What is the difference between loss of future earnings and loss of earning capacity in a personal injury case?

Loss of future earnings typically compares what the plaintiff would have earned in their specific employment but for the injury to what they actually earn or are expected to earn post-injury. Loss of earning capacity measures the reduction in the plaintiff's ability to earn in the open labor market using occupational earnings data—even when they are not working or have changed careers. The correct measure depends on state law, pleadings, and facts. Many cases require analysis of both measures.

What economic damages are available in a wrongful death case?

Wrongful death economic damages vary by state but commonly include the decedent's lost future earnings or earning capacity, lost fringe benefits, and loss of household services the decedent would have provided. Some states cap or restrict certain heads. A forensic economist quantifies the economic components; counsel determines which heads are recoverable under applicable statute and case law.

Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Economic Damages

Defensible quantification of wage loss, earning capacity, and related economic heads in bodily injury and fatality litigation.

How Economic Damages Work in PI and Wrongful Death Cases

In personal injury and wrongful death litigation, economic damages compensate for quantifiable financial loss caused by the defendant's conduct. Unlike non-economic damages for pain and suffering or loss of consortium, economic damages require expert quantification grounded in earnings records, labor market data, and actuarial work-life assumptions.

Future Earnings Expert connects plaintiff and defense attorneys with independent forensic economists who specialize in loss of future earnings, loss of earning capacity, fringe benefits, and—where applicable—household services loss in wrongful death matters.

Key Heads of Economic Loss

Loss of future earnings when a plaintiff's wage trajectory is interrupted by injury
Loss of earning capacity when market-wide vocational impact exceeds actual post-injury wages
Fringe benefits including health insurance, retirement, and employer-paid compensation
Decedent wage-earner loss and household services in wrongful death and survival actions
Present value discounting of future loss streams per state and federal forum standards

Coordination With Other Experts

Economic experts do not replace medical experts, life care planners, or vocational specialists—they translate vocational and clinical limitations into dollar damages without double-counting medical expenses already captured in life care plans. Early coordination prevents inconsistent assumptions across expert reports.

Network economists document data sources (tax returns, W-2s, SSA earnings records, BLS/OEWS occupational data) and state assumptions explicitly for FRE 702 and Daubert review.

Plaintiff and Defense Perspectives

Plaintiff counsel retains economists to establish full economic loss supported by the record. Defense counsel retains economists to test growth assumptions, mitigation, pre-existing conditions, and reasonableness of occupational projections. Both sides benefit from methodology transparent enough to survive scrutiny.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between loss of future earnings and loss of earning capacity in a personal injury case?: Loss of future earnings typically compares what the plaintiff would have earned in their specific employment but for the injury to what they actually earn or are expected to earn post-injury. Loss of earning capacity measures the reduction in the plaintiff's ability to earn in the open labor market using occupational earnings data—even when they are not working or have changed careers. The correct measure depends on state law, pleadings, and facts. Many cases require analysis of both measures.
What economic damages are available in a wrongful death case?: Wrongful death economic damages vary by state but commonly include the decedent's lost future earnings or earning capacity, lost fringe benefits, and loss of household services the decedent would have provided. Some states cap or restrict certain heads. A forensic economist quantifies the economic components; counsel determines which heads are recoverable under applicable statute and case law.

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