Lost wages and lost earning capacity are two different things, and they are proven in two different ways. Lost wages are concrete income you already lost while recovering: time off for the ER, doctor appointments, and physician-ordered work restrictions. These are easy to identify and specific, proven through employment and medical records that show time missed. Attorneys typically compare pay stubs against attendance records, and supporting documents like W-2s, tax returns, and employment contracts build a baseline. Lost earning capacity is harder. It is a reduced ability to earn going forward, when the injury is severe enough to force you to stop working or shift to a lower-paying career. It is a future loss that has not happened yet, so it has to be projected. That usually takes expert testimony. A vocational expert reviews your work history, skills, education, local labor market, and pay rates to assess what you could have earned and what you can earn after the injury. Then an economist projects expected future earnings and benefits and discounts them to present value. The discount rate materially affects the final number. Both lost wages and lost earning capacity are economic damages, but only the second usually needs experts.
The ring is the gross claim of $33,950. The two kept arcs sum to the net figure in the centre, and the red arc is what comparative fault and statutory caps take away.
| Component | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | $6,500 | 19.1% |
| Lost wages | $3,200 | 9.4% |
| Economic damages | $9,700 | 28.6% |
| Pain and suffering (2.5x economic) | $24,250 | 71.4% |
| Comparative-fault reduction (0%) | $0 | 0.0% |
| Likely settlement | $33,950 | 100.0% |
Share is measured against the gross claim of $33,950. Method: multiplier method, industry standard. Estimate for negotiation, not legal advice.
Estimate only, not legal advice. The legal rules this calculator applies, each state's statute of limitations, comparative-negligence rule, and damage caps, are taken from official state statutes and US government sources, and every figure is cited inline so you can check it against the original. The multiplier method itself is the industry-standard approach bodily-injury adjusters use internally to set claim reserves, so treat the result as a negotiating benchmark rather than a promise: a real settlement still moves with insurer behavior, the strength of your evidence, and the jurisdiction you file in. Your figures stay on your device. Nothing you type is sent to a server, logged, or shared, and it clears when you close the tab. Take these numbers to a personal-injury attorney licensed in your state before you accept or reject any offer, especially for catastrophic injury or amounts above $50,000.
Method note: wages to date are relatively straightforward (pay stubs against attendance records). Lost earning capacity has no fixed range; it requires a vocational expert plus an economist who discounts projected future earnings to present value. Wage loss is one input to the personal injury calculator, which combines it with medical bills and severity.
Wages lost while recovering are relatively straightforward. Employment and medical records identify time missed, and attorneys compare pay stubs against attendance records. W-2s, tax returns, and contracts build the baseline.
Lost earning capacity is much harder and usually requires expert testimony. A vocational expert weighs profession, education, work history, special skills, the current labor market and pay rates, and your history of raises and promotions.
After the vocational assessment, an economist projects future earnings and benefits and discounts them to present value. The discount rate materially affects the result, and the same discounting shapes the future medical expenses calculator.
When hours and pay rate records are missing, practitioners use a vocational rehabilitation specialist or economist to calculate the discounted present value of future losses.
A common insurer tactic is to claim you can go back to your old job. A vocational expert report validates the claim and rebuts that argument with documented limitations.
Lost wages recovered for a personal physical injury are excludable from gross income under Revenue Ruling 85-97 and IRC Section 104(a)(2), the same split that governs whether personal injury settlements are taxable generally. Lost wages in non-physical-injury cases (such as employment discrimination) are taxable.
A worker misses time for the ER, follow-up appointments, and a physician-ordered restriction. Pay stubs and attendance records document the missed days and the hourly rate.
The lost-wages figure is the missed hours times the documented pay rate, a specific and easily identifiable amount.
A serious injury forces a shift to a lower-paying career. A vocational expert compares pre-injury and post-injury earning ability, and an economist projects the future gap.
The economist discounts the projected lifetime gap to present value, and the discount rate drives the final number the claim seeks.
Lost wages are income you already lost while recovering, proven with pay stubs and attendance records. Lost earning capacity is a reduced ability to earn going forward, a future loss that has to be projected with experts.
Through employment and medical records that identify time missed. Attorneys compare pay stubs against attendance records, and W-2s, tax returns, and employment contracts establish your earning history.
Because it is a future projection, not a recorded fact. A vocational expert assesses pre-injury and post-injury earning ability, and an economist discounts projected future earnings to present value.
Practitioners use a vocational rehabilitation specialist or economist to calculate the discounted present value of future losses even when hours and pay rate records are missing.
Lost wages tied to a personal physical injury are excludable from gross income under Revenue Ruling 85-97 and IRC Section 104(a)(2). Lost wages in non-physical-injury cases, such as discrimination claims, are taxable.
The PersonalInjuryCalculator.us editorial team documents how US insurance carriers value personal-injury claims and turns that into plain-English calculators and explainers. Every dollar range, multiplier, filing deadline, and damages cap published here is traced back to a named source. The team is not a law firm and includes no attorneys, so nothing on this site is legal advice. Speak with a licensed attorney in your state for serious or contested cases.
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