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This content is for informational purposes only and it not intended to provide legal advice
Just because you’re a stay-at-home spouse doesn’t mean you’re not eligible to claim personal injury damages for lost wages or lost earning capacity. To come up with the amount for lost income wages for a parent who does not work outside of the home, it’s important to determine the value of the monetary value for household services and the stay-at-home spouse’s income earning potential.
This means that the spouse who works outside of the home will have to estimate how the injury affected damages that don’t have definite costs associated with them.
How To Value Lost Income for Stay-at-Home Spouses
When you’re trying to come up with estimates to determine the value of lost earning potential and your limited ability to perform normal household duties, you’ll have to submit proof to the courts that you could earn an income if you choose to go back to work, and what you’ll have to pay to replace household tasks that were previously your responsibility.
To verify your lost earning potential, you’ll have to use any training or education you have and compare this with what someone with similar credentials makes in the workforce. If you had a job outside of the house before deciding to be a stay-at-home spouse, you can use your previous earning potential and adjust this amount according to promotions or increased costs of living.
If you have a permanent or long-term injury and are forced to take a job below your professional or educational level, you can include the monetary difference between what you could have earned if you were not injured and what you actually make on the job you had to take due to your disability.
When you’re determining the monetary worth associated with the household duties you take care of for your family, make a list of what you do each day. This can include cleaning the house, grocery shopping, caring for children, preparing meals, overall management of the household.
Once you pinpoint all the services you provide, you’ll have a damages value that shows how much it will cost you to hire someone to handle the tasks you can no longer perform due to your injury. Be sure to indicate the specifics of these duties by telling your attorney that you need someone to take your children to daycare/school and pick them up, or that you need a maid to clean the home or a nanny to care for small children at home.
More on Calculating Stay-at-Home Lost Income Damages
For example, say you have an elementary education degree and were a teacher for five years before deciding to become a stay-at-home spouse. Your earnings before your injury were about $30,000 annually [source]. However, your earning capacity is based on what you did before the injury as well as what you are professionally capable of due to your work history, education, and experience. An economist will assess these factors if your injury is long-term.
If your injury only lasts for a few weeks, your lawyer may handle this separately from an economist, since the attorney has likely dealt with similar cases. Say you would lose about $4,000 for three weeks of work and pay about $1,000 for someone else to do the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and childcare during the time you are injured. This means you’ll receive around $5,000 in a settlement based on three weeks of missed work. An experienced auto accident lawyer should be able to handle this for you.
Keep in mind that estimates are speculated and based on what you and your lawyer are able to provide evidence for in court. Each individual case may vary, so it’s best to consult with a lawyer with expertise in this area so you’ll know how much to expect in a settlement and receive fair compensation for your injuries if you’re a stay-at-home spouse.
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