Last updated on November 4th, 2026 at 10:34 pm
Document lost income by connecting three things: the work you would have done, the pay you missed and the injury-related reason you could not do it. A calendar marked “off work” is a start. Payroll records, schedules and medical work restrictions help explain what that entry means.
You do not need a perfect spreadsheet before asking for advice. Preserve the originals, write down what you know and mark the gaps honestly. The goal is a record someone else can follow—not the largest number you can produce.
Separate time away from money actually lost
Make a dated list of missed shifts, reduced hours and work you performed differently. Include appointment-related absences, but distinguish them from full days you could not work. Record any explanation your employer gave for a schedule change rather than assuming the accident caused it.
Next, label how each absence was handled: unpaid, sick leave, vacation, another benefit or an arrangement you do not yet understand. Paid leave raises different questions from an unpaid shift. A smaller paycheck alone may not show every work-related effect; it also does not prove every difference is recoverable.
California Courts lists lost wages among the losses a personal-injury claim may address. Whether a particular amount belongs in your claim requires a review of the facts and supporting evidence.
If you are an employee, gather the before-and-after record
Save pay stubs covering a useful period before the accident and the period afterward. Pair them with schedules, timesheets, attendance records and messages about missed work. If earnings vary, a single unusually good week is a weak picture of your normal pay.
Ask payroll or your supervisor for a factual record of the dates and hours missed, your usual pay arrangement, the pay actually withheld and any leave used. The employer can describe its records; it should not be asked to guess the legal value of your case.
Keep overtime, tips, commissions and bonuses separate from regular pay. Preserve the records explaining how those amounts were earned. Identify an expected commission as expected—not already earned—if the sale or payment was still uncertain.
If you work for yourself, show the job behind the number
A deposit statement may show revenue without showing the work, timing or costs behind it. Gather existing contracts, accepted estimates, booking calendars, invoices, payment records and messages canceling or rescheduling work.
Distinguish a job you lost from one you completed later. If someone else finished it, record what you paid and what income remained. Keep business expenses visible: a canceled job’s full price is not automatically the income you personally lost. Your accountant may be able to help organize the existing records without turning an estimate into a certainty.
Do not rewrite invoices, create backdated documents or ask customers to support an explanation they cannot verify. If an arrangement was informal, preserve the messages that exist and tell your lawyer what is missing.
Connect the work change to the injury without making medical claims
Preserve work-status notes and restrictions your clinician actually provided. Record when you received them and when you gave them to the employer. Do not change a note or ask someone to state that you could not work for longer than the medical record supports.
If a restriction prevented only part of your job, describe that part plainly: lifting equipment, standing for a shift or driving between appointments, for example. Ask the clinician about medical questions and the lawyer about how the record fits the claim.
California Courts’ evidence guide explains why records such as paychecks and doctors’ reports can matter. The value is in connecting them, not simply collecting a larger stack.
Use one line for each work interruption
- Date and work: the shift, task or confirmed job.
- What changed: missed, shortened, reassigned, canceled or postponed.
- Money affected: amount, how calculated and whether paid leave or benefits covered it.
- Reason: the factual injury-related limitation or appointment.
- Support: schedule, pay record, booking message or medical work note.
- Open question: anything you cannot yet verify.
Keep tax returns, identification numbers and detailed payroll records private. Ask the office for a secure way to share them.
Treat future income as a question, not a projection you must invent
Past missed pay and future earning loss are different issues. California’s civil jury instructions, including CACI 3903C, distinguish past earnings from future earnings that are reasonably certain to be lost because of the injury.
Save information about your actual work and restrictions. Let the lawyer identify what further evidence is needed. Multiplying a difficult week by several years is not a reliable forecast.
Tell John what happened or call (888) 508-6806. A brief description of the work interruption is enough to start.
Before resolving the claim, review five things to check in a first settlement offer.
The soft-tissue injury guide shows why records matter more than an unsupported payout average.
For the types of incidents the firm handles, review the practice-area overview.
General information only, not legal, medical or tax advice. Recoverable losses depend on the facts and applicable law.
