Lost Wage & Economic Loss Report

Lost Wage & Economic Loss Report

Calculates all economic damages in a personal injury matter, structured to withstand scrutiny from opposing counsel, insurance adjusters, experts, and the court.

Prerequisites

Gather before starting:

• Medical records — diagnoses, treatment notes, prognosis, work restrictions, permanency opinions
• Employment/wage records — pay stubs (12-24 months pre-injury), W-2s, tax returns, employer verification letters
• Medical bills — itemized bills, EOBs, payment records
• Incident documentation — date, location, nature of injury-causing event
• Expert reports (if available) — vocational evaluations, life care plans, economist reports

Workflow

1. Extract claimant profile and injury facts from case documents
2. Build pre-injury earnings baseline from employment records
3. Calculate past lost wages (injury date through present/MMI)
4. Project future economic loss and diminished earning capacity
5. Tabulate past and future medical expenses
6. Quantify other economic losses (household services, transport, modifications)
7. Compile damages summary with conservative and aggressive scenarios
8. Generate exhibit list with source citations

Output Structure

1. Claimant Profile

Cite source document and page for every fact. Flag gaps for follow-up discovery.

2. Pre-Injury Earnings

Extract from pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, employer letters:

Output monthly/quarterly earnings table: Period | Base | Overtime | Bonus/Commission | Total

Note seasonal variations and advancement trajectory.

3. Past Lost Wages

Calculate from injury date through present or MMI: Net Lost Wages = "But-For" Earnings − Actual Earnings Received.

"But-for" earnings include: regular wages, predictable overtime, scheduled raises/COLAs, expected bonuses.

Offsets: modified-duty wages, STD/LTD payments, workers' comp TD, alternative employment earnings.

Output table: Month/Quarter | But-For Earnings | Actual Earnings | Net Lost Wages | Running Total

Additional items: lost health insurance (replacement cost), lost retirement contributions, lost PTO/benefits, tax implications (gross vs. net per jurisdiction).

Flag estimated periods with basis for estimation.

4. Future Loss & Diminished Earning Capacity

Temporary future losses: Project from medical opinions; apply past-wage methodology with growth factors.

Permanent diminished capacity: Annual Loss = Pre-Injury Trajectory − Post-Injury Capacity. Present value = sum of (Annual Loss × Discount Factor) over work-life expectancy.

Include: wage growth rate, career advancement, lost benefits, jurisdiction-appropriate discount rate (cite source).

Show table: Year | Projected Loss | Discount Factor | Present Value

Provide sensitivity analysis varying recovery timeline, earning capacity, discount rate, work-life expectancy. Label conservative vs. aggressive scenarios.

5. Medical Expenses

Past: Table with Date | Provider | Service Type | Billed | Insurance Paid | Out-of-Pocket | Status. Categories: emergency, hospitalization, surgery, physician visits, PT/rehab, diagnostics, prescriptions, DME.

Future: Source from physician opinions or life care plan — ongoing therapy, future surgeries, long-term medications, equipment, monitoring. Present both nominal and present value totals.

6. Other Economic Losses

Distinguish past (incurred) vs. future (projected).

7. Damages Summary

Include gross and after-tax totals if jurisdiction requires. Add 1-2 paragraph narrative on key damage drivers. Present conservative and aggressive scenarios with recommended figure labeled.

8. Exhibit List

Sequential by category: employment/wage docs, medical records/bills, expert reports, receipts/invoices, other.

Format: Exhibit # | Description | Date | Relevance to Calculation

Critical Rules

• Every figure cites a source — document name, date, page
• Show all formulas and assumptions — calculations must be replicable
• No advocacy language — let numbers speak; maintain objectivity
• Discount rates — jurisdiction-appropriate; state source
• Plaintiff-side but credible — conservative methodology builds credibility

Common Pitfalls

• Missing mitigation evidence — always document claimant's return-to-work attempts
• Pre-existing conditions — explicitly distinguish pre-existing vs. injury-caused limitations
• Earnings anomalies — explain any pre-injury income irregularities
• Unsupported projections — ground all future estimates in documented medical opinions
• Jurisdiction variance — tax treatment, discount rate standards, and gross-vs-net rules vary by state; confirm applicable rules
• Gaps not flagged — identify where additional discovery, vocational evaluation, life care plan, or economist report would strengthen the analysis