Loss of future earning capacity is the reduction of an individual’s ability to earn income in the future due to an injury. The situation arises when the person experiences a severe injury that makes them disabled, which forces them to seek a different line of work. In the case provided, the 48-year-old retired veteran was about to start a new biomedical technician job but faced an accident. As a result, he underwent lumbar surgery and could no longer lift over 40 pounds, making him not qualify for the new position. The damages from the loss of earning capacity can be estimated to ensure the victim is compensated. The 48-year-old man is considered to have experienced an economic loss resulting from the driver’s illegal action, which derailed his ability to keep earning a decent income of $22.
The first aspect to consider when calculating the loss of future income is the time lost in the form of working hours. The client underwent conservative treatment, lumbar surgery, and follow-up visits by the doctor during regular working hours. All losses are not currently noticeable but may be projected in the future due to the health effects that have affected the veteran’s physical abilities. Lost earning capacity is not always easy to prove as there is a need to make reasonable predictions about the victim’s workability and the possibility of making earnings on a date in the future.
The injury’s severity, impact on future performance, and side effects of the treatment should be assessed. An expert should evaluate the situation and provide a testimony that will be used for calculating the losses. The client’s spine injury and lumbar surgery evaluation can help determine if they will face further losses in their ability to work. The time the client will probably not work effectively due to the injuries may help estimate the future loss of income capacity (Pressman, 2019). The longer the damage lasts, the more the veteran loses their income capacity. Suppose the impairment lasts for a short time; the veteran will regain his strength in lifting heavy weights. If the problem is a long-term injury, he may not be able to regain his ordinary abilities and cannot continue making $22 per hour.
The veteran’s work-life expectancy needs to be analyzed in this case. This is the average number of years the veteran will work and be active for the remainder of his life. Determining work-life expectancy is essential in assessing the client’s loss of future earning capacity as it forms a base for calculating the results of labor market analysis (Pressman, 2019). In this case, it should be evaluated whether the injury affects the number of years that the veteran is expected to work and earn income. The work-life expectancy will provide an initial foundation to calculate the lost income and the effect the injury will have on the statistical work-life expectancy.
Another assessment that needs to be done includes the veteran’s productivity before and after the injury. If the earnings decreased after the harm, the client should be compensated for what they gained before the incident. (Ireland & Slesnick, 2020). For example, the veteran has lowered his productivity and cannot continue earning $22 per hour or lifting over 40 pounds. The compensation should be done by calculating what the veteran should have continued to earn if the injury did not happen. Testimonials of past earnings provide details of the wages the victim used to get in the veteran career and the new occupation as a biomedical technician. The pre-and post-accident income produces evidence of comparison of the effects of the injury to the wage levels. For example, he is about to be employed with a wage of $22 an hour, but the damage makes the manager feel he is no longer competent. The hours the victim was able to work should be assessed. The evaluation can determine how the victim’s injury inhibits them from continuing to work the same number of hours as he did before.
The job skill of the client is another factor to evaluate in the projections of future lost earning capacity. His talents and abilities are essential in determining what they can and cannot do. The ability is highly related to the client’s income, where he has served in veteran duties and biomedical technology. Skill, talents, and abilities are high determinants of the client’s proficiency (Ireland & Slesnick, 2020). The spine injury may result in the client’s inability to perform effectively and put his skills into action. The client may consequently not enhance the current skills due to the impairment, resulting in a loss of future income capacity.
Finally, histories of raises, promotions, and improvements should be included in the assessment. The aspects of raises and promotions indicate the veteran’s capability to enhance their working capacity, roles, ability, and skills in the workplace. History of rise would show the victims’ ability to raise more income in their work life. The injury may affect his work as he no longer has the needed body strength and the ability to acquire upgrades and increases in the workplace. The evaluation of today’s wages and the current market value of the veteran’s skill sets should be done well. Personal improvements and advancement prospects may be minimized too, which may lead them to lose future income capacity.
Due to the current circumstances, the client may need a secondary occupation which is work in addition to regular employment, to boost his income after the injury. The tasks include extra work, programming projects, and conducting personal business in addition to everyday work. The secondary occupations that could be suitable include biomedical data analysis. The veteran may decide to add more skills in excel, python, and R studio to become a biomedical data analyst. This occupation may fit the client as it may not need lifting objects as he is not able to pick up over 40 pounds. Another occupation he may consider may be biomedical sales and service engineering. The work entails traveling to visit clients and establish new and existing relationships between clients by helping them with management and interpreting customer requirements.
Healthcare consulting may be an option for the client to explore. As much as he has no degree, he already possesses skills in biomedical technology; hence his skills would be valuable in improving the healthcare sector. The roles need him to stay abreast with the latest technologies and may boost his experience with some business-oriented courses to acquainted himself with business terms. The significance and appropriateness of these occupations are that they can be performed without needing physical energy. With the skills that the client already possesses, they may be able to adjust to them. The recommendations for the occupations were found through online sources.
References
Ireland, T. R., & Slesnick, F. (2020). Understanding a vocational economics, Inc., Calculation of lost earning capacity in a personal injury case with residual capacity.The Rehabilitation Professional, 28(3), 141-50.
Pressman, M. (2019). Calculating compensation sums for private law wrongs: Underlying imprecisions, necessary questions, and toward a plausible account of damages for lost years of life.U. Mich. JL Reform, 53(3), 1-75.