How To Claim Lost Wages From Car Accidents (2026)

How to Claim Lost Wages From Car Accidents

After you’re in a collision that results in injuries, you can file a claim with either your insurance or that of the other driver, depending on the state where you live. If you reside in a no-fault state, such as Florida, and you suffered minor injuries, you would file against your own personal injury protection insurance or PIP.

PIP will cover lost wages and medical expenses up to the policy limit. If your injuries are considered serious, PIP coverage won’t be enough. You can then step outside of no-fault laws and pursue a personal injury claim against the driver who caused the collision.

If you live in an at-fault state, such as Georgia, you have to prove that you were not fully responsible for the collision before you can recover losses. You can do this by providing evidence of how the crash occurred, which usually means establishing negligence.

The elements of negligence include showing that the other party owed you a duty of care that they breached. Anyone operating a vehicle owes others on the road the responsibility to drive lawfully. Thus, if the other party broke the law, they breached their duty. You then have to show that the breach led you to suffer losses.

These elements aren’t easy to prove, especially if you don’t have experience with personal injury claims. To give yourself the best chance of getting the compensation you deserve, it’s important to hire a lawyer to represent you.

What Are Lost Wages?

Lost wages are part of the actual damages you can claim after a car crash. Often, people assume that lost wages only refer to salaries that you missed, but there are many other losses you could have suffered if you experienced an injury in a collision.

Lost wages cover your regular earnings, which is the amount you would have made if you hadn’t been injured. However, you can also claim any benefits you would have received from your employer during the missed work days, such as stipends for transportation and cell phones.

As part of lost wages, you can claim any bonuses or commissions you may have missed as well. You can even claim overtime if you had regular opportunities for it before the collision.

If you used paid time off to cover the days you missed, you can claim these also. Indeed, any type of compensation you would have earned through work that you were unable to receive as a result of auto accidents can be part of the claim you file.

How Long Does It Take to Receive Lost Wages Compensation?

The time to receive income-based compensation depends on the type of claim. If your accident was not work-related, your income losses should be covered by economic damages. As a result, you may receive compensation for missed paychecks and other lost revenue with your personal injury settlement or damage award.

The timing for these outcomes can vary. If the insurer settles your case quickly, you might be reimbursed for lost wages within a few weeks to a few months. If the insurer disputes your case, you might not receive your insurance payout for several months to a year or longer.

Conversely, workers’ compensation claims for on-the-job injuries are typically paid relatively quickly. You might receive your first wage replacement check within a few weeks after your claim.

Keep in mind, though, that many states impose a waiting period for workers’ comp wage replacement benefits. For example, in Massachusetts, you cannot receive lost wages compensation for the first five days you missed work unless you are out of work for 21 days or longer.

Thus, if you miss three days, you receive no wage reimbursement. If you miss ten work days, you only get five days of wage benefits. But if you are disabled for a month, you would receive wage benefits for every day you missed.

How Lost Wages Are Calculated After a Car Accident

In a car accident lawsuit or insurance claim, compensation for lost wages is often one of the most substantial damages requested. Exactly how those lost wages are calculated depends on your type of employment.

If you are paid hourly, calculating lost wages is usually fairly straightforward. For example, if you make $20 per hour and the accident caused you to miss 200 hours of work, your total compensation for lost wages would be $4,000.

However, if you are self-employed or salaried, calculating lost wages can be more complex. You may need to look at your monthly income and how many hours you work to determine an approximate hourly wage.

Alternatively, you could divide the amount of time you missed by 52 weeks to determine the amount of your salary missed. You can then multiply your salary by the percentage missed to determine the income loss. For example, if you missed four weeks of work, you lost 0.077% of the year. For a $50,000 salary, this equates to a $3,846.15 income loss.

Bonus or overtime losses would depend on your circumstances. Suppose that your employer paid a 10% bonus in the year you were injured. If you lost $5,000 in salary, then you also missed a $500 bonus. So your total loss for that year would be $5,500 in salary and bonuses.

Attorneys experienced in car accident claims are well-versed in navigating such complexities. If you aren’t sure how to calculate lost wages, your lawyer will be able to help.

PTO and Sick Days: Are They Compensable?

Some workers are fortunate enough to have paid time off (PTO), vacation days or sick days, so they can continue to receive paychecks during their recoveries. In most states, the law allows you to recover compensation for these days.

Specifically, you would have had those PTO, vacation or sick days for other uses if not for the accident. You only lost those days as a result of the other party’s actions. This means you can often include a missed day’s wages or salary as a loss in personal injury lawsuits or insurance claims, even if you used PTO, vacation or sick days.

Workers’ Compensation and Lost Wages After a Car Accident

If your car accident happened at work, you might need to file a workers’ compensation claim instead of a personal injury lawsuit. Workers’ compensation is a program designed to compensate employees for on-the-job injuries. In many states, employees may not sue employers if workers’ compensation is available.

A personal injury lawyer can examine your case and help determine whether you’re eligible to file such a claim. A few factors to keep in mind include:

Not All Employers Carry Workers’ Compensation

Laws on workers’ compensation vary considerably from state to state. For instance, in Texas, most private employers don’t have to carry workers’ compensation insurance. In states that require it, some employers—often those with very few employees—are exempt.

A Claim Might Not Cover All of Your Losses

Some states have more generous workers’ compensation benefits than others. Many will cover all medical care related to your injury. However, it’s common for states to only reimburse a portion of your lost wages.

Proving Lost Wages From Car Accidents With Injuries

To be able to receive the lost wages compensation you deserve, you will need to submit evidence that shows how much you make. One of the most efficient ways of doing this is by presenting your most recent paycheck.

If you’re self-employed, you will have to provide a summary of what you earned the previous year during the same time period. If you already had contracts that you were unable to fulfill because of the injury, you can claim this income, too.

One of the most challenging circumstances you can experience is being left unable to work in the same capacity as you used to before the injury. You might even be unable to work at all. In either case, you could have the right to file for loss of earning capacity, which would cover the income you’ll miss throughout your professional life.

Proving how much you deserve to receive in lost earning capacity usually requires resorting to financial experts who will assess your paychecks and many other factors. Evidence that demonstrates your career trajectory can also be helpful.

Because of the complexities of the claims process, you should never attempt to recover losses on your own. Seeking help from auto lawyers is crucial.

What if I Am Self-Employed or an Independent Contractor?

You can still be reimbursed for lost wages if you’re self-employed, but the process may be more complicated. Because you don’t receive a set hourly wage or annual salary, you will need to establish evidence of your income from all sources instead. That evidence might include the following:

• Tax returns from previous years
• Any tax forms you receive, like Form 1099
• Profit and loss statements
• Client invoices

You will also need to provide evidence of contracts or opportunities you lost because of your injuries. Insurance companies generally try to push back on claims whenever they can, and because proving loss of self-employment income is often so challenging, having a lawyer represent you is essential.

Finding Experienced Representation

The aftermath of a car accident can mean struggling to pay medical bills and suffering other financial issues because of lost wages. One of the legal options you may have is to file a personal injury claim and recover compensation, but that is not something you should undertake by yourself.

You may be uncertain whether you should hire representation, especially if you consider the accident to be a minor one. Attorneys have in-depth knowledge of car accident law, and they can help you fight for the compensation you deserve.

At ConsumerShield, we can connect you with trusted and experienced lawyers in your area so that you can start your claim promptly. Contact our team to learn more about our services.