the law office of dennis p. ryan

frequently asked questions: lost wages

How are my Lost Wages Determined after my Accident?

Accidents often cause severe injuries, forcing their victims to miss work while they recuperate and attend Doctor's Visits. An injured person loses out on money during the recuperation process as they receive partial or no payment from their employer while they are out of work.

If you have been injured in an accident caused by someone else, you may be entitled to compensation for the wages you lost while recovering. This is an economic loss that a qualified attorney can help you seek compensation for. Here at the Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan, we help you through the process of recovering your lost income and are ready to help you through each step of the way.

Depending on your level of income and employment status, there are a few things that you should take into consideration when calculating your lost wages.

Calculating Lost Wages

Lost wages are one of several types of economic losses for which you might seek compensation in a personal injury case. “Lost wages” are any income you lose as a result of your recovery time for an injury you received in an accident. These can play an important role in determining your overall compensation for an accident, so it's important that you understand how they are calculated.

What To Know Before You Calculate

There are steps to take before calculating your lost wages so that you can make sure your case is well documented.

  • Gather medical proof of your disability. You will need to prove that your absence of work is due to the accident and the injuries that you suffered. You will need a Doctor to diagnose you with injuries, confirm your injuries are related to your accident and state that the injuries prevent you from returning to work. These documents can help prove how much work you missed as a result of an injury you received in an accident. 

  • Gather income documentation. You should also be prepared to provide documentation of how much money you would have made in the time you took off from work to recover. Often, this will come in the form of a paystub, timecard, or tax form, depending on the nature of your employment.

Calculating Your Losses If You Are An Employee

If you are employed and are seeking compensation for lost wages, there are several main ways these wages are calculated:

  • Hourly workers will need to multiply the number of hours of work they missed by the amount of money they earn per hour. For example, if you make $50 an hour and were absent for five days of work (each day being eight hours long), you will multiply your hourly income ($50) by the number of hours missed (40) to calculate $2,000 of lost wages per week.

  • Salaried workers When you are a salaried employee and have lost income the calculation is very straightforward.  You can provide documentation of the amount of wages you did not receive as a result of being unable to work due to your injuries.  The general rule of lost wages is that the number of hours you miss from work should correspond with the number of days you have been written out of work by your treating physician.  If your doctor excuses you from work for 2 months, you can make a claim for 2 months of lost wages. You should also expect to provide documentation from your employer in the form of a wage verification or affidavit, signed by the proper party (manager, supervisor or someone in Human Resources) that indicates the dates you missed from work, the hours you were scheduled to work on the days you missed, the amount of money you would have made if you had worked the days you missed and a breakdown of your pay.

Calculating Your Lost Wages When You Are Self-Employed

Determining lost wages when you are self-employed is not quite as straightforward as determining lost wages for an hourly or salaried employee. Because your income is not as regular, you will have to provide the court with your own proof of income and pricing system. This documentation will often come in the form of tax returns, 1099 forms, invoices, and correspondence with your clients. You will probably need to present a copy of your work calendar to show what work you had scheduled for the time you had to be off because of your injuries.

Although it can feel overwhelming to calculate lost wages if you're self-employed, we can walk with you through the process, answering your questions and providing helpful guidance along the way.

How does No-Fault Affect my Lost Wages Claim?

When you get injured in a car accident in New York, you will often file 2 separate claims: (i) a No-Fault claim for the first $50,000 of your medical expenses and lost wages and (ii) a Personal Injury claim/lawsuit against the other driver for your pain and suffering and any economic claim you have over $50,000.

Under New York "No-Fault Law" the insurance carrier must reimburse you for your lost wages or income regardless of whether the accident was your fault. (New York Insurance Law section 5102). No-Fault will pay 80% of your salary up to a maximum of $2000 per month for a maximum of three years. 

If you earned more than $2,000 a month, your lawyer will have to claim the additional lost income from the other driver's insurance policy in the lawsuit against the at-fault driver or owner of the other vehicle. You would only be entitled to economic loss in a car crash lawsuit if you exhaust the $50,000 in Medical Expenses, Lost Wages and other Reasonable and Necessary expenses (capped at $25 a day). If you have not exceeded $50,000 in Economic Loss, then your economic claim will be reduced to what your own No-Fault Carrier has paid you.

How does Worker's Compensation Affect my Lost Wages Claim?

