If you don’t work but are involved in a crash that will prevent you from working, can you seek that lost potential income? It could be harder to quantify, but the simple answer is that you can try to seek out any lost income that comes from missed job opportunities or the inability to work in the future.
For example, if you are 18 when you get into a debilitating collision, you might just have started your job search. Alternatively, you may have been in school or starting to study for a lucrative career.
If that crash hinders you from finishing school or going on to join the career in the field you were applying to, then you may be able to seek compensation for the lost income that you have not yet earned.
Lost earning capacity matters in crashes
Sometimes, people do claim for lost earning capacity. That said, it can be difficult to prove how much you might have earned, so there could be some specialized accounting needed before a reasonable amount of compensation can be determined.
On top of having to figure out how much you might have earned in the future, you will also need to look at your injuries and consider if there is a different job you could train for or if you may eventually recover enough to work.
Will you need medical examinations?
It’s possible that you could have to go through multiple medical exams, including an independent medical exam, or IME, if you are badly hurt in a crash and are seeking high monetary payments for what you’ve been through.
An IME basically makes sure that you are injured as badly as you and your doctors have claimed. It’s helpful to know what to expect during this examination, because the insurance company could use this exam to try to question your claim. If you’re injured badly or going to the exam would cause an undue burden, it’s possible that it could be avoided.
This is a difficult situation, but you will get through it. You can seek fair compensation, and that could include any future wages you’ve lost out on because of missing work, missing job interviews or being unable to complete your degree due to your injuries.