California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Mazgani v. Moda, B291721 (Cal. App. 2020):
For example, in Osterode v. Almquist (1948) 89 Cal.App.2d 15, the plaintiff, a commercial fisherman, skipper and part owner of a fishing boat, presented evidence showing he was preparing to take a fishing trip just prior to being injured by the defendant. The plaintiff and his witnesses testified regarding his expected catch, the value of the fish, and his expenses. The evidence was properly admitted: "While a plaintiff in an action for personal injuries cannot ordinarily recover for loss of profits derived from a business, [citations] however, under a plea of general damages and to prove loss of earning capacity, it is permissible to show what wages, salary, or emoluments would be open to the plaintiff in a business, vocation, trade, or profession which he understands and in which he would have the right and ability to engage except
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for the injuries sustained, [citation] and the earning capacity of [the plaintiff] prior to the accident was a proper subject of inquiry. [Citations.]" (Id. at pp. 19-20; see also Sharfman v. State (1967) 253 Cal.App.2d 333, 337 [plaintiff landscape architect may establish his lost income by showing what his "share of partnership income had been in the past"].)
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