South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
When you have been injured in an accident in Florida caused by someone else’s negligence, you have the right to sue for compensation for your injuries, expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. The injury could be due to a car accident or other vehicular accident, an accident at work, a faulty product, or a slip and fall incident or other injury caused by unsafe premises. It could be caused by medical malpractice or an attack by a vicious animal. Whatever the cause of the injury, you will need an experienced personal injury attorney to help you collect the full compensation you deserve for the injuries you sustained due to someone else’s negligence.
Defining diminished earning capacity
Diminished earning capacity is also known as future lost earnings. It is distinct from lost wages in that lost wages are income lost since the accident, usually with an estimated time period for your recovery. Lost wages need to be documented using tax returns, pay stubs, and days missed.
Diminished earning capacity, however, refers to future lost wages due to permanent injuries and is determined by complex calculations. Many people mistakenly think diminished earning capacity or lost future earnings refers to being unable to work at all. This is not necessarily the case. You may still be able to work, but not to the full capacity you could before the accident in your field of choice.
This could mean the inability to work full time in your previous employment due to physical or mental impairment, or it may mean not being able to work in the field at all, for instance:
- A warehouse worker who cannot lift heavy items due to a back injury
- A truck driver who can no longer drive due to a right leg amputation
- A surgeon who sustains nerve damage to his hands or arms and can no longer perform surgery
- A professional musician who sustains a head injury that leads to severe tinnitus or hearing loss
- An accountant who sustains a head injury leading to constant migraines and can only work for two hours a day
These injured people may still be able to find work in other fields, but they will not be able to work in their desired career anymore, or not to the fullest capacity as before. These are clearly examples of diminished earning capacity. These injuries are not likely to heal over time – they are essentially permanent, thus permanently impairing these people from working in their fields.
Calculating diminished earning capacity
Calculating lost future earnings due to your injuries is a very complex process and takes into account many factors. These include:
- The severity of your injury or impairment
- Your current age and your expected retirement age
- Your work history
- Your life expectancy
- Your level of expertise in your field at the time of the injury
- Expected increase in earnings over time due to expertise in your field
- Estimated inflation rate
- Opportunities for career advancement
- Types of employment you could perform now with your impairment and their average pay
Lost earnings calculations would calculate the expected future earnings from all these factors and subtract the income you could likely earn in some other field or in a diminished capacity in your own field to come up with a figure that represents your lost earning capacity.
Proving your case in court
In order to prove your personal injury case you must prove the “4 D’s”: The defendant had a duty of care, the defendant was derelict in that duty, the defendant’s negligence was a direct or proximate cause of your injuries, and there are clear damages that can be proven in court.
As an experienced Florida personal injury attorney, I leave no stone unturned to find the evidence necessary to build a solid case for your personal injury claim. You deserve compensation for the injuries caused by someone else’s negligence, and in the case of future lost earnings, I strengthen my case by calling in expert witnesses to help calculate and then testify in court to your lost earning capacity, its direct connection to your injuries, and the fairness of the compensation package demanded.
The defendant’s insurance company will likely have expert witnesses of its own ready to counter our claims. However, because of my experience in these cases, I know the tactics and arguments that defense lawyers use and can prepare your case to be bulletproof or to create enough doubt that they would rather settle than risk letting it go to a jury decision, which usually favors the injured party.
Every case I take on becomes personal to me, as if one of my own friends or loved ones had been injured. Contact me today, 24/7, at (954) 448-7288, to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.