Posted on March 16, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
Unless we are heirs drawing income from a particularly substantial trust fund or have recently won the multi-million lotto draw, chances are, we have to work (whether as employees for a company or as a business owner). Our employment or business provides us with the income we need to survive so that we can enjoy life and provide for our families.
However, our ability to earn may be cut short due to the injuries we sustained due to instances caused by other people’s negligent or willful acts. One may be rendered totally disabled so that he can no longer perform the tasks required for his current job. Or, one may become partially disabled so that he may have to look for a job that he can do with his current set of abilities. As such, loss of earning capacity is one of the items you can include in a personal injury claim.
When Is One eligible for Loss of Earning Capacity?
Loss of earning capacity covers more than income lost in the past. It also is about recovering potential or future earnings. However, past lost income comes into play as it is used as a basis for future earnings. Loss of earning capacity also looks at how the injury affects efficiency and stamina.
One can claim for loss of earning capacity when:
- He is no longer able to perform the job that he currently has. For instance, if the victim is a radio announcer or voice talent, and he loses his voice as a result of an accident, he can be considered “disabled”. This is because he can no longer do the tasks and responsibilities that he used to do, even though he can still find another kind of employment.
- The injury hurts one’s employment prospects. Another example would be a famous model gracing the catwalk, as well as magazines and television commercials. If her face is permanently scarred due to the accident, she can no longer get modeling jobs and enjoy the income she used to earn. She may need to find another kind of employment, even when this pays lower than what she currently receives. On the other hand, if one is an office worker, a scar may not be material as it does not affect her ability to perform her tasks as an office worker.
- The injuries sustained hurt one’s chances of promotion or advancement. If your injuries mean that you can no longer be considered for promotion, then you are eligible to claim for loss of earning capacity.
Other considerations
Future earnings may be difficult to compute. There are other considerations to make, which includes:
- The age of the victim. If the victim is young, then the court will compute for the number of working years remaining in his lifetime. This means that someone that is close to retiring will receive a lower amount of compensation for loss of earning capacity compared to someone that has just worked for a few years. A minor (or his parents as representatives) can file for lost future earning capacity as a result of the child’s injuries.
- The ability of the victim. What is the victim’s educational background? Does his work involve a special skill or talent (i.e. basketball players getting injured)?
- The possibility of retraining. Can the victim be retrained so that he can work in another area in his field? Or does he totally need to move to another field due to his injuries?
- The possibility of further injury if a victim continues with his current job. For instance, a basketball player with an injured knee can risk further physical damage if he continues with his job as a basketball player.
- Self-employment or working on commission. Potential earnings may be computed based on how much he stands to earn if he did the same kind of work for another company. It can also be computed based on past business returns. It will also take into consideration the amount of money needed to hire someone to do the victim’s tasks.
Loss of Earning Capacity and Lawsuit Funding
Loss of earning capacity is just one aspect of a personal injury claim. Loss of earning capacity may be a bit tricky to prove and may prolong a lawsuit. During this time, you may need some lawsuit funding to help you with your financial concerns while you are waiting for the verdict and for the lawsuit to settle.
A lawsuit settlement advance can help you by providing you with quick and ready cash at an already difficult time. This will make you less vulnerable to the temptation of accepting a settlement offer that is far less than what you stand to get, especially if you consider loss of earning capacity.
If you are in need of a lawsuit cash advance, you can go to FastLawsuitMoney.com. With FastLawsuitMoney.com’s streamlined process, you can be sure that your application for lawsuit funding does not require a lot of legwork and paperwork from your end. We will work with your lawyer to evaluate the lawsuit. Once you receive approval of your lawsuit funding, it is not unusual for you to get the money in as quickly as a day.
Posted on August 12, 2011 by Fast Lawsuit Team
Wham! A car crash – unexpected, devastating and something that can change your life. A car accident may result in serious, even fatal, physical injuries. To make things even more difficult, the accident was not even your fault but the other driver’s recklessness, carelessness or mistake. And you then find out that you may have to file a personal injury lawsuit to get the compensation you deserve for all the pain and suffering you have gone through.
