Loss of Income (child or young adult)

Economica’s Assessments: Additional information requirements for self-employed individuals (personal injury cases)

We have outlined below the additional information which we typically require when the plaintiff was/is self-employed. This information is required in addition to our usual requirements for a loss of income assessment (outlined here).

☐              Financial statements (income statements) for the business before and (if applicable) after the accident.

☐              Any descriptions the plaintiff can provide regarding the impact of his or her injury on the operation of the business. Has revenue been affected? Has any replacement labour been hired? Have any other costs increased as a direct result of the accident? What has happened in the industry in general since the accident, and what is now expected?

☐              Information regarding the pre- and post-accident intentions of the plaintiff (i.e., expansions, asset sales, new areas of business etc.).

☐              Descriptions of any actions taken to mitigate the loss — Who helped out? How were operations rearranged? Were family members who helped fully paid?

☐              Has the business been sold? Stopped operating? Have any asset sales occurred?

☐              Was (is) any income paid to family members simply as a tax-avoidance strategy?

☐              Did any part of any business expenses actually go towards personal consumption? (Examples include fuel, telephone calls, office supplies, vehicle capital costs…)

☐              If the plaintiff now intends to go into an alternate field, perhaps one in which they formerly worked, we would require information regarding their experience and qualifications in that field.

More details may be required depending on the level of complexity of the case and the amount of support one wishes to establish for the assumptions used. These cases generally require 1.5 to 2.5 times as much work as ordinary injury and fatal cases, if the full methodology is required, but can be done much more quickly if some approximations are used and/or if assumptions are taken as provided by the plaintiff.

For a printable version of this checklist, click here.