Are lost employment benefits like health coverage recoverable in Georgia?

· 3 min read

Yes. The value of employment benefits an injured person loses because of another’s negligence can be part of a Georgia claim. Benefits such as employer-provided health coverage, retirement contributions, and similar compensation are part of what a person earns from work, so their loss falls within recoverable lost earnings and earning capacity.

Benefits as part of compensation for lost work

Lost wages are a familiar economic damage, but pay is not limited to the figure on a paycheck. Employment commonly includes benefits with real monetary value: health insurance premiums an employer pays, contributions to retirement accounts, paid leave, and other perquisites of the job. When an injury keeps a person from working, or reduces their ability to hold the kind of job they had, the value of those lost benefits can be claimed alongside lost salary.

Georgia recognizes recovery both for past lost earnings already missed and for the impairment of future earning capacity. Lost benefits can appear on either side. A person off work during recovery may lose the value of coverage and contributions during that period, and someone whose injury permanently limits their employment may lose the future benefits tied to the jobs they can no longer perform.

Proving the value

Because these are economic losses that must be established, evidence is essential:

  • Documentation of the benefits the person received, such as the employer’s share of health premiums or retirement match.
  • Records showing the period of lost work and the benefits forgone during it.
  • For future losses, testimony projecting the benefits attached to the person’s diminished earning capacity.

Valuing lost future benefits often involves vocational and economic testimony, the same kind used to project lost future earnings. And because future economic damages must be reduced to present value in Georgia, the projected stream of lost benefits is discounted to a present-day figure. The claimant carries the burden of supporting these amounts well enough that the jury can calculate them without speculation.

A separate point: the fact that the injured person had health coverage does not let the defendant escape liability for the medical bills, because Georgia’s collateral source rule generally keeps such payments from reducing the recovery.

The bottom line

Lost employment benefits, including health coverage, are recoverable in Georgia as part of lost earnings and earning capacity. The value of forgone benefits, past and future, can be claimed when supported by evidence, with future amounts reduced to present value as the law requires.

This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.

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