In this guide, we discuss making a loss of earnings claim. We cover what loss of earnings are, and why you could be able to claim for them in some circumstances. You will also learn how you can fund a solicitor for your personal injury claim under a No Win No Fee agreement.
Advice on making a loss of earnings claim for an injury
Every claim is based on a unique situation. Yours would be no different. This means that it is difficult to predict every question you may have, and you may not find the answer in a single guide. We aim to help you as much as possible through this guide. However, we also offer free legal advice if you get in touch.
Our advisors are on-hand 24/7 to help you. You can call them on 0161 696 9685. If you do, an advisor will answer any questions you have outstanding. And, they can also explain how we could assist with your claim further by putting you in touch with our panel of personal injury solicitors.
Select A Section :
- A Guide To Loss of Earnings Claims
- Loss Of Earnings Compensation Calculator
- What Are Special Damages?
- What Are Lost Earnings?
- Can You Claim For Loss Of Earnings?
- Can You Claim For Future Lost Earnings?
- What Other Losses Can You Claim For?
- How Do I Prove My Lost Earnings?
- Can I Claim For Lost Self Employed Income?
- What Do You Need To Think About When Making A Claim?
- No Win No Fee Loss Of Earnings Claims
- Why Choose Advice.co.uk?
- Contact Us
- Related Services
A Guide To Loss of Earnings Claims
In this guide, we look at claiming compensation for loss of earnings. This could be lost earnings you already incurred, or projected lost earnings in the future. In this guide, we will presume that the lost earnings claim is part and parcel of an overall personal injury claim. As in order to claim loss of earnings, it must part of a personal injury claim made against a party responsible for causing you an injury. In the first part of the guide, you will find an example compensation table, based on physical harm. This is because a claim for physical or mental harm will be needed in order to claim for loss of earnings.
In effect, the physical harm will be the cause of the loss of earnings. In addition to the table, we have listed some of the most often claimed types of damages.
In order to make any successful personal injury claim that includes loss of earnings you must be able to prove the following criteria meets your circumstances;
- You were owed a duty of care
- That duty was breached resulting in negligence
- The injury you suffered was a direct consequence.
The second and main part of this guide, focuses solely on loss of earnings. We look at what could be classified as a loss of earnings. And also discuss whether it is possible to claim for earnings already lost, and earnings you will likely miss out on in the future. Furthermore, we have added a section about claiming for other losses you may have incurred by being away from work; workplace benefits such as pension contributions, bonuses, etc.
You will learn what kind of proof you will need to provide as well. Also whether self-employed people are covered, and how they could make a claim for lost earnings.
Lastly, we explain how a No Win No Fee agreement works. What the fee structure is, and the way that this can help you to get the legal assistance you need.
Get More Help And Advice
Do you have additional questions? Or need some advice about making a claim for loss of earnings compensation? You will find a telephone number at the bottom of this guide. Give it a call to get all the help and answers you need. Our team will also tell you about the personal injury claims time limit that will apply, based on your own unique circumstances.
Loss Of Earnings Compensation Calculator
It is impossible to give an average amount for compensation payouts. As compensation amounts are driven by the unique circumstances of the claim. When you make a loss of earnings claim, it will probably be part of an overall injury claim. This table shows the amounts that injuries could receive in damages. Any claim for loss of earnings would be additional to this. We used the guidelines published in England and Wales by the Judicial College to make this table.
| Medical Issue | How Severe? | Additional Notes | Possible Range of Damages | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foot injury | Modest | A category including modest foot injuries. Here, we would include injuries such as lacerations, grazes or burns. As well as soft tissue damage of all kinds. And potentially minor or hairline fractures. Recovery would be complete and there would be no future symptoms. | Up to £12,900 | |
| Fractured Jaw | Simple | A category including simple jaw fractures. These would heal quite quickly, and may require the jaw to be immobilised. | £6,060 to £8,200 | |
| Ankle injury | Modest | A category including modest ankle injuries. Such as a twisted ankle resulting in a sprain or a strain. Or possibly lacerations. The less serious, minor or undisplaced fractures, sprains, and ligamentous injuries. | Up to £12,900 | |
| Neck injury | Minor | A category including minor neck injuries. This could include non-specific injuries such as whiplash. As well as sprains and strains. | Up to £7,410 | |
| Back injury | Minor | A category including minor back injuries. Less serious strains, sprains, disc prolapses, soft tissue injuries, or fracture injuries with recover without surgery. | Up to £11,730 | |
| Pelvic injury | Severe | A category including severe pelvic injuries. Such as a crush injury or a fractured pelvis due to multiple non-union fractures. Recovery would take some time, and there may be permanent symptoms causing a disability in the future. | £73,580 to £122,860 |
A loss of earnings calculator may attempt to calculate the compensation you might get. For a more accurate estimate, call our claims team today
What Are Special Damages?
