Prove the Earnings Change From the Work Record Backward
You may be able to claim earnings lost because of an Albuquerque injury when the loss is legally recoverable, caused by the event, and supported by reliable work and medical records. Preserve schedules, pay statements, tax documents, contracts, leave use, and written restrictions first. A personal injury claim lawyer must keep completed wage loss separate from diminished ability to earn later and rule out unrelated changes in hours, business demand, or employment.
Establish the Pre-Injury Earnings Pattern
For an employee, gather several representative pay periods, wage rate, usual schedule, overtime history, commissions, bonuses, benefits, and approved leave. Ask the employer to verify dates missed, hours reduced, accommodations, and the value of paid time that had to be used. A single low paycheck may not show the ordinary baseline if hours fluctuate seasonally.
For a contractor or business owner, preserve tax returns, profit-and-loss statements, invoices, calendars, contracts, bank records, payroll, and evidence of work that was canceled, delayed, reassigned, or completed at added cost. Separate lost gross receipts from lost profit; ordinary business expense does not disappear merely because the owner was hurt.
Connect Each Missed Work Period to Supported Restrictions
Build a date-by-date comparison of medical restrictions and actual attendance. Note when a provider limited hours, lifting, travel, driving, concentration, or other job functions, and record what the employer could or could not accommodate. Do not ask a provider for a restriction solely to strengthen a claim; the work record should follow genuine medical judgment.
An accident settlement lawyer reviewing wage loss will also test alternative causes. Layoffs, performance issues, voluntary leave, caregiving, a planned job change, economic slowdown, or a separate health condition may explain part of the difference. Disclose those facts so the calculation is not built on a false causal assumption.
Separate Past Loss From Future Earning Capacity
Past loss can be tied to completed pay periods and documented opportunities. Future earning capacity asks whether the injury is likely to reduce the ability to earn later. That analysis may require a stable medical outlook, work history, transferable skills, labor-market evidence, vocational analysis, and an economic calculation rather than a simple multiplication of current pay.
Track attempts to return, seek suitable work, accept accommodation, or pursue retraining when appropriate. Mitigation questions can affect the analysis, but a claimant is not required to ignore valid medical limits. The factual record should show what options were available and why a decision was reasonable at the time.
Reconcile Benefits Before Stating the Final Amount
List wages, paid leave, disability benefits, workers’ compensation payments, unemployment benefits, business insurance, and any other replacement source by date and gross amount. Identify possible offsets or reimbursement rights and avoid counting one period twice. A final verification sheet should show the baseline, actual earnings, restriction, claimed difference, source record, alternative explanation, and any benefit that overlaps the same loss. At S&S Law, we help Albuquerque clients with lost income documentation.