How To Prove Lost Earnings In A Personal Injury Claim If You’re Self-Employed
Taking time off work can be stressful when you’re the victim of an accident. However, most personal injury cases will reimburse victims for any lost earnings. While traditional employees have pay stubs or other documentation from their employers, what do you do if you’re self-employed? Even if the process is different, receiving compensation and recovering lost earnings is still possible.
Who Is Considered Self-Employed?
If you’re self-employed, you work for yourself and aren’t receiving wages from another company. Roughly 10% of Americans are self-employed, with most of them being freelancers or independent contractors. Self-employed workers exist in various industries, such as teaching, marketing, graphic design, hospitality, and many more.
While self-employed individuals work for themselves, they lack many of the perks of working for a business, including sick leave or company health insurance. In the event of an accident, self-employed workers can face additional challenges not faced by traditional employees.
What Counts As Lost Earnings?
In personal injury cases involving a self-employed worker, they can also receive compensation for additional expenses involving their work, including:
- Earning potential
- Wages
- Lost profit
- Lost business opportunities
- Damages to your business’s reputation
If you had to hire someone or increase the pay of a current employee to cover your workload, you could also include this in your claim as an additional business expense.
How Do You Prove Lost Earnings As A Self-Employed Worker?
Self-employed workers are responsible for providing detailed documentation that can prove lost wages. Here are some examples of what you can submit with your claim:
- Business invoices
- 1099 forms
- Your tax returns from the previous year
- Client letters
- Medical records
- Previous bank statements
- Deposit slips
The more details you provide demonstrating that you make consistent income as a self-employed worker, the higher the chances your claim will be approved.
Calculating Your Self-Employed Wages
Each case will vary based on the accident’s severity, how long you’re unable to work, and how long you’ve been in business. The exact you’ll make in lost wages is easier to estimate if you’ve been receiving steady income for more than a year. For calculating the defendant’s payment, you can use your previous year’s tax forms as a reference.
But determining an amount can be more complicated if you don’t have a regular income or haven’t been self-employed for a long time. An experienced personal injury attorney or financial expert can assist you in calculating an appropriate amount if this is your case.
Our Professional Attorneys Are Here To Help You
Having to miss work and potentially lose clients or a contract because of an accident can lead to serious consequences for a self-employed worker. Fortunately, as long as you have the necessary proof, you can still pursue justice and claim lost wages. If you’re a self-employed worker who needs help filing a claim, our personal injury lawyers will help you receive compensation for your damages. Please contact us online or call our offices at (800) 469-7429 if you have any questions or want to schedule a free case review today.