Lost Wages After A Car Accident in California? Here’s What You Can Do

Lost Wages After A Car Accident in California? Here’s What You Can Do
Apr 27, 2020

Thousands of individuals find themselves getting in a car accident in California. The frightening truth is that it could happen to you too.

If you find yourself in a California car accident in which someone else has caused, you may have reason to file a claim with a Encino personal injury attorney.

Many individuals soon suffer from a loss of income due to a car accident. This could be from missing work because of too much pain, and or leaving early or arriving late to work to attend doctor appointments.

Nevertheless, for any and all reasons you lose income as a result of a car accident you did not cause, you should be compensated for lost wages; you just need to provide the correct documentation to support your claim whether you are an hourly employee, salary employee, or self-employed.

1. Medical Documentation

In the event you went to the emergency room, urgent care, or took a trip to your primary care physician as a result of your car accident, you can request a doctor’s note proving that you needed medical attention during work hours.

Often times your doctor will ask you if you need them to write a note for you. You can also provide discharge papers (the paperwork provided right after your visit) or full medical records that must be requested after your exam date.

2. Lost Wages Government Forms

Proof of loss of income can be provided by presenting paystubs, recent tax forms, and W-2s. Lost wages are typically calculated by multiplying your hourly wage with the hours you have missed.

For instance, if you have lost less than a month of work and you get paid by the hour, paystubs will show your hourly wage and the amount lost due to taking time off work.

Let’s say your hourly wage is $25.00 and you missed 1 day of work which consists of eight hours. To determine your lost wages, you would multiply $25.00 x 8 which totals $200.00. Two hundred dollars would be your lost wages.

For salaried workers, you can take your monthly salary, of lets say $5,000, and divide it by a standard 40-hour work week, which makes a total of 160 working hours for the month. You would divide 5,000 (salary) by 160(hours). This would show an hourly income of $31.25. You would multiply your hourly income by the amount of hours you have missed.

However, if you miss over a month, your most recent tax forms and W-2’s will also serve as a clear example in the difference in income before, and after, your car accident.

Lost wages for self-employed individuals could include 1099-forms, invoices, receipts, and any other formal documentation showing the difference in income after your accident.

Your California personal injury attorney will recommend which document is most appropriate for your wage loss claim.

3. Lost Wages Letter From Your Employer

If you do not have access to any of the lost wages documentation we mentioned above, you can also request a letter from your employer.

The letter from your employer should include the following:

  • Who who work for
  • How long you have been employed
  • What you get paid
  • How many hours you work a week
  • How many hours you missed from work
  • Confirming missed work due to sustained injuries from car accident

Many times we find that having a pre-drafted letter to give to your employer works well when getting the information needed for you lost wages claim. Here is a sample letter for your review:

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Jane (insert name) and I am the owner (insert position) of Jane’s Construction (state company name).

Joe Smith has worked for Jane’s Construction (insert company/or name ) for 10 years (x time) and receives an hourly pay of $25 (x). As a result of his car accident, Mr. Smith has missed a total of 20 hours.

You may reach me at (555) 000-0000 to discuss this matter further.

Best Regards,

(include signature)
Jane Doe (insert name)

The most important part of being compensated for lost wages is providing the proper evidence showing that your lost wages was the result of injuries sustained in a car accident.

If you were injured in a car accident and need help from a car accident lawyer in Encino, you can call 1-888-LAW-0707, or fill out your information here to receive a call from a seasoned attorney at NO COST.