Partner at AKD Lawyers
Practice Areas: Personal Injury
A car accident can affect more than your health. Medical bills begin arriving, your vehicle may need repairs, and missing work can quickly reduce the income your household depends on.
Louisiana law allows injured people to seek compensation for lost income due to another person’s negligence. Getting paid, however, requires more than telling the insurer how many days you missed. You need medical proof, employment records, and a clear calculation of your losses.
A Louisiana car accident lawyer can help gather the records and present the claim. The sections below explain what lost wages may include, how to calculate them, and what evidence insurers usually expect.
What Counts as Lost Wages?
Lost wages are the earnings you would have received if the accident had not kept you from working. The claim may cover more than your regular paycheck.
Depending on your employment and compensation, lost wages may include:
- Hourly or salaried income
- Overtime pay
- Commissions and performance bonuses
- Sick leave or vacation time is used during recovery.
- Lost employer contributions and other employment benefits
Paid leave can still have financial value. You earned those days and would not have used them at that time if the crash had not happened.
Self-employed people, freelancers, and independent contractors may also claim lost income. These cases usually require more records because income may change from month to month.
What Louisiana Law Says About Lost Income
Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315 requires a person whose fault causes damage to another to repair that damage. Lost wages may be included when an injury caused by someone else keeps you from working. (Louisiana Legislature)
You must show two things:
- Your injuries prevented or limited your ability to work.
- The amount of income you lost can be supported with reliable records.
Louisiana’s comparative fault law may also affect your payment. For accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2026, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. You cannot recover damages if you are more than 51% responsible.
Supposedly, your income loss is $10,000, and if you are at 20% fault, the recoverable amount may be reduced to $8,000.
What Documents Do You Need?
Insurance companies usually want records from your employer, doctor, and financial accounts. The exact documents depend on how you are paid.
Documents for Employees
Employees should gather:
- Recent pay stubs
- W-2 forms or tax returns
- Timecards or attendance records
- A letter from the employer
- Medical records confirming work restrictions
The employer letter should state your job title, pay rate, normal schedule, dates missed, and whether you used paid leave.
Documents for Self-Employed Workers
Business owners, contractors, and freelancers may need tax returns from the last two or three years, profit-and-loss statements, 1099 forms, client contracts, invoices, payment records, bank statements showing regular deposits, and emails about delayed or canceled work.
These records help show what they would likely have earned if the accident had not happened.
Why Medical Proof Matters
Your medical records should show whether your injuries kept you from working, forced you to reduce your hours, or limited the type of work you could do.
Without a doctor’s prescription, the insurer may argue that your time away from work was unrelated to the accident. If your work restrictions continue, ask your doctor to revise the records at each follow-up visit.
Lost-Income Evidence by Employment Type
| Employment type | Useful evidence | What it helps prove |
| Full-time employee | Pay stubs, W-2s, employer letter, medical note | Regular pay and missed workdays |
| Part-time or hourly worker | Timecards, wage statements, work schedule | Average hours and hourly earnings |
| Self-employed worker | Tax returns, invoices, profit-and-loss statements | Past income and business losses |
| Freelancer or contractor | 1099s, contracts, client emails, bank deposits | Ongoing assignments and cancelled work |
| Commission-based worker | Sales records, commission statements, employer confirmation | Expected commissions and bonuses |
How to Calculate Lost Wages
The calculation depends on how you are paid.
Hourly Employees
Multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours missed.
Example:
$20 per hour × 40 missed hours = $800
Include overtime only when your work records show that you regularly earned it or were scheduled to work it.
Salaried Employees
Divide your annual salary by 2,080, the usual number of work hours in a 40-hour workweek, and multiply the result by the hours missed.
Example:
$52,000 ÷ 2,080 = $25 per hour
$25 × 40 missed hours = $1,000
Commission and Bonus Workers
Review several months of commission statements or bonus records. An average can help show what you probably would have earned during the missed period.
Seasonal changes should also be considered. A salesperson who was injured during the company’s busiest month may lose more than a simple yearly average suggests.
Self-Employed Workers
Compare income before and after the accident using tax returns, invoices, contracts, and bank statements.
You should separate actual business losses from ordinary changes in revenue. Canceled projects, delayed jobs, and work completed by paid replacements may all help explain the financial effect.
What Is Lost Earning Capacity?
Lost wages cover income already missed. Lost earning capacity deals with income you may lose in the future.
This may apply when an injury permanently affects your ability to:
- Work the same number of hours.
- Perform physical job duties.
- Return to your former occupation.
- Qualify for promotions
- Operate your business at the same level.
Future-loss claims are more complicated. Medical specialists, vocational experts, and financial professionals may be needed to estimate how the injury will affect your long-term earnings.
How to File a Lost-Wage Claim
Once your records are ready, you can submit the claim to the responsible insurance company.
The usual steps include:
- Notify the insurer that you are claiming lost income.
- Collect your medical and employment records.
- Calculate the wages and benefits you lost.
- Submit the calculation with supporting documents.
- Keep copies of every record and message.
Do not send only a handwritten estimate. A claim backed by pay records, medical restrictions, and employer confirmation is much harder to dismiss.
How Long Do You Have to File?
For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1 generally provides a two-year period to file a delictual action. The period normally begins on the date the injury or damage occurs. (Louisiana Legislature)
Older accidents may fall under the previous one-year deadline. Other facts can also affect the filing period, so do not wait until the deadline is close before reviewing your case.
Common Problems With Lost-Wage Claims
Lost-income claims are often delayed or reduced because the records do not match.
Common problems include:
- No medical note supporting the skipped work
- Missing pay stubs or tax returns
- Different absence dates in medical and employment records, and no employer confirmation
- Unsupported overtime or bonus claims
- Poor financial records for self-employed workers
- Waiting too long to notify the insurer
Keep your treatment dates, work restrictions, and missed-work records consistent. When something changes, ask your doctor and employer to update their records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifies as lost wages after a car accident?
Lost wages may include salary, hourly pay, regular overtime, commissions, bonuses, unused paid leave, and certain employment benefits you lost while recovering from accident injuries.
Can I claim lost income if I am self-employed?
Yes. Tax returns, invoices, contracts, bank statements, and client correspondence can show your usual earnings and how the accident reduced or interrupted your work.
How does fault affect my lost-wage claim?
For accidents on or after January 1, 2026, compensation is reduced by your fault percentage. A finding of 51% or more prevents recovery under Louisiana law.
What if my employer will not provide a letter?
Use pay stubs, attendance records, work schedules, tax forms, medical restrictions, and other employment documents to show your usual income and the time you missed.
Are lost wages from a settlement taxable?
Tax treatment depends on the claim and settlement allocation. Lost-wage or business-income payments may be taxable, so review the agreement with a qualified tax professional. (IRS)
Talk to a New Orleans Car Accident Lawyer
Missing work after an accident can put real pressure on your household. A strong wage claim should explain how long you were unable to work, how much you normally earned, and why your injuries caused the loss.
Alvendia, Kelly & Demarest can help collect the medical, employment, and financial records needed to support your claim. Call (504) 200-0000 for a free consultation. There is no fee unless the firm wins your case.
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In 2003, after being dissatisfied with the quality of legal care for victims of car accidents, Roderick ‘Rico’ Alvendia sought to establish a new firm focused on providing high-quality legal services to aid injured victims and their families. J. Bart Kelly, sharing Rico’s passion for upholding justice, joined the firm later that year, and established a partnership.
