If you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident you may be entitled to an award for wage losses, even if you haven’t missed a single day of work. Injured parties are not only entitled to be compensated for wage losses they have already incurred but wage losses they have a “real and substantial possibility” of incurring in the future.
This issue was dealt with in a recent Supreme Court of British Columbia personal injury case:
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/15/13/2015BCSC1323.htm
Here, the plaintiff was a welder in his early 30s. He had pre-existing neck and back issues. Ultimately the judge found that the plaintiff’s motor vehicle accident was responsible for the majority of his current symptoms. A slight deduction from his award was made for his pre-existing issues. This plaintiff was also awarded $170,000 for Future Wage Losses. He proved that the accident had created a “real and substantial possibility of overtime losses and the plaintiff having to retire early”. Despite the fact that this plaintiff had missed significant time from work, he was awarded a large amount for future wage losses.
The plaintiff in this case relied on evidence from both lay witnesses (ex. friends, family, co-workers, and employers) as well as medical experts. This case also, once again, illustrates how important it is to gather proper evidence and consult with proper experts.
