Can I Recover Lost Wages If I Miss Work After a Car Accident?
If you’re in a car accident in Texas, get injured, and miss work as a result, you may be able to receive compensation for your current and future lost wages. If you can prove the other driver was at fault and acted negligently, or if you’re at fault and covered by personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, you may be legally entitled to file a claim for a payout or pursue a personal injury lawsuit.
It’s quite common for a car accident attorney to help clients recover lost wages and other damages after an accident, even if their injuries seem minor. Car accidents are traumatic incidents that can affect your ability to work, especially if you’re active on the job or have a public-facing role. The circumstances and severity of the crash, along with the type of insurance coverage both companies have and the amenability of the parties to agree to a settlement, will impact whether you’ll need to sue to get the remuneration you deserve.
What Counts as Lost Wages?
Wages include the income you earn for working, and lost wages can include monetary and non-monetary compensation and benefits you’re prevented from earning due to an injury, ailment, or other work-related circumstance.
Claims for lost wages may cover past and future earnings, including:
Hourly Wages or Salary
Lost wage calculations for hourly workers are based on the number of missed hours out of your typical work period, multiplied by your hourly wage. If you’re a salaried employee, you can divide your annual payout by the number of workdays listed in your terms of employment and multiply the amount you earn per day by the number of days of work you miss.
Overtime
You can calculate lost overtime wages by multiplying the number of overtime hours you miss by your overtime rate, then adding this figure to the sum of your regular lost wages as you calculate your total lost income claim.
Bonuses or Commissions
Bonuses and commissions are typically compensation you earn for exceeding a certain performance threshold. If you can show that you would have earned bonuses or commissions on top of your regular wages, you can factor this income into your lost wages claim.
Vacation or Sick Days
Paid vacation and sick days can be included as lost wages because they are a type of income or financial benefit you lost as a direct result of your accident and would have earned if you were working.
Fringe Benefits and Perks
Compensation like employer-sponsored retirement contributions, stock options, and health insurance may count as lost wages if you lose these benefits because you miss work as a result of your accident. For instance, if you receive 401(k) matches, you should factor the value of these contributions into your claim for lost wages. If you lose your health insurance and have to secure new, similar health insurance coverage on your own, you can include the cost of the replacement policy in your claim.
Raises and Promotions
If you can show that you have regularly earned performance-based raises or promotions, you can account for these wage or salary increases as future earnings based on your past performance.
Self-employment Income
If you are self-employed and earn income as a freelancer, independent contractor, or a professional with your own business, you can claim the income or profit you earn as lost wages.
As you calculate your lost wages, you can estimate your average income over a relevant working period like a day, week, month, or year to establish your baseline earnings. You should also consider income you may have earned from missed opportunities, like canceled projects or contracts. To project future lost income, think of the potential long-term impact the accident you suffered has on your ability to work while you’re recovering or dealing with a permanent disability. Carefully and completely document your lost income and opportunities to acquire clients, pursue new projects, or maintain or increase your workload.
How Do You Prove You Deserve Lost Wages?
If you want to pursue a claim for lost wages successfully, you’ll need to hire a skilled car crash attorney to help you document the circumstances of your accident, your medical expenses, and your lost earnings. You may need to gather your tax returns, pay stubs, employer statements, business records, invoices, doctor’s notes, medical records, and police reports as proof that you’re entitled to be compensated for lost wages. If your doctor decides your injury is serious enough to prevent you from going back to work, you may be entitled to temporary income benefits to be paid by your insurance carrier while you wait to complete your lost wages claim.
Common forms of proof include:
Employer Statements
If you work for a business or a government, school, or non-profit organization, get a letter from your employer’s human resources department or supervisor that details your job title, work schedule, pay rate and overtime potential, and the number of days you have missed.
Pay Stubs, Contracts, Business Documentation, and Tax Returns
Be sure to gather any pay stubs or direct deposit records, W-2s, 1099s, or tax returns that show how much you were earning, including overtime, bonuses, or commissions, before the accident happened. If you’re self-employed, you may need to provide client contracts, invoices, profit and loss statements, and accounting statements that detail your income.
If you regularly earned overtime, commissions, or bonuses, you must establish a historical precedent for your earnings by showing proof of your earning patterns over a specific period of time before the accident occurred. To recover vacation or sick day compensation, you must show how they are allotted by providing your employment agreement.
Medical Records
Your doctors and other healthcare providers can provide documentation that shows or explains how your injuries impact your ability to work. These medical records should spell out the type and extent of your injuries, describe the treatments you’re receiving, and estimate the amount of time recovery will take to show how your injuries are causing you to miss work.
Doctor’s Notes
If your doctor writes a letter that states they advised you to stop working while you’re recovering from the injuries you suffered in a car accident, it can be used to prove you deserve compensation for lost wages. If you’re facing a long recovery or find yourself permanently disabled, you may need a credentialed specialist to testify and explain how your injuries are affecting your earning capacity.
