Lost wages are among the most common damages that car accident victims sustain. After medical damages, they may be the most financially consequential, so their full compensation is important. Recover the wages you’ve missed out on by filing a car accident lawsuit in Texas.
You need certain evidence to recover lost wages after a car accident, like pay stubs and medical records. In addition to seeking current lost wages, we’ll also request relief for future damages if you can’t return to work for the foreseeable future. We can calculate lost wages, whether you are paid hourly, receive a salary, or are self-employed, and there’s no limit to the amount we can seek.
For a free and confidential case assessment from Cap City Injury Attorneys, call our Texas car accident lawyers now at (512) 612-3110.
Can You Get Lost Wages After a Texas Car Accident?
A car accident can stop a victim from working for weeks, months, or much longer. A lawsuit is supposed to compensate you for all the damages you incur due to negligence, including any missed income.
You seek compensation for lost wages from the negligent driver’s liability insurance. Texas is a fault state, so the at-fault driver’s coverage goes towards your damages. If that’s not enough to cover all losses, including lost wages, we can help you file a lawsuit.
What Evidence Do You Need to Recover Lost Wages After a Car Accident?
To recover lost wages, you need evidence that proves your pre-injury income as well as evidence that proves your injuries prevent you from working.
W-2s and Pay Stubs
We need income evidence to calculate and prove lost wages. Provide our lawyers with recent W-2s and pay stubs that show your income. You can also provide us with bank statements and profit and loss statements if you are self-employed.
Medical Records and Doctor’s Notes
We also require medical evidence that proves you are unable to return to work now or in the near future. Statements and notes from your physicians are important evidence to get lost wages, as are X-rays, diagnostic test results, surgical reports, and other medical documents outlining the injury, prescribed treatment, and your physical limitations.
Employer Statements
We can also obtain a statement from your employer and other employment documentation that outlines your workplace responsibilities, salary, potential for raises, and any other relevant information that helps us estimate lost wages and justify why you deserve them.
Can You Recover Future Lost Wages After a Car Accident?
Long-lasting and permanent injuries have ongoing financial consequences for victims, like never being able to work or only being able to work in a reduced capacity. In that case, our lawyers can also seek payment for future lost wages in your lawsuit.
Evidence
Physicians can testify about your prognosis and explain how your injuries are permanently disabling. If you can return to work at a lesser capacity, your physicians explain why your injuries are limiting.
Factors
We consider several factors when estimating future lost wages, including the plaintiff’s age, education and training, pre-injury income, and professional trajectory.
Why to Claim Lost Wages
Recovering compensation for future lost wages provides the ongoing financial support victims need when their income is limited or eliminated because of an injury to cover basic bills and living expenses.
How Do You Calculate Lost Wages from a Texas Car Accident?
How our lawyers calculate your lost wages depends on whether you receive an hourly wage or a salary and whether you are a contract or self-employed worker. Calculating lost wages for any injured worker presents challenges, and accuracy is always crucial.
Hourly Wage
If you are paid hourly, we need to know your hourly wage and the number of hours of work you have missed or expect to miss. Our lawyers can use time cards to prove how many hours a week you typically work and use paychecks and information from your employer to confirm your hourly wage.
Salary
If you are salaried, we must first determine your average weekly wage by dividing your salary by the number of working weeks in the year. Salaried workers who sustain debilitating injuries may have to leave their jobs entirely, and a lawsuit should compensate them appropriately.
Contractors and Self-Employed
The process for calculating lost earnings for contract and self-employed work can be more complex. Our lawyers can use tax returns, profit and loss statements, invoices, and other documents to prove how much income you stand to lose.
FAQs About Recovering Lost Wages After a Texas Car Accident
How Long Do You Have to Recover Lost Wages?
In general, personal injury plaintiffs in Texas have two years to file car accident lawsuits.
How Much Can You Recover for Lost Wages?
Texas doesn’t impose any statutory limitations on economic damages, including lost wages. Whatever amount our attorneys estimate based on your income records and injuries is potentially available from a jury award.
Can You Get Lost Wages from a Settlement?
Lost wages can also be included in a settlement. You can even have future lost wages covered in a settlement, although this may require more time and aggressive negotiation tactics from our attorneys. There’s often room to grow from initial settlement offers, so don’t worry if the first one feels too low considering all your lost wages and other damages.
Can You Recover Lost Wages if You Return to Work?
Even if you can work in some capacity after an accident, our lawyers can seek the difference in your pre- and post-crash wages in a lawsuit.
Get a Free Case Review from Our Texas Lawyers
For help from Cap City Injury Attorneys, call our Round Rock, TX car accident lawyers now at (512) 612-3110.