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Can I Be Reimbursed for Lost Wages After a Car Accident?

Missed paychecks can pile up quickly while you heal. Yes, lost wages after a car accident are a recoverable part of an injury claim in Texas, and depending on the coverage on your own auto policy, some of that income may be paid before anyone decides who was at fault. At Abraham Watkins, our Houston attorneys evaluate lost wages and loss of earning capacity as part of determining what an injury claim is worth. If missed pay is adding up, call 713-222-7211 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.

What Counts as Lost Wages in a Texas Car Accident Claim

What Counts as Lost Wages in a Texas Car Accident ClaimLost wages are the pay you did not receive because your injuries kept you off the job. Texas law treats that loss as economic damages, which Section 41.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code defines as compensation for actual economic loss, meaning losses that can be measured in money. 

Depending on how you were paid, wage loss can include:

  • hourly pay or salary for the days you missed;
  • overtime, tips, commissions, and bonuses the injury cost you; and
  • business income lost by someone who is self-employed.

Loss of earning capacity is a separate measure: the reduced ability to earn money in the future when an injury limits the work a person can do. Non-economic losses are another category altogether. In a car accident claim, those commonly include emotional suffering, mental anguish, pain and suffering in the past and future, and permanent disfigurement.

How Personal Injury Protection Can Pay Your Wages First

Under Section 1952.151 of the Texas Insurance Code, personal injury protection, often shortened to PIP, is coverage on your own auto policy that can replace income lost because of a crash and pay reasonable medical bills. It pays regardless of who is at fault, so it can start covering missed pay while the question of blame is still open.

Section 1952.152 of the Texas Insurance Code requires insurers to include PIP in every Texas auto liability policy unless a named insured turned it down in writing. Your declarations page shows whether you have it. The two main sources of wage payment work differently:

  Your personal injury protection At-fault driver’s insurance
Who pays Your own insurer The other driver’s liability insurer
Fault decided first No Yes
How much Up to your PIP policy limits Up to the at-fault driver’s liability limits

Wage loss beyond your PIP limits can become part of the claim against the at-fault driver, and our attorneys can work on both claims at the same time. An adjuster from either insurer may ask to talk with you about the crash. Do not give a recorded statement to an insurance company prior to hiring an attorney. Insurance companies may also try to get your full Social Security number. Do not give it to them.

How Long Does an Insurance Company Have to Pay PIP Benefits?

Section 1952.156 of the Texas Insurance Code requires an insurer to pay PIP benefits periodically as claims arise, and no later than the 30th day after it receives satisfactory proof of a claim. 

A policy can also set a deadline for presenting the original proof of loss, but the statute does not allow that deadline to fall sooner than six months after the crash. If your insurer misses its payment deadline or delays benefits your policy owes, our attorneys can step in and press for payment.

What If You Were Working When the Crash Happened?

If you were driving for work, more than one source may pay for lost income. When your employer carries workers’ compensation coverage, those benefits may cover part of your wages, and Section 417.001 of the Texas Labor Code still allows an injured employee to seek damages from the at-fault driver. The workers’ compensation carrier is generally repaid out of that recovery first, so the two payments are not simply added together.

Our firm also handles workplace injury cases, so both sides of a crash on the clock can be reviewed together.

Proving the Income You Lost

The burden of proof sits with the person claiming the loss, and we can help pull together the records that tie a dollar amount to missed work. Those records typically include:

  • pay stubs from before and after the crash;
  • a statement from your employer showing your pay rate, schedule, and missed days;
  • tax returns or 1099 forms if you are self-employed; and
  • medical records that connect your time off to the injuries from the crash.

Can You Still Recover Lost Wages If You Were Partly at Fault?

Yes, as long as your share of responsibility is not more than 50%. Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code bars recovery only when the injured person is found more than 50% responsible, and Section 33.012 reduces the damages by that person’s own percentage. As an illustration, someone with $12,000 in lost wages who is found 20% at fault would recover $9,600 of that amount.

How Long Do You Have to File a Lost Wage Claim in Texas?

A wage-loss claim travels with the personal injury claim it belongs to. Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code generally requires a personal injury lawsuit to be filed within two years after the day the cause of action accrues, and for a crash injury that is typically the day of the collision.

Missing that deadline can take a lawsuit off the table entirely. Policy deadlines for PIP benefits can come due much sooner, in some cases as soon as six months after the crash.

Talk to a Houston Lawyer About Lost Wages After a Car Accident

Worrying about rent and bills while you are still recovering is a heavy load to carry. Abraham Watkins has represented injured Houstonians since 1951, and our team includes five attorneys who are board-certified in personal injury law. We believe everyone deserves access to high-quality legal representation without an upfront cost.

Contact us or call 713-222-7211 today for a free consultation about lost wages after a car accident and the rest of your Houston car accident claim.

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