Can I Receive Damages if I’m a Stay at Home Spouse?

Many people think that only spouses who work can receive personal injury damages to compensate them for lost earning capacity or wages. However, this is not always the case, as sometimes the court can use income earning potential and economic value of household services. Your injury can still leave an impact on everything that you do. This means that you will have to figure out this impact and what it means for you and your injury damages.

If You Returned to Work 

Sometimes, a spouse may be at home temporarily but was intending to go back to work. If this is the case, you should always attempt to value your lost earning potential. This means showing evidence of how much you would be able to make if you returned to work, by showing the court what you used to make when you worked, your education, or any training that you received and intend to use. If you have a permanent injury and you are forced to work at a job that is less than you expected, then you could be able to show this and hopefully receive what you wanted in damages.

Sustaining drastic injuries can also have an effect on your ability to manage the household, especially when children are involved. Perhaps now your injury is so bad that you cannot watch over your children anymore without help. You should include services that you supply to your family everyday when you are reaching a number for damages, such as childcare, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and general management of a household.

Your earning capacity all comes down to 1.) what you have done before you were injured and 2.) what you are capable of doing in the future with your education. You and your attorney can sit down and discuss how your case will look in front of the court and assess what your damages are actually worth. Give us a call to get started on your personal injury case at Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi.