Lost Wages and Future Earning Capacity Drive the Money Fight
An injury claim is not only about hospital bills. Time off work has a price. So does a smaller career after recovery. Courts split that harm into past wage loss and future earning capacity. The first looks backward. The second looks ahead.
Lost wages cover pay already missed. Pay stubs, tax returns, and employer records usually prove it. Overtime, tips, and regular allowances can count when they were part of the job. Gaps in the file weaken the number. A clear work history strengthens it.
Future earning capacity is harder. It asks what the person could have earned, not only what the last paycheck said. Age, skill, union scale, and likely advancement all matter. A young seaman or dock worker may have had years of rising pay. A permanent limit on lifting, standing, or sea time can cut that path.
Vocational evidence often decides the point.
Doctors describe lasting limits. Economists turn those limits into dollars. They may compare pre-injury work with jobs still open after the injury. Discounting then converts future pay into a present sum. Inflation and work-life expectancy enter that math.
Maritime cases add extra facts. A seaman’s income can include voyage pay, overtime, and maintenance patterns. Seasonal work complicates the average. A return to light duty does not always restore full capacity. The question remains practical. Can the person do the old job safely and for the same living?
Mitigation still applies. The injured person should take reasonable work that fits the medical limits. A refusal of suitable work can reduce the award. An employer’s failure to offer real light duty cuts the other way.
These heads of damage are not guesses dressed as science. They rest on records, medical permanence, and a credible work story. Past wages anchor the claim. Future capacity often moves the verdict. Together they try to replace the living the injury took away.