How To Prove Lost Wages in an Auto Accident Case

Getting injured in an auto accident can cost you time and money, especially if you have to miss work due to your injuries. It can actually lead to big financial losses. And it’s not like your living expenses go away: you still have to pay your rent or mortgage, food, and whatever other regular expenses you have. It can seem quite overwhelming to be managing on top of whatever health conditions or issues the accident caused. 

Fortunately, lost wages are part of the damages that can be recovered in a Personal Injury claim due to an auto accident. This may also include overtime, sick days, vacation days and any bonus time your employer typically makes available. It may additionally cover bonuses and commissions, perks, pay raises you are entitled to, and retirement fund contributions. While you are injured and cannot work, you cannot contribute to or receive income from any of these sources. 

You do, however, have to prove that you were earning those wages in an official way. 

You can use any of the following to prove that you lost wages:

-Your W-2s from the last tax year(s)

-Your paystubs from before and after the accident, to show the difference in the amount of wages you’re earning presently, versus amount of wages you were earning before you sustained the injury.

-A Wage Verification from your Employer (the insurance company can provide you with a “salary/wage verification form”), or your employer can simply write up a note detailing your normal wages, your normal hours per week and the dates you missed work

-If you are a business owner or are self-employed, you will need to provide other documentation. This can be your tax returns, your accounts receivable or checks you received for services rendered, or your business’ banking records. Should you use any kind of banking documentation, make sure you black out the account numbers for your privacy. 

In addition to your lost wages documentation, you’ll need a disability note or form from your doctor. This will show that you have been missing work due to the injury as diagnosed by a doctor. Your doctor will typically understand and know what kind of documentation you need from them. You should also discuss the kind of work you do with your doctor and its physical demands; this helps the doctor to determine whether you are able to perform your job. 

Finally, there may come a time when you could return to work with restrictions or modifications, depending on what you do and what kind of injuries you have. It’s important that you speak with your doctor openly about your conditions and concerns. It may be that major modifications have to be made in order for you to return to work. It also may be that you can never return to that job, based on the kind of injuries you sustained. 

One vastly overlooked injury is a concussion or other kind of head trauma. These injuries can be some of the most sustaining and take the longest to come back from, if you are able to come back at all. Even more frustrating, you often look fine following a head injury of any kind. But a severe blow to the head can knock you badly off-kilter and scramble your brain chemistry, sometimes leaving you much more debilitated than any broken bone injury or other injury. Sometimes, you’ll be dealing with it for the rest of your life, to some degree or another.

If you’re in New Mexico and you’ve been the victim of an auto accident or any other kind of accident leading to a personal injury, we implore you to call the offices of Kenneth G. Egan immediately. We will do everything in our power to help you recover your lost wages from your accident. We’re empathetic to your needs and your loss of livelihood, and we’ll always work to go the extra mile for you.

You can check out our most recent cases on our website to see the kind of results our clients have seen from us in the past. From victims of dog mauling injuries to sexual assault victims, to victims of motorcycle and car accidents and victims of train wrecks, Kenneth G. Egan has been fighting on behalf of victims who have more than earned their time in court. And he’ll fight for you.