Accident Victims Can Have Many Types Of Future Lost Wage Claims

When we get injured, one of the first things that we are concerned about, understandably, is the inability to go to work. We are comforted to some extent by the assurance that as we heal and get better, that we will, at some point, be able to return to work as normal, and to resume our careers or professions as normal.

But that’s not always the case. Often, accident victims don’t just lose wages from being out of work right after an accident, but they may also lose the ability to go to work in the future.

In a Rhode Island accident case, you can get compensation for lost wages that may happen going forward, in the future. There are different types of lost wage claims, and they all have different measures of proof.

Permanently Out of Work

In some cases, the injuries to a victim are so catastrophic that they will never return to any form of work again.

This is, of course, the most serious form of future lost wage damages. In awarding damages, the jury will look at what the victim earned at work, how much his or her salary or income could be anticipated to go up in the future, adjust for things like raises, or inflation, and make a future lost wage claim award.

Different Types of Work

In other situations, the victim may be able to go back to work—just not the kind or type of work they were previously working in. So, for example, imagine someone is a construction site foreman. That person was on track to become a supervisor, or a general contractor or to take over as CEO or owner of the construction company.

After an accident, construction work is no longer physically possible. Now that person can only do office jobs. He or she will never advance and make the money he or she would have, had he been able to stay in the construction field, where he or she was most skilled and qualified.

Shortened Work Lifespan

In other cases, someone can return to his or her chosen field or profession. However, the time expectancy and work years have been shortened.

In very physically strenuous jobs, the victim’s body may be expected to break down earlier, or develop arthritis, or other secondary injuries, illnesses or diseases, because of the injuries sustained in the accident. The victim should be compensated for those years that he or she was expected to work but now, in all likelihood, will never be able to do.

Sporadic Time Away From Work

An injury in an accident may not be career threatening. It may just mean more time out of work for future necessary surgeries, therapies, or procedures. Any injury that will require continuous, ongoing treatment, will carry with it a certain expectation that the victim will need to miss work. Those are also lost days that the victim can and should be compensated for.

Contact our Rhode Island personal injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 today for help getting compensation for your losses after any kind of accident.

Sources:

legalmatch.com/law-library/article/loss-of-income-vs-lost-earning-capacity.html

jstor.org/stable/44806178