Now, how do you prepare for a personal injury lawsuit when you are a victim of a car accident? What are the things you have to keep in mind to make sure that your case is as strong as it can be?
Choose the right lawyer. Getting quality legal advice and service is one thing you should do to ensure that your rights are properly protected and defended. A good lawyer will fight to get you fair and just compensation for your personal injuries. A good lawyer will also work to build your case – he will interview witnesses, get the opinions of experts, or maybe hire an investigator to get the details of the accident. In addition, your lawyer should have the necessary experience in dealing with car accidents and the personal injury lawsuits that arise from these.
Evaluate your case. With the help of your lawyer, you can ask crucial questions before you even dive into the lawsuit. Evaluate the strength of your claim based on the evidence you can get. You should also know the instances with regards to similar claims and how these were settled and how much the settlements were. Knowing these cases can help you while you are negotiating your claim since you can refer to these cases as a benchmark for your claim.
Build your case. Be sure to keep all medical records with regards to your treatment and prospective treatments and therapy. Ideally, you should also make a list of the witnesses of the accident, have photos taken of the site and prepare all the necessary evidence you will present to the court.
Be mentally and physically prepared. A personal injury lawsuit is a stressful affair. You need to be mentally and physically prepared to meet with the pressure and strain with regards to the proceedings of the lawsuit. If you are brought to the stand, the opposing side’s lawyer will scrutinize your statements and will barrage you with questions to show that you may be partially or even equally liable for the accident or that the accident is not the other party’s fault. You may also need to prepare yourself by getting counseling to ensure that you don’t get too emotional while you are in the witness stand.
Know the settlement amount you are gunning for. A settlement offer may sound attractive because the amount sounds big. But you have to evaluate the amount that you are offered vis a vis the financial loss you incurred.
- Medical expenses. You need to calculate not just the amount you have already been billed but also the additional expenses you may incur in the future. This includes physical and occupational therapy. You should also compute for any expenses involved in equipping your house and car with adaptive or medical devices to make it easier to deal with day-to-day activities after your injury.
- Loss of income. You should also consider the loss of income involved – not just during the time you were in the hospital and in recovery but also the potential income you might have earned were you not injured.
- Property damage. Obviously, your car will have also suffered damages due to the accident. You need to include this in your computation. Usually, the amount is based on the car’s fair market value and how much it will cost to repair the car.
- Other damages. This includes compensation for pain and suffering, the loss of enjoyment and the loss of the ability to enjoy family relationships as a result of the personal injury. You should also compute the out-of-pocket expenses you spent (i.e. paying for child care while you are in the hospital, paying for petrol going to and fro the hospital and so on).
Be financially prepared. During the lawsuit or even before filing one, you may be sorely tempted to accept a low-ball settlement offer just because you are in dire need of funds. After the accident, you may be faced with a lot of odds – mounting medical bills, the loss of income (or even the impending loss of your job), financial obligations you need to face with regards to your household and so on. To avoid succumbing to this temptation, it is best for you to have the funds that will see you through until the lawsuit is finally settled.
Car accidents and Lawsuit Funding
One important aspect of your preparation is getting the funding you need so that you are able to negotiate and fight for the best compensation amount. This is where lawsuit funding comes in. Lawsuit funding (or often referred to as a lawsuit settlement loan or a lawsuit settlement advance) provides you with ready cash even before the lawsuit is settled. This allows you to pay bills, ensure that your family is provided for even as you spend to build a strong case.
FastLawsuitMoney.com has been helping people get the funding they need as they wait for their lawsuit to settle. In fact, FastLawsuitMoney.com has worked to make it easier for you to apply for lawsuit settlement funding. The funding is based on the merits of your case and not on whether you have a good credit rating or a good employment record. And once you are considered eligible for the funding, you can get your cash in as little as 24 hours.
A personal injury lawsuit (and pre-settlement lawsuit funding) can help you make the best out of a very challenging situation. A car accident can wreck you and your family’s lives. But that does not mean that you can’t get up and pick the pieces and move forward to a better future.
