Long Island personal injury lawyer who can offer you the representation and help you need.
What Are Lost Future Wages?
If you were never involved in your accident and therefore were never injured, you would not have to take time off of work to recover. Because you do, your absence from work now and in the future may be causing you to miss out on income opportunities. This is what is known as lost future wages. If you suffered a severe injury that left you unable to return to work for a year, you are missing out on a year’s worth of earnings. As long as your accident and injury were the result of another party’s negligence, you have the right to be compensated for the future income that you would have otherwise received.
How Are Lost Future Wages Calculated?
Because the future can be difficult to predict, calculating your future lost wages can be a complicated process. There is no way to be entirely sure how long you will be out of work or the full extent of the income you are missing out on, but there are ways to predict the future by looking at the past.
You will need to acquire help from a medical professional as well as an economic expert. Your doctor or other medical professional will evaluate your injuries and recovery trajectory. They will pull from their own experience dealing with similar patients and injuries to estimate the length of your recovery.
Now that you know about how long you will be out of work, an economic expert will help determine how much money you would have been making during your period of absence from work. This can be done by examining your current income, the market value of your position, and other factors that could affect the dollar amount. They will look at your pay stubs, past bonuses, sales commissions, benefits, and more to come up with a reasonably accurate monetary estimate that can be presented to the court.
Why Should I Sue?
An accident and injury can have a severely detrimental impact on your life. If someone else’s behavior caused your injury then you should acquire the services of an attorney and file a claim or lawsuit to collect compensation. You can be paid damages to cover:
- Property damage
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages (past and future)
Reach out to an attorney today to begin the legal process.
