Solicitors for Loss of Earnings Compensation

Yes, where the injury has caused you to lose pay. Loss of earnings is a form of special damages, which means it compensates for money the injury has cost you rather than for the injury itself. It can cover pay you have already lost while recovering, and where the injury has a lasting effect on your ability to work, the difference between what you would have earned and what you are now likely to earn. The loss has to be connected to the injury and supported by evidence.

The starting point is proof of what you actually lost. Payslips, contracts, P60s, bank statements and, for the self employed, accounts and tax returns all help. Where the job involves overtime, bonuses or commission, records of what you would normally have earned are useful. A letter from your employer confirming absence, reduced hours or a change of role is often helpful too. Where the loss looks likely to continue, an accountant or employment expert may be instructed to project it properly.

Yes. Self employed claimants often face more questions, because there is no payslip to point to, but the loss is just as real. The claim is usually built from business accounts, tax returns, invoices and a comparison of what the business was earning before the accident with what it earned afterwards. Where the figures are complicated, or the business was growing, an accountant experienced in these claims can set out the loss clearly and answer the insurer's questions.

Where the injury affects your ability to work in the long term, you can claim for future loss as well as past loss. This can cover the difference between what you would have earned had the accident not happened and what you are likely to earn now, whether because you can work fewer hours, cannot do the same role, or cannot work at all. Where a career has been cut short, the loss can be substantial and needs careful evidence on earnings, prospects and, in some cases, pension.

Yes, where you can show these would have been earned. The standard for the past is what you would probably have earned had the accident not happened, so a consistent pattern of overtime or commission over the preceding months or years is good evidence. For the future, the same logic applies, although the further ahead you look the more the claim depends on expert evidence about what was realistically likely.

It depends. Where your employer paid you in full during your absence, you have not lost that pay, so there is usually nothing to claim for that period. But where your pay was reduced, where you used up holiday you would otherwise have taken, or where you lost overtime or commission because you were off, those losses can often be claimed. Company sick pay arrangements and any sums repaid to an employer need to be looked at carefully.

It is your claim and your decision. Some people prefer not to claim lost earnings, particularly where they are concerned about how it might look to an employer or where the amount is small. It is worth understanding, though, that leaving a loss out means you cannot come back for it later once the claim is settled. It is usually better to discuss the options with a solicitor before deciding, rather than to write off a loss without knowing what is involved.

Past loss is usually calculated by working out what you would have earned during the period you were unable to work, and taking off what you actually received. Future loss is more involved, because it means projecting what you would have earned over the coming years and comparing it with what you can now expect. That often requires an accountant's report and, where the loss stretches over many years or affects a pension, actuarial evidence. The figure is built from evidence rather than assumed.

Yes. Loss of earnings is simply one element of the compensation in a claim, and it is funded in the same way as the rest. Suitable claims may be accepted under a Conditional Fee Agreement, commonly called No Win No Fee, subject to an assessment of liability, the evidence and the prospects of success. If the claim succeeds, a success fee may be payable, and in many personal injury claims the legal cap is 25% of the relevant categories of damages including VAT.

Yes. Injury Law Specialists provides access to solicitors and lawyers who act for clients throughout England and Wales. Much of the work is done by telephone, video call and email, and clients can be seen at a convenient location where a meeting is needed. Distance from a city centre does not prevent a loss of earnings claim from being properly handled.