Posted on August 5, 2011 by Fast Lawsuit Team
A personal injury claim may be settled in court or if both parties can agree to a certain amount, the claim can be settled even before or during a personal injury lawsuit. The key is to be able to negotiate so that you can get the best settlement amount, one that fairly compensates your financial loss as well as the trauma and suffering you have gone through.
What you should remember about compensation for personal injury is that the purpose is to get you back to “pre-accident condition”. The compensation aims to replace not just any financial losses that you incur but may also try to put a dollar amount on your anguish and trauma resulting from the accident – this includes mental, physical and emotional stress and trauma you may have to go through or are still going through.
Another thing that you should remember is that the other party will naturally try to get as low a settlement amount as possible while you are working to do the opposite – to get the maximum settlement amount.
Here are some tips to help you negotiate the best settlement amount for your personal injury:
Don’t sign anything without thinking it over. After your injury, the other party’s representatives, particularly their lawyer or insurance company, will work to get settle your claim as soon as they can. And this may happen while you are still in the hospital and not in fighting form. So, don’t sign anything without carefully thinking about it or without a lawyer’s advice.
Line up your weapons. Be sure that you have all the documentations (police reports, medical reports, photos, etc.) with regards to the incident that caused your injury. You need to show that the other party is indeed legally liable for your injury.
Determine the reasonable amount of compensation for your injury. You need to determine just how much damages you deserve for the injury, as well as the accompanying pain and suffering you have to go through. You should include in your computations all the medical expenses – past, present and future – that is related to your injury. You also need to incorporate out-of-pocket expenses, the cost of care as well as the loss of income resulting from the injury. In some states, the punitive damages and damages for pain and suffering should also be taken into account.
Do some research. Look for similar lawsuits and how these were settled. You can benchmark on these cases and cite them as examples during the negotiations.
Get quality legal help. If you are serious about filing a lawsuit, it is best to get a lawyer that has experience and a track record with regards to personal injury lawsuits. Your lawyer will work to build your case and also negotiate to get the best settlement offer for you.
Do not release information unnecessarily. The right venue for you to provide information is during the hearing of your lawsuit. You don’t need to provide the other party with the evidence that you have. You don’t need to provide them with information about yourself and about your medical records. Remember, anything you say can and will be used against you. Although statements made during the negotiations are not admissible during a trial, the other party may try to twist your words so that it comes out that there is malicious intent on your side and this may result in having your statements admissible in court.
Do everything in writing. Do not make your settlement demands over the phone. Communicate these in writing and make sure you have the registered copy of all your communications.
Negotiating the settlement amount
Even before the lawsuit is filed, you are required to make efforts towards settling the case outside of court. The negotiations may be started by either party. The erring party may try to give an offer and you may try to answer with a counter-offer. The rule of thumb is to not accept the first offer, as this is usually the lowest amount they will offer.
In some cases, your lawyer may start the negotiation by sending the other party a demand package, which outlines your settlement offer. A good demand package will show that you are really serious about your lawsuit.
Negotiating from a position of strength
When you are negotiating, one principle is that you should know not to blink. In other words, you should negotiate from a position of strength. The other party knows that with your injury, you need funds to cover a mounting pile of debts and obligations. They know that you can be tempted into getting a lower amount just “to get it over with” and to get the money you need to pay for your bills.
You can avoid this pitfall by availing of lawsuit funding. Also referred to as a lawsuit settlement advance or a lawsuit settlement loan, this provides you with the funds that make a lowball offer easier to say no to. With lawsuit funding, you will have quick cash to tide you over while you are waiting for the settlement to be done.
FastLawsuitMoney.com helps you get the lawsuit funding you need in order for you to negotiate for the best compensation amount that you deserve. There is no need for you to give in and accept a settlement that you know is much lower than what your injuries should be compensated for.
With FastLawsuitMoney.com, you can negotiate with confidence and know that even as you are waiting for the settlement, your family is taken care of and your financial worries do not add to the stress of the negotiations.