Lost Wages in a Personal Injury Case

young women looking a bills in despair

If you were injured due to someone else’s negligence, Oklahoma’s personal injury laws allow you to seek financial compensation for the economic and non-economic losses you experienced as a result of the accident, including compensation for lost wages. An accident may force you to take time off work to focus on your treatment and rehabilitation. In some cases, your injuries may prevent you from performing your job tasks at all. Severe accident injuries can also result in prolonged or permanent disabilities that reduce your earning potential or render you unable to work. Fortunately, personal injury claims may allow you to recover compensation for lost wages or earning capacity when another party’s negligence injures you. A claim for lost wages can secure financial recovery for your lost wages, employment benefits, and future earning capacity.

Following an accident that temporarily or permanently disables you from your job, an experienced Oklahoma personal injury lawyer can pursue maximum compensation for lost earnings. Talk to a personal injury attorney from Cain Law today in a free consultation to learn how we fight to hold negligent parties accountable for your lost income or earning capacity. Our firm can take your call 24/7. We can meet with you at home, in the hospital, or wherever else you need. Our rapid response team will immediately begin investigating and building your case to recover compensation for the following:

Lost Wages

The injuries sustained in an accident may prevent you from continuing to perform your job. Disabilities can also render you unable to perform any work, even with accommodation for your medical restrictions. A personal injury claim may allow you to demand fair compensation for your lost wages from the party or parties at fault for causing your injuries.

Hourly, salaried, and self-employed workers can pursue their lost income for time they miss from work while treating their injuries or recovering under their doctor’s instructions. However, proving lost income may require different calculations for each type of worker.

Hourly workers can calculate their lost wages according to the average number of hours they worked per day or week before the accident, then multiply their missed hours after the accident by their average hourly wage. The product equals their total lost wages.

Salaried workers may calculate their lost income based on the time they missed from work as a percentage of their weekly, monthly, or annual salary.

Self-employed individuals may calculate their lost wages in various ways, such as the number of hours or days they miss from work if they earn income hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. Self-employed workers or sole proprietors might also calculate income lost based on the client work or contracts they must give up or miss out on due to their serious injuries.

Used Work Benefits

You may also seek compensation for work benefits you do not accrue or lose because you cannot work due to your injuries. Common examples of compensable lost benefits include:

  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Accrued pension and retirement benefits
  • Commissions
  • Bonuses
  • Profit sharing compensation
  • Equity compensation
  • Accrued paid time off (PTO)
  • Lost perks

You may also seek compensation when you use PTO or sick days for medical treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery time, especially when your employer requires you to use your PTO.

Lost Earning Capacity

If you experience a reduced earning capacity or become disabled from working, you can also seek financial recovery from a liable party for lost earning capacity. Lost earning capacity can include the difference between your pre-accident average income and the lower income you earn after the accident in a light-duty or part-time role. It can also include the future income you lose when you face permanent disabilities and are unable to work. This loss of future earnings is based on your physical capabilities, work experience, education, and training. Likewise, you can seek compensation for lost promotions as part of your insurance claim for lost earnings potential if your injuries prevent you from being able to take on the extra work you may have been able to do if the accident did not occur.

To collect for past loss of income or future loss of income, you will need a medical doctor’s opinion that you were unable to work or will be unable to work in the future due to your injuries. Over years of practice, Cain Law has developed professional relationships with top experts in vocational, educational, and financial fields who can prove your past loss of income and/or future loss of income. Seeking compensation for lost earning capacity can help you hold the at-fault party accountable for the income losses you continue to experience even after your personal injury case concludes.

Calculating Lost Wages in an Oklahoma Personal Injury Claim

Proving lost wages in a personal injury case will require evidence to calculate the income you miss, whether from taking time off work to recover or because you’re restricted to part-time or light-duty work. Examples of evidence and documents you might use to calculate your lost income in a personal injury lawsuit include:

  • Pay Stubs – If you earn W-2 income, you can use your pay stubs to calculate lost wages. You’ll do this by determining your pre-injury average daily income and multiplying it by the number of days missed from work during each affected pay period or by comparing it to post-accident income when you earn less on modified duty.
  • Income Statements and Tax Returns – If you’re an independent contractor or gig worker, you can rely on income statements or tax returns to determine your pre-accident average income to calculate lost self-employment income.
  • Employment Contracts or Independent Contractor Agreements – You may also refer to your employment contracts or independent contractor agreements to calculate other lost income, such as commissions, bonuses, profit shares, insurance, or fringe benefits.
  • Business Contracts – If you’re an independent contractor or sole proprietor, you may also rely on past and current business records and contracts to calculate lost income when you cannot perform work for clients.
  • Expert Testimony – Opinion testimony and reports from vocational and financial experts can help you calculate future lost earning capacity when you suffer prolonged and permanent disabilities that will keep you out of work indefinitely. Experts can base their testimony on factors such as your age, injuries, disabilities, residual functional capacity, education, training, work experience, and future economic projections for your profession or industry to determine the amount of income you would have earned over your lifetime.

Our legal team routinely helps accident victims prove the full extent of their damages, including the loss of future wages. We have a network of experts we can turn to for assistance in establishing your compensable damages following a serious accident.

Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer for Help with Your Lost Wages Claim

If someone else’s negligence or recklessness caused an accident that injured you, you may face significant financial challenges arising from an inability to work. Our experienced attorneys can help you seek financial compensation for ongoing and future lost wages resulting from missed work and disability. Contact Cain Law today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an Oklahoma personal injury attorney to discuss your options for seeking financial recovery for your lost earning capacity.