Can I recover lost wages for work I could have performed if the accident had not occurred?

When Work You Could Have Performed May Support a Lost-Wage Claim

A lost-wage claim is not limited to days already printed on an employer’s schedule. Depending on the evidence, it may include income from shifts, assignments, overtime, commissions, or other work that probably would have been available if the accident had not happened.

The key difference is between probable work and a mere possibility. For example, a consistent history of accepting available shifts may support a claim even if the employer did not formally assign each future shift before the accident. A general statement that more work might have become available is harder to prove.

North Carolina personal injury damages may include loss of time from employment, inability to perform ordinary work, or reduced capacity to earn money when that loss was caused by the defendant’s negligence. Relevant considerations commonly include the person’s occupation, employment arrangement, compensation, work history, and the effect of the injuries on the person’s ability to work.

What You Generally Must Show

A claim for work you could have performed usually requires evidence supporting several connected points:

1. Someone else was legally responsible for the accident. Lost income is one part of a personal injury claim; it does not independently establish liability.
2. The accident affected your ability to work. Medical records, visit summaries, or written work restrictions may help connect the missed work to accident-related injuries.
3. Work probably would have been available. Prior schedules, recurring assignments, shift offers, seasonal patterns, or an employer’s statement may establish this point.
4. You probably would have performed the work. Your attendance history, prior acceptance of similar shifts, and communications with a supervisor may help.
5. The amount can be calculated with reasonable support. Pay records, wage rates, average hours, commission histories, or similar documents can provide a basis for the calculation.

If the available evidence cannot show which work was likely, when it would have occurred, or what it would have paid, an insurer may challenge the request as speculative.

Evidence to Gather When the Schedule Does Not Show the Missed Days

An employer verification letter is often useful, but it is not the only possible evidence. Preserve and organize documents such as:

• Pay stubs and payroll summaries from before and after the accident.
• Timecards, attendance records, and prior work schedules.
• Emails, text messages, or app notifications offering shifts or assignments.
• Calendars showing expected work, medical appointments, and days you could not work.
• Employment agreements or documents showing your wage rate, commission structure, or regular duties.
• Records showing a consistent pattern of accepting extra shifts, overtime, or recurring assignments.
• Medical records or work-status notes documenting the period during which your ability to work was affected.
• A statement from a supervisor, scheduling manager, payroll employee, or human resources representative describing your usual hours and available work.

An employer statement is most useful when it identifies the employee’s position, rate of pay, usual schedule, dates missed, and the basis for determining the available hours. If HR cannot confirm particular dates, a supervisor or scheduling manager may have information that payroll records do not contain.

If your hours varied, avoid relying only on your highest-earning week. A longer period of payroll and scheduling records may present a more reliable picture of your usual work pattern. Overtime, commissions, or optional shifts generally require their own supporting history.

Lost Wages and Reduced Earning Capacity Are Not Identical

Past lost wages usually refer to income that would likely have been earned during a specific period after the accident. The calculation may be relatively direct when an employer confirms the dates, hours, and rate of pay.

Reduced earning capacity concerns an injury-related reduction in the ability to earn income. It may become relevant when a person had irregular work, was between jobs, or could return to work only with reduced duties or hours. The fact that someone was not working on the precise accident date does not automatically prevent a supported claim for reduced earning capacity.

Still, either type of claim requires a reasonable factual basis. A person’s belief that they could have worked is important background, but it is usually stronger when supported by employment history, available assignments, compensation records, and documentation of accident-related limitations.

Reviewing Consent Forms Before Returning Them

An employer may require a signed employment-information release before providing wage, payroll, or personnel records. Before signing, read the form carefully and confirm what information it authorizes, who may receive it, the period covered, and when the authorization ends.

Do not sign an incomplete form. Keep a copy of every signed authorization and any cover letter submitted with it. It may also help to ask HR exactly which authorization it requires and whether the request can be limited to records relevant to attendance, scheduling, compensation, and work status around the accident.

A form sent by an insurance company may have a different scope from an employer’s internal release. The wording matters. If a form appears to permit access to unrelated employment, medical, financial, or personnel information, consider having a licensed North Carolina attorney review it before deciding how to respond. This does not mean the form is necessarily improper; it means you should understand the authorization before signing it.

How This Applies When HR Has Not Confirmed the Available Work

Here, the current work records do not identify the days the individual believes they otherwise could have worked, and HR has not supplied the requested information. That gap may make the claim harder to document, but it does not necessarily make recovery unavailable.

The next step is to identify how the employer normally assigned work. If assignments came from a supervisor, scheduling application, group message, seniority list, or recurring rotation, records from that system may be more useful than a payroll report. A written request can ask for a narrow set of information: wage rate, usual hours, prior schedules, attendance, shift offers, and whether comparable work was available during the claimed period.

The individual should also build a clear timeline showing the accident date, the period of reduced work ability, the assignments or shifts believed to have been lost, and the evidence supporting each entry. Estimates should be identified as estimates rather than presented as confirmed employer data.

Do Not Let Record Requests Hide a Filing Deadline

Many North Carolina personal injury actions are subject to the three-year period described in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52, although the correct deadline depends on the claim and its facts. Waiting for HR, exchanging documents, or discussing the claim with an insurer does not automatically extend the time to file a lawsuit. Claims involving government entities, death, minors, or other circumstances may follow different rules.