Lost Wages & Income Compensation

An injury caused by someone else's negligence can take away far more than your health. It can take away your ability to earn a living. Lost wages compensation in Texas personal injury law is designed to make you whole for the income you have already lost because of your accident and the recovery period that followed. Whether you missed a few weeks of work or were out for months, you have the right to recover every dollar of income that the negligent party's actions cost you.

Lost wages cover all forms of income that you would have earned if the accident had never happened. This includes your regular salary or hourly pay, overtime you would have worked, bonuses and commissions that were within reach, tips if you work in a service industry, and self employment income if you run your own business. Texas courts look at your actual earnings history to determine what you would have made during the time you were unable to work. Pay stubs, tax returns, employment contracts, and employer verification letters all serve as evidence to establish your lost income.

For salaried employees, proving lost wages is relatively straightforward. Your employer can provide documentation showing your rate of pay and the number of days or weeks you missed. For hourly workers, the calculation takes into account your average hours per week, including any overtime you regularly worked. Seasonal workers and those with variable schedules may need to show their earnings over a longer period to establish a reliable average. Self employed individuals face additional challenges because their income may fluctuate. In these cases, business financial records, tax returns, contracts, and invoices can demonstrate the income lost during the recovery period.

Texas law also allows you to recover for paid time off that you were forced to use because of your injuries. If you burned through your vacation days, sick days, or personal leave to cover your absence from work, those days have monetary value and are recoverable as part of your lost wages claim. The same applies to any benefits you lost during your time away from work, such as employer contributions to your health insurance, retirement accounts, or pension plans.

One common tactic insurance companies use is to argue that you could have returned to work sooner than you did, or that you did not need to miss as much time as you claim. To counter this, your medical records should clearly document any work restrictions your doctors placed on you. If your physician said you could not work at all, that restriction is powerful evidence. If you were cleared for light duty but your employer could not accommodate those restrictions, that is also documented. The key is making sure your medical treatment records and your employment records tell a consistent story about why you could not work and for how long.

In cases involving more serious injuries, lost wages can represent a substantial portion of the total claim. Someone who earns $60,000 per year and misses six months of work has already lost $30,000 in income alone. Add to that the lost benefits, the overtime opportunities that passed them by, and the career advancement they missed, and the true cost of being unable to work becomes much larger than many people initially realize.

It is also important to understand how lost wages differ from loss of earning capacity, which is a separate category of damages. Lost wages compensate you for income already lost in the past, while loss of earning capacity compensates you for the reduction in your future ability to earn. Both can be claimed in the same case, and together they ensure that the full economic impact of your injuries on your working life is accounted for.

Texas follows a comparative negligence system under which your recovery may be reduced by your percentage of fault if you are found partially responsible for the accident. However, as long as you are no more than 50 percent at fault, you can still recover damages including lost wages. This makes it critical to have an attorney who can effectively argue that the other party bears the majority of responsibility for your injuries and the income you lost as a result.

At Medina and Medina, we take a thorough approach to documenting and proving our clients' lost wages claims. We gather employment records, coordinate with your employer, consult with vocational experts when necessary, and present clear evidence to the insurance company or jury showing exactly how much income you lost because of the defendant's negligence. We also look at the full picture of your economic losses, including benefits, bonuses, and advancement opportunities, so that nothing is left on the table.

If you have missed work because of an injury caused by someone else in Texas, do not let the insurance company minimize what you are owed. Contact Medina and Medina for a free consultation. We will evaluate your lost wages claim, gather the documentation needed to prove your losses, and fight to recover every dollar of income that the accident took from you.