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Some note the fact that the worklife expectancy
statistics do not consider the possibility of future disability. Though
this is true, it misses a crucial point that needs to be considered.
Gibson (1998) noted: A disabled person faces a risk of further disabling
injuries at least as high as a nondisabled person’s risk of an initial
injury. Use of The WLE Tables is primarily intended for forensic
settings where the change in a person’s worklife from nondisabled to
disabled is the primary concern. Study of the nondisabled worklife alone
(in cases of partial disability) has little value without a corresponding
disabled worklife.
The fact is, there is no reliable source for computing
probabilities of future disability. One could potentially be derived for
the nondisabled population, but such statistics are beyond modern science
for the population with disabilities. To factor it on one side of the
equation and not the other would be inequitable.Finally, Culver v. Slater Boat Company (722 F.2d
114, 5th Circuit, 1983) notes that there are some possibilities we
simply do not factor in our computations of lost earnings:
Arriving at a reasonable estimate of anyone’s financial
future involves estimates of a whole spectrum of factors. We commonly
exclude many relevant factors from consideration on the basis that they are
so speculative that they cannot accurately be determined. For example, we
consider only work-life expectancy and do not take into account the
possibility that a worker will change to work that is more pleasurable but
pays less. When considering the loss suffered as a result of the death of a
wage-earner, we do not consider the likelihood that a widowed spouse may
remarry. Nor do we take into account the stability of an already
accomplished remarriage, or the age, appearance or personality of the
surviving spouse.
Analyses of lost earnings factor in the probability of
the plaintiff’s death at each future age. However, death is certain.
Divorce or (further) disability is not. |