When making a personal injury claim you will start the claim with physical damages. These are general damages that cover the pain and suffering. Examples are seen in the section above. Then once you have sorted out the compensation for your suffering you can look to recuperate any losses. These are known as special damages. Loss of earnings comes under the heading of special damages. It is not a separate claim.
Loss of earnings, as a financial loss, would fall within the category of special damages. While pain and suffering would fall under the category of general damages. Let us look at each of these in their own sections below.
An Explanation Of Special Damages
Special damages are for financial loss and expenses caused by the injury. For example
- Hiring a nurse, if you needed medical care at home.
- Ad-hoc and out of pocket expenses. Travel, postage or photocopying for example.
- Private medical treatment, if you had to pay for it yourself.
- Lost income, through missing work.
- Lost future income, through decreased working capacity.
You need to note, that you must provide evidence when claiming costs. We cover this in more detail in a later section of this guide.
An Explanation Of General Damages
The flip side of the coin to special damages, is general damages. These are paid to compensate you for pain and suffering. The more you have suffered, the higher your compensation payment will be in general. Examples of general damages include:
- The general pain and suffering of your injuries.
- Pain caused by invasive or traumatic treatment.
- Psychological harm. For example, anxiety, new phobias, or depression.
- Long-term or permanent disabilities.
What Are Lost Earnings?
When it comes to asking for lost earnings in a personal injury claim, you need to understand exactly what loss of earnings means. At its simplest, this would cover loss of wages or salary because you had to miss work. This could be a partial loss because you received some level of sick pay, or a total loss because you were not paid at all.
We also need to consider the impact of your injuries on your future income. For example, imagine that you work as a swimming instructor, and become permanently paralysed. It is very unlikely you would go back to your chosen profession. You might be able to find some other type of job, and if it paid less the difference could be made up. Or you may no longer be able to work at all. In such a case, it may be possible to claim for this loss of future income.
Importantly, you must understand that you will claim for your monthly income. So, this is your wages or salary, plus other benefits such as bonuses. And also any other income dependant on you working, such as money from a second part-time job.
Can You Claim For Loss Of Earnings?
Most people working should qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). In order to be eligible for SSP you must:
- Be employed in either a full-time or part-time job.
- Earn on average more than £120 a week.
- Been away from work for more than four consecutive days (this can include non-working days like the weekend).
You can only claim SSP for 28 weeks. SSP may not cover your entire income either. So, it could be that you did get SSP, but still need to claim for lost earnings. Some people won’t qualify for SSP at all. And in this case, they would try to claim for the whole of their lost income. If you are unsure about your own claim, call and talk to our team for some help.
Can You Claim For Future Lost Earnings?
If you are no longer able to work then if you make a successful personal injury claim you could also claim for future loss of earnings. This would be worked out on your current salary, prospects of promotion, age etc.
If you can still work but not in your current job you can ask for the difference in salary if it is less. The employment rate of disabled people runs at approximately 50%. While the employment rate for non-disabled people is around 80%.
What Other Losses Can You Claim For?
It isn’t just your wages or salary that could become part of a loss of earnings claim. There are many other types of work-related benefits that you could miss out on because you were away from work recovering. If you can prove that your earnings for the time you are claiming for would have included such benefits, you may be able to claim them. We cover some of the more common types of workplace benefits below.
Loss Of Overtime Payments
For some people, overtime is a regular occurrence. Daily for some. Weekly for others. And of course, when you know that you will regularly earn extra overtime money, you will factor it into your budget.
If overtime was regularly part of your net monthly income, a personal injury lawyer could be able to help you to claim for lost overtime.
