If you’ve been injured in a vehicle crash, slip and fall incident or accident due to someone else’s negligence or reckless behavior, you may be able to file a personal injury claim and recover compensation. Part of the financial damages you may be entitled to include lost income, in the event your injuries prevent you from working. If you’ve suffered severe injuries and cannot go back to work or work at the same job you held, you may be able to pursue compensation for future lost wages.
In this blog post, we’ll review how to prove lost income in a personal injury case. If you’re not able to work due to an accident caused by another party’s negligence, don’t go it alone. Our New Jersey personal injury attorneys can help. Contact us for a free consultation to understand your options.
What is Considered Lost Income?
Lost income in a personal injury case includes lost wages, bonuses, commissions and other benefits usually provided by your employer. If you missed out on any of these types of income due to your inability to work because of your injuries, you may be eligible for damages that include the sum of lost income. Typically, lost income also includes vacation or PTO time used and includes any partially missed income in the event you’re only able to return to work part-time.
Future Earning Capacity
In the unfortunate event that you are unable to return to work and have permanent injuries, your personal injury claim may also seek compensation for your lost future earning capacity. This type of compensation is far more subjective than lost income, in that it includes a projection into the future of what your income and benefits would have been had you not been injured.
How to Prove Lost Income
Especially if your case involves serious injury, an experienced personal injury lawyer is your best way to prove lost income and maximize your claim. The types of evidence that will build your case and claim include:
Medical Records
As part of your claim, you must show evidence of your inability to work. That evidence relies on medical records and, in some cases, medical expert testimony, to establish that your injuries prevent you from working. Your doctor should be able to explain how your injuries prevent you or limit your ability to work. It’s important to follow medical advice, keep your appointments and follow-through with recommendations.
Financial Records
Lost income is a type of economic damage compensated within a personal injury claim. In order to prove lost income, you will need to provide documentation showing what your income was before the injury. Type of financial documentation you may need include:
- Paystubs
- Bank statements
- Tax documents from your employer showing income, such as W-2 or 1099
- Income tax statements
Most successful lost earnings capacity claims may require expert testimony from an economist or occupational expert. These experts can predict and project what your lost potential for a future job trajectory and how that equates to lost income and future raises. Your age, occupation and lost benefits also play into how much you can claim for lost earnings capacity.
Help with New Jersey Personal Injury Claim
If you’ve been injured due to another party’s negligence or reckless behavior, you should not be left responsible to pay for your medical bills, lost income and other damages. At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, our compassionate attorneys will pursue your best interests and aggressively pursue your claim. We have decades of experience in car and truck accidents, slip and falls, injury accidents and employment law.
Contact us today for a free consultation. Our clients tell us they feel a sense of relief once they make that first phone call. We work on a contingency basis, which means we only collect a fee if you win your claim. Get in touch with us.