Calculating Lost Wages in a Personal Injury Case

Were you injured because of the negligence of someone else?  Are you spending nights awake worrying about lost wages and your financial future?  For injured parties who are out of work, this can be a frightening and overwhelming time for the injured person and their family.  If this has happened to you, then it’s time to get back your wages in a court of law and secure your financial future.

What Qualifies as Lost Wages?

When it comes to the courts, they want to see documentation of lost wages, such as a W-2, 1099, or other tax document.  For individuals who have multiple jobs, this can prove difficult.  For example, people who perform non-traditional, part-time jobs like lawn care, weekend waitressing, babysitting, or bartending a couple of nights a week may have a harder time proving the worth of their lost wages.  Sometimes, these jobs cannot be included when calculating lost wages due to a personal injury case.

As the plaintiff, you are owed lost wages as part of the compensatory damages incurred by your personal injury case.  At this point, the plaintiff needs to examine their overall income and where it comes from for the attorneys to determine which sources are eligible for lost income. If a tax documentation is not available, there must be some reasonable documentation to prove the lost wages, like receipts for example.  This would especially be the case for income earned from a source that is less than $600 for the entire year.

What about Future Lost Wages?

It is also important to consider future lost wages at this point.  To determine this, an attorney will look at the plaintiffs’ current level of income to determine future loses that also include recovery time.  If a person’s injuries need three months, six months, or even a year or more to heal, the plaintiff is entitled to compensation for lost wages during this recovery time.  The estimated recovery time is determined by a formal medical recommendation. The court will only accept reliable documents that prove your current income, future income and time needed to recover.  This documentation will go on the record and will ensure that you receive the appropriate amount for lost wages to be awarded.

At Hastings and Hastings we successfully win personal injury cases everyday.  We will win yours too.  For a free consultation about your personal injury case call us at 800-975-0080 and we will listen to your story, answer all of your questions, and give you our professional recommendation.