Loss Of Pension Contributions
Even if you claim SSP, this won’t cover your voluntary contributions to your pensions scheme. Missing a couple of contributions won’t have much of a long-term effect on the value of your pension. But missing contributions for months or even years will devalue your final pension value.
In cases where a personal injury solicitor can prove that you have missed out on significant pension contributions, you may be able to claim for this loss.
Loss Of Sick And Holiday Entitlement Accrued
Some employers calculate leave days based on the number of days you have worked. Or they may add additional leave days as a bonus for loyalty. And you may have standard sick days your employer allows a year. Days that you can take without providing a doctor’s certificate, etc.
If you have missed out on accruing leave or sick days because you have taken an extended time away from work, this loss could be rolled into a loss of earnings claim.
Loss Of Other Workplace Benefits
There are other, less common workplace benefits that could make up part of a loss of earnings claim. For example, bonuses. If you regularly receive a performance-related bonus, you may not get it if you are off sick for a long time. If you can prove that this bonus would have been part of your income, then you could be able to claim for it.
The same is true of share allocation based on time worked. If you lose out on shares of the company you would have earned for long service, you may be able to claim for this loss as well.
How Do I Prove My Lost Earnings?
If you need to make a claim for loss of earnings in the UK, proving how much you have already lost should be quite straightforward. You can do this by providing your payslips, and an itemised breakdown of what your pay included for each payslip. This would include bonuses, overtime, etc. Loss of sick or leave days can be similarly proven.
Proving loss of future earnings will be more difficult. You will have to show why you won’t be earning as much in the future. And also, how much the shortfall will be. Ideally, a solicitor will help you to work this out. Based on pay trends in your industry.
Can I Claim For Lost Self Employed Income?
You can claim for loss of earnings if self employed. But the process of doing so compared to an employed person, is a little more complex. Making a loss of earnings claim if self-employed means providing a copy of your business accounts.
If you hire a solicitor to handle your claim they will then be able to prove how much you made based on invoice value, minus overheads and costs. And then submit these as evidence to prove your loss of income as part of the claims process.
What Do You Need To Think About When Making A Claim?
When you are making a personal injury claim that includes a provision for loss of current or future income, there are some things you should take into consideration. Such as:
- Do you have sufficient evidence to prove your loss?
- If you are claiming for an accident at work, did you record the accident in the company accident book? Also, can you prove your employer was to blame?
- If making a claim for future loss of earnings, can you be sure that you can no longer work in your chosen career?
- Does your solicitor understand your losses fully? How overtime was paid, or bonuses were awarded for example.
If you have questions about making a claim, you can call us and speak to our team. They will help you with issues such as these above.
No Win No Fee Loss Of Earnings Claim
Using a No Win No Fee agreement to pay for a solicitor is a way of not having to find funds upfront to act as a retainer. Although legally a solicitor is not needed to handle your case, you are more than in your right to go at it alone they can take all the leg work away and allow you to recuperate in peace.
You won’t be charged an upfront fee. And no ongoing fees even if the claim takes months. And if it fails, then your solicitor won’t expect to be paid their fee. If you do win, your solicitor will ask to be paid a small success fee. And this can be taken out of any compensation payment they received for you.
If you would like a fuller explanation of how such a claim arrangement works, our team will be happy to help you. Just give them a call today.
Why Choose Advice.co.uk?
Our service is very easy to use. Call our advisors for your free consultation today. You can have your case assessed for free and ask as many questions as you like. If the advisors can see you have legitimate grounds to pursue a personal injury claim they can offer to connect you with a personal injury solicitor from our panel. If the solicitor agrees to take on your case they will do so under No Win No Fee terms.
Contact Us
Do you think that you have a good enough reason to make a loss of earnings claim? Or maybe you just need some free legal advice about making such a claim? You can contact us on 0161 696 9685. When you do, an advisor will discuss your claim with you, and tell you what your options could be.
Related Services
We have published other guides, and you may like to read over these ones.
Can You Make A Claim For A Workplace Accident If You Were Not Employed?
Can You Be Fired For Making A Workplace Accident Claim?
Claiming For An Accident At Work Caused By Fatigue
All of these external links have some useful information as well.
Advice On Preparing For An Employment Tribunal
Claiming For Lost Income Caused By COVID
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Published by AL.