Medical & Financial · Income
Lost Wages After a Personal Injury
Income lost because of an accident-related injury is often a significant part of a claim. This page explains how lost wages are documented and pursued, and introduces reduced future earning capacity for serious injuries.
The short answer
Can I recover the income I lost because of my injury?
Direct answer: Generally yes — wages missed because of accident-related injuries, treatment, and recovery may be pursued as part of a claim. The key is documentation that connects the time off to the injury: pay records, employer verification, and medical support for the absence. Self-employed individuals use different records but pursue the same category of loss.
Related resources
Key terms
Terms, in plain English.
Plain-English definition
Lost wages
Income missed because of accident-related injuries, treatment, or recovery — including time off for medical appointments.
Plain-English definition
Reduced earning capacity
The long-term impact on the ability to earn at the same level when an injury permanently affects work.
Plain-English definition
Vocational evidence
Expert analysis of how an injury affects the ability to work, used to support future earning loss claims.
Documentation
The records that prove lost income.
- Pay records: Pay stubs or earnings statements showing your normal rate and hours.
- Tax records: Prior-year returns that establish a baseline of income, especially for variable or self-employment earnings.
- Employer verification: A letter or form confirming the dates missed, the reason, and the income lost.
- Time missed: A clear record of the days or hours absent, tied to treatment or recovery.
- Self-employment records: Invoices, profit and loss statements, and evidence of work declined or delayed.
- Medical restrictions: A provider’s work restriction or recommendation connecting the absence to the injury.
Calculation
How lost wages are figured.
The basic calculation multiplies the time missed by the established earning rate, supported by pay records and employer verification. Regular wages are the starting point; documented overtime, bonuses, or commissions may also be considered where the evidence shows they would have been earned.
The goal is to show what you would have earned but for the injury. Gaps in documentation invite dispute, so keeping a simple log of missed time and the related medical reason makes the claim easier to present and harder to challenge.
Self-employment
Lost income for self-employed people.
Self-employed individuals face a different documentation challenge because their income is often variable and not captured in a single pay stub. Tax returns, profit and loss statements, invoices, and bank records establish the income baseline.
Evidence of specific work that could not be taken or completed — declined contracts, cancelled appointments, delayed projects — helps show what was lost. Because self-employment income fluctuates, the calculation may look at an average over a representative period rather than a single month.
Future earning capacity
When an injury affects long-term earnings.
Beyond wages already lost, a serious injury may permanently reduce the ability to work or earn at the same level. Reduced future earning capacity addresses that long-term loss — the difference between what you likely would have earned and what you now can earn.
Because it looks forward, this category is more complex and usually relies on vocational and economic evidence: how the injury limits the work you can do, what comparable positions pay, and how the loss accumulates over a career. It is most relevant in catastrophic and permanent impairment cases.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions, answered directly.
General information only, not legal advice for any particular situation.
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