Proving Lost Income After a New Braunfels Injury
How wage loss actually gets calculated and documented in a Texas injury claim, from pay stubs to self-employment records.
If a crash or injury in New Braunfels kept you out of work, that missed income is part of your claim, not a side issue. Insurance companies don't just take your word for what you would have earned. They want paperwork that ties your missed hours directly to your injury.
The good news is that most of this documentation already exists in your normal records. The key is knowing what to pull together early, before pay stubs get misplaced or a manager forgets the exact dates you were out.
What Counts as Lost Income
Lost income covers more than your regular paycheck. It can include missed overtime, lost bonuses, unused paid time off you had to burn through, and shift differentials you would have earned. If you're self-employed, it includes contracts you couldn't complete or clients you had to turn away.
It also covers time spent at medical appointments during work hours, not just time you were fully unable to work. If you had to leave early or arrive late for physical therapy, that partial time away from your job is still income you lost because of the injury.
If You're a W-2 Employee
For most employees, the documentation is straightforward. You'll want recent pay stubs from before the injury, ideally covering several months, so there's a clear baseline of what you normally earn. A letter from your employer confirming your rate of pay, your schedule, and the specific dates you missed carries a lot of weight.
If your employer uses a time-tracking or HR system, ask for a printout showing hours worked in the weeks before and after the injury. This kind of record is hard to argue with because it comes from a neutral third party, not from you.
If You're Self-Employed or Gig Work
Documenting lost income gets more complicated without a regular paycheck. Insurers will look for tax returns, profit and loss statements, invoices, and bank deposits to establish what you were earning before the injury. The goal is to build a realistic picture of your typical income pattern.
For gig or freelance work, keep records like app earnings summaries, canceled job requests, or messages from clients explaining why a project was delayed or lost. If you had to turn down work you would normally have accepted, note the date, the client, and the estimated hours or job you declined.
Connecting the Missed Time to Your Injury
A pay stub by itself doesn't prove why you were out. That connection comes from your medical records. A doctor's note that says you're restricted from work, or restricted to light duty, is what links your income loss to the injury rather than to a personal choice or an unrelated reason.
This is why it matters to ask your provider directly for written work restrictions at each visit, rather than assuming it's understood. If your restrictions change over time, get that updated in writing too, since a change from no work to light duty can affect how much income you're claiming for a given stretch.
When Loss of Future Earning Capacity Comes Up
Some injuries don't just cause missed weeks of work. They change what kind of work you can do going forward, or limit how many hours you can safely handle. This is a different piece of a claim than straightforward lost wages, and it usually depends on medical opinion about your long-term limitations rather than just payroll records.
Because this involves predicting the future, it typically requires more than personal records. It often involves input from treating doctors or vocational experts who can speak to what your work capacity looks like going forward. This is not something to try to calculate on your own from a spreadsheet.
What to remember
- Gather pay stubs or income records from before the injury, not just after, to establish a clear baseline.
- Ask your employer for a written statement listing your pay rate, schedule, and exact missed dates.
- Get written work restrictions from your doctor at each visit, not just a verbal instruction.
- If you're self-employed, keep invoices, deposits, and notes on declined work as it happens, not months later.
- Track partial missed time from medical appointments, not just full missed shifts.
Common questions
Do I need a letter from my employer or does a pay stub work?
Pay stubs help establish your normal earnings, but a written statement from your employer confirming the specific dates you missed and your rate of pay makes the connection much clearer. Many claims use both together.
What if I used paid vacation or sick time instead of taking unpaid leave?
You can generally still claim that time as a loss, since you used a paid benefit you otherwise would have kept for future use. Keep records showing how much leave was used and on what dates.
How do I document lost income if I'm paid in cash or don't file regular pay stubs?
Look for any secondary proof of income, such as bank deposits, client communications, tax filings, or a written statement from whoever paid you. It's harder without formal records, so the more supporting documents you can gather, the stronger the picture.
This article is general information for the public, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Nothing here predicts an outcome or the value of any claim. Laws and filing deadlines differ by state and change over time — talk with a lawyer about your own situation. Attorney advertising.
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