What PI Solicitors Need
Expert evidence on: pre-accident earnings baseline; residual earning capacity post-injury; labour market analysis; Ogden Tables multiplier; Smith v Manchester awards; pension loss.
The Multiplier/Multiplicand Method
The multiplicand is the annual net earnings loss. The multiplier is derived from the Ogden Tables using the claimant's age, sex, employment status, and whether they are "disabled" under the Ogden definition, adjusted for the discount rate of -0.25% (Civil Liability Act 2018).
What Is a Smith v Manchester Award?
A Smith v Manchester award is made where a claimant with an established career is at risk on the open labour market following their injury but conventional future loss of earnings cannot be precisely calculated, typically awarded at up to 2 years' net earnings as a lump sum for handicap on the open labour market.
Residual Earning Capacity
The expert assesses what the claimant can earn post-injury, considering medical evidence, transferable skills, labour market conditions, and the realistic availability of suitable work within their functional capacity.
Self-Employed and Business Owner Claims
Pre-accident earnings established from tax returns and accounts; business disruption losses; partnership or directorship income; forensic accountant often instructed alongside vocational expert.
Fatal Accident Act 1976: Dependency Loss
Employment expert calculates the deceased's likely future earnings trajectory using career model analysis and labour market data to establish the dependency capitalised by the Ogden multiplier. Fatal accident dependency.
Frequently Asked Questions
An employment loss expert is needed whenever loss of earnings is a significant head of damage, including where the claimant is self-employed, is a business owner, has an unusual earnings history, faces a career change due to injury, or where a Smith v Manchester award is in issue. For straightforward claims with regular employment, the forensic accountant may be sufficient without a vocational expert.