This is a term used to describe the financial loss that the family has suffered from the death of a family member. If a person were earning say $30,000 per year, and they were 35 years old, we could project over the next 30 years how much they could be expected to earn over their working lifetime. In many cases, we use a economist to make these projections. The economist uses tables, guidelines, and generally available statistics to help guide us in determining how much money that person would have likely earned over their lifetime. Naturally, some things can never be measured with absolute certainty. Companies can fold, go bankrupt, people have been fired, and their health has worsened. But on the positive side, we also look at raises, bonuses, increased productivity, and successes and factor that in as well.
