Every single day that an injured seaman spends away from work means an entire day’s worth of wages lost. This may not seem like much if the injury lasts for a week or a couple of weeks.  But take a serious head injury or back injury that keeps the seaman off his feet for 3 months and in need of physical therapy and rehabilitation for another 2 months, and the seaman may be looking at accumulated lost wages that are very high indeed.

Basically, a Jones Act seaman is entitled to recover the wages that he would have earned if he had not suffered an injury and continued to work. The lost wages are calculated from the injury date to the settlement of the claim.

However, calculating lost wages is comparatively simple, compared to calculation of potential lost earnings.  This issue arises if the injury is so severe that the seaman cannot expect to return to his former job. He may either not be able to work at all, or is forced by his injury to take up a lower paying job.

Calculating potential earnings will depend on the seaman’s wages.  Generally, a maritime lawyer will arrive at this amount by multiplying the seaman’s wages with the number of years the seaman could have possibly worked on the job. This amount will also have to be adjusted for the taxes payable over that period of time, lowering the amount further.  If the injured seaman is young with several working years left ahead of him, then his potential lost earnings could work out to a sizeable amount.  It’s important that you consult with an experienced Jones Act lawyer who can take all factors into consideration while finalizing your lost potential earnings claim.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board Certified trial lawyer, whose primary focus is the representation of injured Jones Act seamen, tankermen, galleyhands, deckhands, drillers, oilrig workers offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, around the country and in international waters.