Seeking Compensation for Loss of Future Earnings in a Wrongful Death Claim

Anton Nickloi    Wrongful Death    

Loss of future earnings in a wrongful death claim is one particular types of damages that can be sought by a plaintiff against a defendant. Many plaintiffs may be unaware, or not fully understand, what this concept means, but Midland wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman offers the following information to help elucidate the term, as well as why it’s important to any wrongful death claim that this particular type of damages is sought by a plaintiff.

If your loved one died as a result of someone else’s negligence, their loss of future earnings equals the amount of money they would have made over the course of the rest of their workable years had they not suffered a fatal accident. For example, if a construction worker made $40,000 a year and died at the age of 30 due to another party’s negligent behavior, it’s likely that he would have been able to work until the age of 65, or for another 35 years. As such, the base number for this particular worker’s loss of future earnings would be 1.4 million dollars, or $40,000 times 35 years. However, this number does not take into account the likely raises or promotions that this construction worker would have likely obtained over the course of those 35 years. An experienced Tyler wrongful death attorney ought to be able to calculate their loss of future earnings to include those likely raises.

Furthermore, other factors may have to be included in how loss of future earnings is calculated. For example, if a medical student is working as a server in a restaurant when she dies, it could be argued that her loss of future earnings should be based on her likely salary as a doctor instead of her salary as a server. Again, an experienced legal professional will look at all of the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s passing in order to ensure that their loss of future earnings is properly calculated.

Correctly assessing loss of future earnings in a wrongful death claim is important because your financial future, as well as that of your family’s, may be on the line. This can be especially true in the event that the family member that wrongfully died was the sole bread-winner for the family. As such, it’s important to enlist the help of a competent wrongful death attorney so that the damages of loss of future earnings can be faithfully calculated in order for the family members left behind to be able to provide for themselves, both through the loss and beyond.

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