What Are Future Losses in a Personal Injury Claim?

If you have been seriously injured in a car accident, you are naturally concerned about your current medical bills and your current inability to work. But what happens after your period of convalescence? Are you going to make a 100 percent recovery? If not, you may have future losses, which are an important part of your personal injury damages.

Future losses are meant to compensate an accident victim for economic losses due to the lingering effects of an injury. The two main categories are future lost income and future medical expenses. Naturally, no one can see into the future, so your attorney, who is trying to win you sufficient damages to cover your future expenses, must rely on forecasts from experts in several fields, including medicine, vocational rehabilitation, and economics.

Basically, your future lost income is the difference between what you could have earned if you had not been injured, and what you will probably earn now that you have been injured. However, an accurate forecast depends on many factors:

  • Your prognosis and timeline for maximum recovery
  • What a person of your age, education, skill and experience could have been expected to earn over the course of a normal career
  • The economic forecast for your industry as a whole, including opportunities for you to advance in your field and your industry
  • Your ability if not for the injury to have transitioned to higher-paying employment, in or outside of your current industry
  • A reasonable forecast of what you can be expected to earn now that you have been injured

Your future medical expenses are also speculative but depend upon many factors, including:

  • Whether your condition is likely to remain stable or deteriorate
  • The extent to which you will need medical care
  • The likely increase in the costs of the type of medical care you will require over the period you will require it
  • The percentage of the costs for which you will be responsible, versus costs Medicare will pay

Future losses require complex calculations, which require expert testimony to substantiate. Disputes over future losses often boil down to a battle of experts, as witnesses for the plaintiff and the defense try to convince a judge or jury that their numbers are more reasonably crunched.

If you’ve been injured in a car crash in Bergen County or anywhere in New Jersey, Seigel Law is ready to help you get the maximum damage award possible. Contact us online or call 201-444-4000 today for a free consultation and case evaluation.

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