Work-Loss Claims Need Different Proof for Past Pay and Future Capacity
Lost earnings may be recoverable after a Denver injury when current law allows the category and evidence connects the event to a documented work loss. Missed wages already incurred are different from reduced future earning ability. Used leave, lost overtime, a missed bonus, self-employment decline, and disability benefits also require separate analysis rather than one calculation from a paycheck.
Preserve the Work Record Before Payroll Systems Roll Forward
Collect pre-event and post-event pay statements, schedules, time entries, attendance, job description, wage rate, overtime history, commissions, bonuses, benefits, leave records, work restrictions, accommodation communications, and employer verification. An accident settlement lawyer can align each missed period with a medical or functional restriction and the employer’s actual scheduling decision.
For salary, hourly, union, tipped, seasonal, gig, or commission work, identify how compensation is earned and what source verifies it. Used vacation or sick leave may have value without being identical to unpaid wages. A lost opportunity needs evidence of eligibility, probability, timing, and value, not hindsight alone.
Separate Business Performance From Personal Earning Loss
A self-employed person should preserve invoices, contracts, calendars, customer communications, payroll, expense ledgers, bank records, tax material, substitute-worker costs, and comparable periods. Business revenue can change for reasons unrelated to injury, and gross receipts are not personal income. Build a month-by-month variance table with supported causes.
A personal injury claim lawyer may need accounting or vocational input when ownership income, growth trends, promotions, career changes, or long-term capacity are disputed. Future loss requires supported assumptions about duration, work ability, labor-market alternatives, progression, and present value; it should not be projected from one strong or weak pay period.
Reconcile Benefits, Mitigation, and Double-Counting Risks
Track disability payments, wage-replacement benefits, unemployment issues, employer advances, leave restoration, tax treatment requiring qualified advice, and any reimbursement or offset position. Record efforts to return, modify duties, seek accommodation, or pursue suitable work when medically and legally appropriate, without implying a person must disregard restrictions.
Three priorities are to secure employer and payroll verification, identify the correct compensation model, and keep past loss separate from future capacity. Date every employer confirmation. That ledger supports review without assuming every missed opportunity is recoverable or guaranteeing a particular work-loss figure. At S&S Law, we help Denver clients with lost income documentation.