EWJ August 62 2025 web - Journal - Page 98
ward or very complex depending on the circumstances. The most difficult claims are those involving
young claimants or those with a very limited earnings
history. In such cases, expert evidence may be required together with evidence of the Claimant’s family members’ earnings where appropriate. Once the
pre-accident and retained earning capacity figures are
available, the appropriate multipliers can be ascertained by reference to the correct table which will be
determined by the three factors outlined above
and the injured claimant’s biological sex, age and
retirement age.
Adjustment to the reduction factors can be made in
appropriate circumstances but examples of those circumstances are beyond the scope of this article. Further,
the tables have a significant limitation in that they are
limited to a maximum age of 54 at trial, which will only
become more problematic in the future as average retirement age increases. However, the tables should be
used in any case where it is possible, even if difficult, to
calculate a claimant’s residual earning capacity.
Conclusion
Disadvantage on the labour market claims can be
difficult and nuanced to advance. Early investigation
of such claims and clarity in the medical evidence is
essential to avoid claims being over or under-pleaded.
For defendants, it is important to maintain challenges
to wrongly pleaded and poorly founded disadvantage
claims and they should not just be accepted if medical
evidence supports some disadvantage. By properly
considering and scrutinising these claims, parties
should be able to reach agreement on quantum at an
earlier stage of litigation.
A worked example:
30-year-old male, not disabled with level 3 educational
attainment earning a net annual salary of £40,000.
Following the accident, he is rendered disabled, remains employed but is only able to manage part-time
work and has a residual earning capacity of £20,000
net per annum. His intended retirement age of 65 is
unaffected by his injury. All multipliers are calculated
at a discount rate of +0.5%. The Claimant’s earnings
multiplier is 31.26, the reduction factor for contingencies other than mortality is 0.9 for a non-disabled
30-year-old male and 0.57 for a disabled 30-year-old
male. The Claimant’s pre-accident earning capacity is
calculated as follows: (31.26 x 0.9) x £40,000 =
£1,235,360. The Claimant’s post-accident earning
capacity is calculated as follows (31.26 x 0.57) x
£20,000 = £356,364. The value of the Claimant’s
claim is therefore £878,996.
Author, Jessica Denton
Barrister at St John's Buildings
Clerk@stjohnsbuildings.co.uk
Jessica represents Claimants and
Defendants across a broad
spectrum of Personal Injury work, including road
traffic accidents, public liability, accidents abroad,
employer’s liability and product liability.
Mr Ross S. Delston
CAMS, CTCE
Attorney + Expert Witness - Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
Ross S. Delston is an independent American attorney, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS),
Cryptocurrency Tracing Certified Examiner (CTCE), and former U.S. banking regulator (FDIC) with over 40
years of experience in the financial services sector. He has specialized in Anti-Money Laundering / Countering
the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) issues for over 20 years.
Ross has acted as a testifying or consulting expert on AML issues in numerous civil and criminal cases,
including on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, in U.S. v. Prevezon, a civil
forfeiture case involving the proceeds of a massive Russian fraud. He testified virtually on behalf of plaintiffs in
a Toronto court for over three days in Joint Liquidators of Stanford International Bank v. Toronto-Dominion
Bank, arising out of one of the largest Ponzi schemes in recent decades.
Ross has been a consultant to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 1997 on AML/CFT and banking
matters and has participated in the AML/CFT assessments of nine offshore financial centers, including Saint
Vincent, Bermuda, and Jersey. He has also been a consultant to the World Bank, 1998 – 2014, on banking
regulation, resolution, and systemic crisis issues.
Ross has been quoted on AML and banking subjects in the New York Times, Times of London, Washington
Post, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Nikkei (Japan), and the Hindu Business Line (India).
He also speaks on these topics at conferences and seminars throughout the world.
Area of work: Worldwide
Tel: +1 (202) 494-5835 - Email: ross@globalaml.com
Fax:+1 (202) 280-1465 - Website: www.linkedin.com/in/rossdelston
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