Who Pays for Lost Wages?
When you’re in a car accident, different parties may compensate you for lost wages depending on who is at fault and the circumstances surrounding the crash. Below, we cover some of the entities that may reimburse you for your losses:
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance Policies: Most Texas auto insurance policies include personal injury protection that covers medical expenses and up to 80 percent of lost income, regardless of who is to blame for the accident. Be sure to check your policy for details and exclusions.
- At-fault Driver’s Liability Insurance: If another driver caused your car accident, their insurance company can compensate you fully for your lost income, earning capacity, and other damages.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM): If you crash into a driver who has little to no insurance coverage and you have an uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage policy, you may be able to recoup your lost wages.
- Workers’ Compensation: If you get injured in a car crash while you’re on the job, workers’ compensation may pay for your lost wages.
- Lawsuit: If an insurance company refuses to adequately compensate you for your injuries after a car accident, you can hire a car accident attorney to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party on your behalf.
What About Future Lost Wages?
If a car accident injures you badly enough that you lose your job, can’t go back to the job you held, or can’t work normally because you are permanently disabled, you may be able to recover compensation for future lost wages. If you intend to seek compensation for diminished or lost earning capacity, you need to estimate your future losses. If you worked as a roofer, but your injuries prevent you from carrying shingles or climbing ladders, you would probably need to find new work that does not involve manual labor. Vocational experts can also assess your capacity to work and help you find suitable employment based on your skills and education. If you earn less at your new job, the difference in pay between your old job and your new job would represent your diminished earning capacity.
To project what you would have earned at your last job versus what you are earning now, you may need to enlist an expert in your former field or an economic analyst who can use variables like industry trends, inflation, and economic conditions to quantify and project your future lost wages.
Once you can prove that the injuries you suffered in an accident negatively affected your earning capacity, your car accident attorney can file an insurance claim or lawsuit to help you recover compensation. If your injuries are so serious that you cannot work at all, such as a spinal injury that causes paralysis or a trauma that leads to cognitive impairment, you could be entitled to a higher payout. You might also qualify for Social Security disability benefits if your condition meets the applicable criteria. An auto accident attorney can help you build your case for recovering damages by collecting relevant evidence, estimating the extent and effect of your disability, and demonstrating the value of your lost income.
How Texas Law and Comparative Fault Rules Can Affect Your Claim for Lost Wages
After a car accident, Texas law uses the modified comparative fault rule to determine how to award compensation. This rule can significantly affect how much money you can recover for your injuries, medical bills, or lost wages. Under the modified comparative fault rule, you can only recover damages if you are less than 51% to blame for an accident. If you are found to be more than 51% responsible for the crash, you’ll lose the right to be compensated by the other party or parties involved, although PIP insurance or workers’ compensation may provide you with some relief.
The modified comparative fault rule provides compensation that is proportional to your level of fault, so if you’re deemed 20% responsible for your accident because you failed to signal, but the other driver was 80% to blame because they ran a stop sign, your compensation would be reduced by 20%. This means that if you were originally entitled to receive $500,000 as compensation, you would actually recover $400,000 after accounting for your part in the crash. If you are found to be 51% or more at fault for the accident, you will not receive any compensation from the other driver or their insurance company.
Insurance adjusters may try to get you to take partial responsibility for the accident during recorded calls, misrepresent laws or information, or try to intimidate you into making a quick settlement to reduce or block your payout. If they can show you were more than 50% at fault, you will get nothing, so you should avoid speaking to insurance company representatives unless your auto accident lawyer is present.
After an accident, you need to take steps to protect yourself from being blamed for the incident, including:
- Seeking immediate medical attention and gathering documentation of your injuries
- Getting a copy of the police report
- Avoiding making any apologies or speaking aloud about what may have led to the crash
- Taking photos of the accident and collecting witness statements
- Hiring a car accident lawyer to evaluate your case, protect your legal rights, and secure the compensation you deserve.
Why Getting Legal Help Matters
Since insurance companies are likely to do everything possible to minimize your payout, you’ll need to be able to challenge them. A capable car wreck lawyer can ensure that fault is fairly evaluated and assigned, prove negligence, and provide the necessary evidence, documentation, and income calculations to recover your lost wages. They can also negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
How a Texas Car Accident Attorney Can Help You Recover Lost Wages
Texas laws that pertain to automobile accidents can be complex, and if you’re trying to recover lost wages, you’ll be much more likely to succeed if you hire a skilled car wreck attorney. Your car crash lawyer can collect evidence, calculate your past and future lost wages, and help you navigate the legal system. Consequently, you’re likely to receive a higher settlement if you work with an attorney than you could secure on your own.
When you’re looking to protect your rights and claim compensation for lost wages, the car wreck attorneys at Haney Paschal & Romoser can help. Call us today for a free consultation, and set yourself up for a full recovery.