In some families, multiple adults work and share the household’s financial burden equally. But in other families, a more traditional model is exercised. a family may have one person who is the main breadwinner, or the main income earner, bringing in the bulk of the income that the family uses to do everything from paying the rent to keeping food on the table.
This means that things can become very complicated very quickly if that person is fatally injured in a car accident or another injurious scenario. Not only will family members have to deal with this traumatic and emotional experience, but they will also be forced to deal with the loss of the majority of their income – even 100% of their income, in some cases. This is on top of the other financial issues they may be facing, such as medical bills, funeral costs and the like.
Compensation for lost future income
In a situation like this, family members need to know that they may have the opportunity to seek compensation. If someone else was negligent and caused the fatal accident in question, then they may be responsible for the loss of that future income. Lost future income can be calculated when seeking compensation for medical bills and other costs stemming from the crash.
How do you calculate future income?
It can be complicated to calculate how much someone would have earned in the future. Their age plays a major role in this calculus. A simple way to run this calculation would be to look at how much the person earned annually and compare that to how long they expected to work. A 45-year-old who made $50,000 a year and planned to retire when they were 65 would have earned about $1 million over the next 20 years.
But these simple calculations are unlikely to reflect an individual’s true income potential. Perhaps a fatal injury victim was earning $50,000 a year currently, but they were in line for a promotion that would’ve doubled their salary. Or maybe they got paid on commission, so it’s difficult to tell if they would’ve earned more or less from year to year. Perhaps they were considering a career change, which could have increased their annual income.
It’s difficult to predict the future, but it’s clear that surviving family members may have lost a significant amount of money due to a fatal accident. It’s important for those who may be owed compensation for the loss of a loved one understand all of their legal rights and options accordingly.