When you get injured in the course of employment you can file a claim with your employer's Worker's Compensation claim for your lost wages and for your medical bills. http://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/Workers/LostWageBenefits.jsp#:~:text=Lost%20wage%20benefits%20are%20not,you%20were%20unable%20to%20work.

You may also have a claim against a 3rd party who caused your accident. This claim can be both for pain and suffering and economic loss. In order to determine how much economic loss you have, you must determine the difference between how much money you would have made if the accident hadn't happened and how much you received from Worker's Compensation. You should consult with an Injury Attorney to help you determine how much your lost wages claim is.

Call Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan Today

If you or someone you know has lost income as a result of recovery time for injuries received in an accident that wasn't your fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your lost wages. The personal injury lawyers at Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan are ready to help. We've been representing clients just like you for many years, working to secure compensation and bring justice to every case we take on.

If you're ready to partner with us, give Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan a call today at (212) 441-4352.

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recent results

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recent results |

  • The Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan was able to win an important motion to allow a Department of Sanitation Supervisor to bring a Personal Injury Claim against the City of New York. Anyone who plans to sue a municipality in the State of New York, must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the date of the accident. A New York City Sanitation Supervisor recently contacted our law firm 5 months after the accident, and more than 2 months after the Notice of Deadline had passed. Our office was successfully able to convince the Court that our client's claim fell under an exception and should be allowed to proceed. Our client is now likely going to be able to receive money for his pain pain and suffering and lost wages.

  • Our client was a Sanitation Worker who was hit by a car while he was servicing his route. He suffered an ankle injury that required him to go for Physical Therapy for 1-2 months. Even though he did not need any injections or surgery, we were able to convince the insurance company to offer the full amount of its $25,000 to settle the case. We were able to achieve this settlement before our client needed to appear for a deposition.

  • Our client was a Sanitation Worker who was hit by a car while he was servicing his route. He had to have a shoulder surgery and missed several months of work, losing Chart Money, Truck Money and Overtime Money. We filed a lawsuit on his behalf in Kings County (Brooklyn). Our office was able to settle case for the full amount of the driver's Insurance Policy. We were able to achieve this settlement before our client needed to appear for a deposition.

  • Our office was able to settle a case for the full amount of Insurance Policy for Pedestrian who tripped and fell on sidewalk in Nassau County. This was a tough case in a tough venue for Plaintiff's attorneys. Our client had contacted 2 previous law firms who declined her case because they thought it would be too difficult to obtain a settlement. Our office was not only able to settle the case but we were able to persuade the insurance company to offer the full amount of its insurance policy to settle the case.

  • Our office was able to obtain a settlement for $95,000 (out of a total of $100,000) for a Sanitation Supervisor who hurt his ankle in a car crash. The insurance company for the other driver made several motions to the court asking the Judge to dismiss the case. We were able to defeat each of these motions and eventually settle the case for $95,000. This was more than 3 times the initial settlement offer that the insurance company made.

  • Our client fell on a broken sidewalk in the Bronx in front of a 1 family house. We brought a lawsuit against the City of New York and the insurance company for the homeowner. Our client aggravated injuries to his ankle that he had suffered years ago while playing sports. The Insurance Company made a Motion to the Court asking to dismiss our case. We were able to defeat this Motion and we were eventually able to settle this case against the City of New York and the Insurance Company for a total of $75,000.

  • Our office was able to obtain a settlement of $97,500 out of a possible $100,000 in available insurance coverage for a Car Crash that happened in New Jersey. Our client was involved in a 2 car crash. She had a stop sign and the other driver did not have a stop sign. For that reason, the insurance company claimed that the crash was completely the fault of our client. Our firm hired investigators who canvassed the scene for witnesses, photos and videos of the crash. We were able to prove that the other driver was driving too fast for the intersection and was also at fault for the crash.

  • Our office was able to obtain a settlement of $170,000 for a woman who slipped and fell on ice on the stairs of the house that she rented an apartment at. Her landlord's insurance company argued that the landlord had done everything it could to prevent our client's fall. We were able to prove that the landlord had not properly shoveled and salted the steps before our client's fall.

  • Our Office settled a case for a Sanitation Worker who tripped and fell on uneven pavement inside his Sanitation Garage and hurt his ankle. The Worker had several prior Line of Duty Injuries (LODIs) where he had also hurt his ankle. Our office was able to prove that this LODI aggravated the old injuries and made the injuries worse.