Originally Posted by
PittsDriver
I have come to a bad point in my career. I was involved in an auto accident and due to the accident (not my fault, negligent drunk driver crossed the center and hit me head on) I have developed migraines am about to lose my flight physical, and the potential for a waiver (if the migraines ever stop and is at least one year after your last migraine) is slim to none (USAF). So, my question is what is a profession worth to you in a lawsuit? I have hired the best attorney I could find for my situation, and he has asked what the loss means to me since he is not familiar with my profession. I am active duty AF (10 years), but going to have to get out this year since I cannot fly any longer, and really do not want to stay if it is a non-flying position. Trying to put a number on what it would be to lose your profession. I consider being a pilot a profession and not a job, so I will go back to school for another profession. I know if I just take the bonus and flight pay out of the equation until I am eligible to retire, its a bit over $300K I would lose in pay for just that. Thanks for any inputs!
Dang brother, sorry to hear about this situation. Wish ya the best of luck. I am concerned though that these things are usually determined by the level of capital at stake. Ergo, if the guy is just another one of us working stiffs, you ain't gonna get 25 million if the guy's net worth is couple thousand. Best case scenario as someone else pointed out, is an out-of-court settlement for the maximum liability set forth in the guy's insurance policy...for car policies normally around 100K. Take out the lawyer's cut and you're looking at 60gs.
That or not get paid at all when they guy does the hand thing like a dealer at the casino and the courts can't squeeze every penny out of him, just as they would protect his ability to put a minimum amount of food on the table for himself when facing other judgements such as child support or alimony. Even wage garnishments cannot take his entire check. So payout for you could be unlikely when suing individuals with low net worth (the majority). I do wish ya luck and let us know how that turns out.