If you get injured, there is certainly a chance that it will reduce your immediate wages. Say that you are involved in a car accident and suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). You spend a week in the hospital and another month at home while you recover. You are missing, at minimum, five weeks’ worth of wages.
But when seeking compensation, not only do you want to consider the wages you have already lost, you also need to think about the future wages you are going to lose. This is referred to as your reduced earning capacity, and it may be even more significant than your immediate bills.
Preventing you from continuing in your career
For example, say that the brain injury is so significant that you can’t keep working in your career. Maybe you were a professor or a medical professional, but now you are having significant memory issues and a reduction in your fine motor skills. It is impossible for you to continue in your profession.
Now, you may be able to find another job. But if it pays less than you were earning before, you are still losing wages due to the accident.
Additionally, you have to factor in the long-term impact of these lost wages. Say that you earned $100,000 a year, and you won’t be able to work again. If you still had 20 years of your career ahead of you, you were anticipating earning around $2 million—which you will now miss out on.
You can see how significant these losses may be and why it is so important to look into all of your legal options at this time.