Lost Wages in Slip and Fall Cases

If you slip or trip because of an existing hazard on someone else’s property, that person may be liable for any legal damages you suffer as a result. Lost wages in slip and fall cases are one of the most common economic losses included in personal injury claims.

Even if your slip and fall accident is obviously the property owner’s fault, proving this can be challenging. Slip & Fall Injury Lawyers focus on cases involving property owner negligence. Our Chicago law firm can guide you through the legal process to increase your chances of recovering maximum compensation for legal damages, including lost income. If you are pursuing a lost wages slip and fall claim in Illinois after an accident in Chicago, documentation of your employment and financial losses can be important to your case.

What Are Lost Wages in Personal Injury Claims?

When you suffer a serious personal injury due to a dangerous condition on a property, you could face a long physical recovery. Whether the injury causes temporary or permanent damage to your body, you may not be capable of performing your work duties as outlined in your employment agreement. Lost wages refer to the payment you missed because you suffered injuries. 

Fortunately, you can attempt to recover lost income in the form of financial compensation from a lawsuit. If your lost wage claim is successful, the at-fault party or their insurance company would have to pay for these losses. 

What Can Be Included in a Lost Wages Claim?

Lost wages can encompass a wide variety of financial benefits that come from your job. The simplest way to calculate this loss is to multiply the number of days you missed work by your daily wage. However, the daily pay rate is not the only factor that can affect the settlement amount in your personal injury case. 

Other elements that can impact financial compensation for lost wages include annual salary, lost vacation or sick days, missed overtime, bonus pay, commissions, tips, and job perks. Lost future earnings can also play a role in your settlement if your injury recovery is ongoing or if the damage has permanently affected your ability to fulfill your job duties. These losses may also include reduced earning capacity when an injury prevents you from returning to the same position, schedule, or type of work.

Who Pays for Income Lost After a Slip and Fall Accident?

Defendants in this type of claim in Chicago will be responsible for compensating the injured person for lost wages and other damages. Often, the owner’s insurance company will pay the settlement amount up to the policy limit. 

Here are some potential defendants in these cases:

• A property owner fails to maintain the steps to their front door, and a guest falls through a rotten plank
• A restaurant owner does not put a “wet floor” sign near a spill, resulting in a customer slipping and falling
• The city of Chicago fails to repair an uneven patch of pavement on a sidewalk near Millennium Park, resulting in a trip and fall
• A contractor does not enforce safe practices for extension cords, leading to a worker falling after tripping
• A grocery store owner fails to address a loose floor tile that slides when a customer steps on it
• An employer whose employee falls and gets hurt on the job would be responsible for providing workers’ compensation insurance

How Do I Prove Lost Earnings?

Finding evidence to prove lost wages in a claim can be challenging, especially without the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney. Proving your lost income will require documentation such as pay stubs, medical payments, medical records, eyewitness statements, employment agreements, and photos of your injuries or the accident scene. 

Other types of evidence that could support your pursuit of lost wages include surveillance footage, expert testimony, and an incident report. The more evidence you provide, with the help of a personal injury lawyer, the greater your chances of recovering compensation for your financial losses.

If you are self-employed, proving income losses may require additional documentation. Tax returns, 1099 forms, Schedule C records, invoices, client contracts, business records, and year-over-year income comparisons can help show what you typically earned before the injury. Your attorney may also use records showing canceled work, missed contracts, or reduced business activity to demonstrate how the injury affected your income.

For a lost wages slip and fall claim in Illinois, the documentation needed to establish income may depend on how you earn your money and the type of work you perform.

Can I Be Compensated for Future Earnings?

The timing of your lawsuit does not impact lost wages as much as you may assume. Even if your claim is filed within weeks of the incident while you are still recovering, you can pursue lost future earnings as part of your settlement. To prove this type of loss, you will need medical evidence to back up a longer recovery period, such as doctor testimony or medical test results. 

A medical professional’s evaluation of your injury recovery will ultimately determine how much money you will lose because of your extended recovery. Your personal injury attorney can help you acquire this evidence. You may also need employment records, income history, or other evidence to establish how the injury could affect your future ability to earn. You can learn more about what your claim may be worth when evaluating current and future losses.

What if I Can No Longer Work Due to a Serious Injury?

If you suffered injuries that permanently affected your ability to work, you could seek additional compensation for lost earning capacity. A severe fall injury may prevent you from ever returning to the same role, or it could stop you from working in the same field entirely. 

With a successful personal injury claim, you could receive compensation for losing your ability to work in the future because of the other party’s negligence. 

How to Cover Immediate Medical Treatment Costs

In the immediate aftermath of a fall injury, you may have medical costs to pay. Waiting on a verdict and settlement can be frustrating when medical bills keep piling up while you are missing work. 

Typically, these bills would be covered by your insurance, and then the insurer would recoup those costs from the settlement. This is known as a medical lien, which is a legal right granted to the medical provider or insurer to receive payment from the settlement for services rendered.

