Imagine this scenario: you’re a contractor on your way to a client meeting when you are involved in a serious car accident. You end up in the hospital with severe injuries and cannot work for several months. Your recovery is long and grueling, and during that time, you and your family suffer the financial strain of going without your income. You’re stressed, worn out, and confused. Is there any way you can put your life back together? How will you ever recover those lost wages?
Our Virginia Beach personal injury attorneys can help. We understand how much lost income can affect your life and will help you gather the evidence you need to secure a fair level of compensation.
How Do I Prove Lost Hours or Salary Reductions?
As your personal injury lawyers, we have a wealth of experience determining the precise amount of lost wages you should ask for in your claim.
We’ll begin by gathering all the pertinent documents needed, including:
- Medical records
- Pay stubs
- Income statements
- W-2 forms
- Employment contracts
- Tax returns
- Bank statements
- Communications with your employer
- References from managers and co-workers that attest to your prior work ethic and earnings
- Calendars of missed time at work
- Prior awards, certifications, and other documents showing the value you provided
If you experienced a reduction in income because of your injuries—such as being demoted or having your hours cut—we would use all communications from your employer regarding these changes as well.
Sometimes, we may consult with financial experts or vocational specialists to assess the full impact of your injury on your earning capacity. Such experts may provide testimony to help quantify your financial losses.
How Do I Calculate Lost Wages?
On a basic level, calculating your lost wages involves determining the income you would have earned had you not been injured. But that’s often more complicated than it sounds.
First, we start by determining the number of days or hours you missed work. This includes not only the full days but any partial days or reduced hours.
Then we multiply that number by your hourly wage or daily salary. For example:
- Hourly Employees: If you missed 40 hours of work and your hourly wage was $20, your lost wages would be 40 hours x $20/hour = $800.
- Salaried Employees: If you earn $60,000 per year and could not work for three months, your lost wages would be $60/000 / 12 months x 3 months = $15,000.
That’s the base level number that we start with. But then we look into other factors such as the following:
Overtime and Bonuses
Before you were hurt, did you regularly work overtime or receive bonuses? If so, we will account for these additional earnings in our figures. We can review past pay stubs and employment records to estimate the value.
Benefits
Did you lose benefits because of your inability to work? These may include health insurance, retirement contributions, and more. We’ll determine the monetary value and include it in your claim.
Reduced Hours or Salary
If you have experienced a reduction in hours, we’ll review your timecards, work schedules, and other documentation that shows the number of hours you used to work compared to the hours you worked after the accident.
For salary reductions, we’ll obtain records showing your original salary and your reduced salary. These may include updated employment contracts, pay stubs reflecting the lower salary, or official communications from your employer.
Contractual and Freelance Work
Are you a freelancer or contractor rather than an employee? If so—and you had contracts canceled because of your injury—we’ll review the contract terms, project scopes, and payment schedules to determine the financial impact.
What About Future Earnings?
Sometimes an accident can change your work life forever. Perhaps you can no longer do the job you used to do. If that’s the case, it’s important to figure future lost wages into your claim.
As your personal injury lawyers, we would assess the potential long-term impact of your injury on your future earning capacity. This often involves working with vocational experts or economists who can provide accurate estimates. Their insights can be crucial in demonstrating the full extent of your financial losses to the insurance company or court. If your injury results in long-term disability, we will factor this into our calculations as well.
How a Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help with Lost Wages
Managing a personal injury claim that involves lost wages or lost future income capacity yourself can be daunting. Contact our Virginia Beach personal injury lawyers today. We can help calculate your total financial losses, negotiate with the insurance company, and even take your case to court if necessary. We won’t charge you anything upfront and get paid only if we obtain compensation for you.
Our personal injury firm has successfully represented many injured victims, securing the compensation they were entitled to, as we did for this Virginia car accident victim who became disabled after a crash and lost significant earnings. We helped negotiate a $1 million settlement with the insurance companies.
You can find us in Virginia Beach as well as in Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.