What Is Loss of Earnings in a Car Accident Case?

If you are in a car accident on Texas roads, you can emerge with a variety of injuries and losses. Depending on the severity of your crash, your damages can range from minor injuries and a few broken car parts to severe, debilitating injuries that will stay with you for the rest of your life. If you suffered injuries that impact your ability to work, you could claim loss of earnings in a car accident insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.

Severe Injuries in Car Accidents and Lost Income

Car accidents can lead to severe injuries for many victims. These injuries can last for a very long time, even impacting you for the rest of your life. If you decide to file a lawsuit against the person responsible for causing your car accident, you can claim many forms of damages, such as compensation for past and future medical expenses and lost income. If your injuries prevent you from working for a period of time, you can recover the income you lost while you were healing.

However, if your accident leads to a permanent or long-lasting disability, you could be out of work for a very long time. Depending on your injury or your line of work, you may never return to your old profession. If you do try to seek employment, you may have to take a lower paying job. In all of these circumstances, you can claim compensation for your loss of earnings.

All types of injuries sustained in a car accident can lead to loss of earnings compensation, including physical and psychological injuries. Paralysis, quadriplegia, brain damage, spinal cord injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, and severe and chronic pain are all common disabilities that can occur after a car accident and qualify you for loss of earnings compensation.

What Happens If You Have a Pre-Existing Injury?

To recover lost wages and lost earning capacity in a car accident lawsuit, the car accident must be the primary cause of the injuries that keep you from working. If you had a pre-existing injury that did not change because of the accident, you cannot claim compensation for that injury. However, if the car accident negatively impacts or aggravates your pre-existing condition to the point where you cannot work any longer, you can claim loss of earnings.

To qualify for loss of earnings, you need to prove that the accident aggravated your pre-existing injury and you can no longer work, or cannot work as well as you could before your injuries. In these circumstances you may be able to recover the full amount of your lost wages and earnings.

How to Prove Loss of Earnings in a Car Accident Case

When you suffer a severe, disabling injury in a car accident, you will need to prove that you lost wages and your earning capacity due to the injury. Proving wages is an easy process: all you have to do is submit your recent paystubs or invoices to prove what you would have earned if you did not suffer injuries in your car accident. In addition, you can claim lost tips and benefits with proper documentation.

Proving your loss of earnings is a more difficult process, since you cannot easily quantify how much you could have earned without your disability. You will need to analyze your job functions, the type and severity of your injuries, and your physical and mental capacity to perform your job. Consulting with a car accident attorney can help you establish your loss of earnings and provide an accurate calculation in your lawsuit.

If you suffered severe injuries that left you with a disability in your Texas car accident, you could claim additional damages to make up for your loss of earnings. You need a car accident attorney to advocate for your rights. If you have not already done so, contact an attorney as soon as possible following your accident to help you with your lawsuit or insurance claim.