However, according to state law 770 ILCS 23/10, the total cost of liens on a settlement cannot exceed 40% of the total settlement amount, so you will still secure fair compensation from the personal injury claim. This provision limits the amount subject to the applicable lien reduction under the statute, but it does not by itself guarantee the amount a claimant will ultimately receive from a settlement.

While you are waiting for a claim to resolve, you may also have questions about who pays your medical bills and missed income. Health insurance, other available coverage, workers’ compensation in qualifying situations, and ultimately a liability settlement may each play a role depending on the circumstances.

Whether compensation for lost income is taxable can depend on how the payment is characterized and the circumstances of the settlement. For questions about your individual tax situation, review whether a settlement is taxable and consult a qualified tax professional.

How Long Do I Have to Recover Lost Income Following a Slip and Fall Injury in Illinois?

Accident victims in Illinois must adhere to the statute of limitations when filing claims. State law 735 ILCS 5/13-202requires plaintiffs to file their claims within two years from the date of the incident or discovery of the injuries. If you wait until after this deadline, you may not be able to recover any compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, or other damages. 

How to Strengthen Your Slip and Fall Claim

The process for filing an injury claim begins the moment the incident happens. You’ll need to follow the right steps to strengthen your claim and win a settlement in the future for lost wages and other damages. Here are the most important steps you must take:

• Identify the nature and cause of your injury
• Report the incident to the owner following all proper procedures
• Gather information from the scene, such as the owner’s contact details and insurance company
• Gather evidence, such as photos, surveillance footage, eyewitness statements, and copies of the incident report
• Seek medical attention for diagnosis and treatment
• Follow up with your doctor for further medical evaluation
• Maintain all medical records as evidence of your losses
• Consult an experienced personal injury attorney about your case

For a lost wages slip and fall claim in Illinois, keep copies of pay stubs, tax documents, employment records, benefit statements, and other evidence showing the income you lost because of the injury.

Common Defenses and Tactics Insurance Companies Use

Insurance companies employ numerous deceptive tactics to undermine personal injury cases and minimize payouts to accident victims. 

For example, the insurer may argue for comparative negligence, which means that the incident was partially your fault. If they are successful, it would reduce your potential settlement by a similar percentage based on your fault. 

Another tactic used by insurance companies is offering low initial settlements. They might make a quick offer that is far less than what you deserve, hoping the thought of fast cash and a resolved claim will tempt you to accept it. 

An experienced personal injury attorney can effectively counter these tactics and negotiate a settlement that reflects the full value of your losses, including lost wages, medical expenses, and other damages. This may include negotiating with the insurance company over the value of your past and future income losses.

How a Slip and Fall Attorney Can Help

As a law firm with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, Slip & Fall Injury Lawyers can help with your claim. Our firm will investigate the incident, assess all damages beyond just lost income, gather evidence, fight for maximum compensation, and represent you in court if necessary. 

How We’ve Helped Clients Recover Lost Income

Our record speaks for itself, as we have secured over $490 million for more than 5,000 clients. Here are some examples of cases we have won:

• $4 million – While recovering from hip surgery, 68-year-old Thomas slipped and fell in his hospital room, suffering a fatal subdural hematoma. His family received a $4 million wrongful death settlement after it was found that the hospital had failed to follow proper fall-prevention protocols.
• $2.6 million – Carlos, a 42-year-old construction worker, fell on debris at an active job site and tore several ligaments in his knee, requiring surgery. He received $2.6 million after it was shown that the site lacked adequate safety measures.
• $2 million – Twenty-five-year-old Emily fractured her pelvis after slipping on untreated ice outside a church entrance. Her legal team secured a $2 million settlement, proving the church had neglected to salt the walkway despite freezing conditions.
• $1.2 million – Monica broke her arm after slipping on spilled fruit in the produce aisle of a large retail chain. The store paid $1.2 million after evidence showed employees failed to clean up the hazard in a timely manner.

Recover Fair Compensation with Our Slip and Fall Law Firm

At Slip & Fall Injury Lawyers, we can help you prove the other party’s negligence and recover a settlement for lost wages, future pain and suffering, and other losses. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe nothing unless we win the claim. If you are pursuing a lost wages slip and fall claim in Illinois after an accident in Chicago, our Chicago law firm can review the circumstances of your claim and discuss potential next steps. Contact us today to request your free consultation. 

Legally Reviewed By
Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld

The information on this page has been legally reviewed by Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld, founder and managing partner of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC, a Chicago-based personal injury law firm. With decades of experience representing individuals injured in slip and fall accidents and other premises liability cases throughout Chicago, Mr. Rosenfeld is dedicated to protecting the rights of injury victims and helping them pursue the maximum compensation available under the law. His extensive legal knowledge and commitment to client advocacy ensure that the information provided is accurate, reliable, and aligned with current legal standards.

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