Where can I get the paperwork to document the work I missed because of my injury?

What Paperwork Usually Documents Missed Work?

In a North Carolina personal injury claim, missed income generally must be connected to the injury and supported by reliable records. Your statement that you missed work is important, but an insurer will usually want independent documentation from your employer and, when applicable, your medical records.

A lost-wage packet commonly includes:

• An employer wage verification form: This usually lists your position, pay rate, normal schedule, dates or hours missed, and the income you did not receive.
• A letter from human resources or payroll: If no form is available, the employer can provide the same information on company letterhead.
• Pay stubs or payroll records: Records from before and after the injury can help establish your normal earnings and show any reduction.
• Attendance or timekeeping records: These may confirm the specific shifts, hours, or days you missed.
• Medical work-status documentation: A provider’s note or medical record may show work restrictions or the period during which you were taken out of work.
• Benefit records: Documents showing whether you used paid leave, sick time, vacation time, disability benefits, or unpaid leave can help explain how the absence affected your income.

If your employer requires permission before releasing payroll or personnel information, you may need to sign an employment-information authorization. Read the authorization carefully and confirm that it is limited to the records reasonably needed for the claim.

Where Should You Request the Form?

Start with the person or organization already handling your injury claim. If you have an attorney, ask the law office whether it has a lost-wage verification form for your employer to complete. If you do not have an attorney, ask the adjuster whether the insurance company uses a particular form and request that it be sent by email as well as mail.

You can also contact your employer’s human resources or payroll department. Some employers use their own employment verification process instead of completing an insurer’s form. Either approach may work if the resulting document clearly identifies:

• Your job title and dates of employment.
• Your normal work schedule.
• Your hourly wage, salary, commissions, tips, or other regular compensation.
• The exact dates or number of hours missed.
• Whether the missed time was paid or unpaid.
• The amount of income actually lost.
• The name, title, and contact information of the person verifying the records.

If the original paperwork may have gone to an old address, provide written notice of your new address to your attorney, employer, and adjuster. Keep a copy of that notice. Asking for electronic delivery can reduce additional delays.

What If You Are Self-Employed or Have Variable Income?

Self-employed workers often need more than a form they complete themselves. Insurers commonly ask for tax returns from prior years, business income records, invoices, appointment calendars, bank records, or statements from an accountant. These documents can help establish the income the business normally generated and identify work that was actually lost because of the injury.

If your earnings depend on commissions, tips, overtime, contract work, or changing weekly hours, gather records covering a reasonable period before and after the injury. A single pay stub may not accurately show your usual income. Keep personal identifying and financial information secure, and provide only what is reasonably relevant after reviewing the request.

The Paperwork Must Connect the Injury to the Lost Income

Employer verification proves that you were absent and shows what you earned. It does not necessarily prove why you missed work. Medical records, written work restrictions, appointment records, and a clear timeline may help show that the absence resulted from the injury rather than an unrelated event.

Be accurate about the difference between missing work for appointments, being unable to perform your job, working reduced hours, and using paid leave. Do not ask an employer or medical provider to change a record. If a document contains an error, request a correction through the organization’s normal process and preserve both the original and corrected versions.

How This Applies When Treatment Has Ended

If you declined recommended physical therapy and reported that treatment was complete, the insurance company may review those facts when evaluating the medical and wage-loss portions of the claim. That does not prevent you from submitting records for work you actually missed, but the insurer may ask whether the claimed absence was supported by medical restrictions and whether it occurred during the documented treatment period.

Provide an accurate timeline showing the injury date, treatment dates, work restrictions, days missed, and return-to-work date. If there is a reason you did not attend recommended therapy, document the reason truthfully rather than leaving the insurer to make assumptions. Follow the instructions of your medical providers, and do not change treatment decisions solely to influence an insurance claim.

How Missed-Work Records Affect a Settlement Offer

Lost income is commonly presented with medical records, bills, and other injury documentation before an insurer evaluates a settlement demand. If wage paperwork is missing, an offer may not include the claimed income loss or the adjuster may request additional proof.

A settlement offer is not simply a reimbursement form. It is a proposal to resolve some or all of the claim, and the amount may reflect disputed fault, medical evidence, lost-income documentation, available coverage, and other facts. Before signing a release, make sure you understand which claims it resolves. A signed release generally cannot be treated as a temporary payment request merely because additional wage records are found later.

Documents to Gather Now

1. Write down every date and number of hours you missed because of the injury.
2. Request a wage verification statement from human resources or payroll.
3. Save pay stubs, schedules, timecards, leave records, and direct-deposit statements.
4. Gather work-status notes, visit summaries, and written restrictions already issued by your medical providers.
5. Save emails or text messages notifying your supervisor that you could not work.
6. Keep copies of settlement offers, adjuster letters, claim emails, and any proposed release.
7. Confirm your current address, email, and telephone number in writing.

Do not allow paperwork discussions to create a false sense that there is no deadline. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52 provides a three-year period for many North Carolina personal injury actions, although a different period may apply depending on the claim. Negotiations, document requests, and settlement discussions with an insurer do not automatically extend the deadline for filing a lawsuit.