Yes, but you need to prove it.
Lost income is a form of what we call "economic" damages. This means that the loss is verifiable, and can be proven with objective evidence. In a simple case, you are injured, your doctor takes you off work, and you show through off work notes and wage information how much income you lost. However, things can get trickier if you have a future income loss.
It's all about documentation. You need to show your prior track record of earnings, and convince an insurance adjuster, or a jury, that you were set to either continue to earn comparable amounts, or even more. You also need to keep in mind that if there is something else you can do to earn money, you need to do that in order to minimize your losses.
If you were not working at the time, you may be able to make a claim for future income losses, but it may be more challenging. You may also have a claim for future lost earning capacity, which is not lost income, but compensation for lost income opportunities. Many times, experts, like vocational counselors and economists will get involved in order to document these claims.
Questions? Give us a call at 503-325-8600 to discuss this or any other issue you may have with your Oregon personal injury, or even a Washington injury claim. We work on issues like this every day.
