Injuries from accidents often take a larger toll on victims than people realize. Not only are injuries expensive to treat at the hospital, but they may also cost you more money if they prevent you from working. The longer you cannot work, the more damages you may claim for lost wages. If you are injured and cannot work, ask our legal team for help right away.
You may claim wages you have lost already and wages you might continue to lose in the future after the case is over. Current lost wages may be estimated by examining your average weekly, monthly, and annual income. Lost future wages are more subjective but can be substantial if your injuries present long-term complications. The case may be complicated further if you are a minor with limited work history, or you are still able to perform other work. Although we may need time to assess how your injuries affect your ability to work, the case must be filed within 2 years.
Get a free, private case evaluation from our New Jersey personal injury attorneys by calling Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111.
How to Evaluate Your Lost Wages After an Accident
To sue for lost wages, we must assess how much you normally earn and how long you have been unable to work due to your injuries.
First, what is your normal income? We should get a weekly, monthly, and annual average to help us determine how much income you have lost since being injured. If you make, on average, about $5,000 per month and have been unable to work for 3 months, you should claim at least $15,000 in damages for lost wages.
Next, we need to determine how long you are unable to work after the accident. Not only should this include the time you have already missed from work, but we should also estimate the time you will likely miss from work in the future because of your injuries. This is often important in cases where injuries are severe and recovery periods are long or injuries are not expected to recover fully.
Claiming Current and Future Lost Wages in New Jersey
As mentioned, we can claim damages for the income you have already lost and the income you may continue to lose after your case is over.
Measuring current lost income may depend on the nature of your job. Do you get a weekly or bi-weekly paycheck, or do you do gig work? Maybe you work on commission, or you are an independent contractor, and work can be unpredictable. Talk to your attorney about the best way to calculate your income to determine how much you have already lost because of your injuries.
When claiming lost future wages, we can only include income that was reasonably anticipated, meaning we must present some evidence supporting your claims. We may also include things like promotions within your field or pay increases if they were reasonably expected.
Can I Sue for Lost Wages if I Can Perform Other Jobs?
You can likely sue for the income and wages you may lose while you recover from your injuries and cannot perform any work. If your injuries prevent you from returning to your old job, but you can still perform a different kind of job, you might not be able to claim future lost wages, at least not very extensively.
We may consider how long it will take you to find new work. We should also consider your new income from your new job. You might be starting in a new field in an entry-level position earning less money, and we may sue for the difference in your income.
When to File Claims for Lost Wages in a New Jersey Personal Injury Case
Your claims for lost wages should be filed at the same time as your personal injury claims. According to the statute of limitations under N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2(a), we have 2 years to file your civil case, and your time begins on the day you are injured.
While filing sooner rather than later is usually best, we might want to wait to see how your injuries progress and whether they have a long-term impact on your ability to work.
If your condition changes after we file the case, and your injuries will likely prevent you from working for longer than we initially thought, we might be able to alter our initial claim. However, we must show that we have new information that we did not have before.
Can an Injured Minor Claim Lost Wages in a New Jersey Personal Injury Case?
Whether an injured minor can sue for lost income depends on many factors, including their age, work history, and the severity of their injuries.
Many minors have no work history, so assessing lost future earnings may be difficult. If a child’s injuries are expected to fully heal by the time they are of working age, they likely cannot claim damages for lost future earnings. However, if the minor’s injuries present long-term or lifelong complications that will make working difficult for many years or forever, we should consider assessing lost income.
If the minor has a job – like a part-time job after school or during summer break – they may claim lost wages if their injuries prevent them from continuing to work.
Determining how much income a minor may miss out on because of serious injuries is hard to say, especially if they have no significant work history, and their future is a blank slate. However, parents may claim lost income if they must step away from their jobs to care for an injured child.
Evidence We Need to Prove Claims for Lost Wages
To prove your claim for lost wages, we will likely need documentation of your income and work history, such as paystubs and salary information. This may include statements from your employers and colleagues to support our claims that you would likely have achieved promotions and pay increases at some point in your career.
We must also have medical information pertaining to your injuries. Specifically, we need copies of your medical records and testimony from doctors about your injuries and how they may interfere with your ability to work.
Speak to Our New Jersey Personal Injury Attorneys for Help Starting Your Case
Get a free, private case evaluation from our East Orange, NJ personal injury attorneys by calling Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111.