A serious injury costs you twice: once in medical bills and again in the paychecks that stop. People ask me two questions. Can I get my lost wages back? And how do I pay my bills until then? This page answers both. The first half covers what Nebraska law allows you to recover and how it is proved. The second half covers where income can come from while the claim is pending.
What Lost Income Can You Recover in Nebraska?
Nebraska’s statutes define economic damages as “monetary losses, including, but not limited to, medical expenses, loss of earnings and earning capacity, funeral costs, loss of use of property, costs of repair or replacement, costs of obtaining substitute domestic services, loss of employment, and loss of business or employment opportunities” (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.08).
| Item | What it covers | How it is proved |
|---|---|---|
| Lost earnings | Wages, salary, overtime, tips, commissions and self-employment income lost from the crash to the resolution of the claim | Pay records, employer verification, tax returns, and a medical provider’s statement that you could not work |
| Lost earning capacity | The reduction in what you are able to earn in the future | Medical evidence of a lasting impairment and how it affects the work you are fitted for |
| Used leave | Sick time and vacation you spent because of the injury | Payroll leave records |
| Lost employment or opportunities | A job, promotion or business opportunity lost because of the injury | Documents and testimony showing the opportunity was real |
| Substitute domestic services | The cost of hiring help for household work you can no longer do | Receipts and invoices |
Lost Wages and Lost Earning Capacity Are Two Different Claims
The Nebraska Supreme Court drew the line in a pedestrian case decided in 1964: “Loss of earning capacity, as distinct from loss of wages, salary, or earnings, is a separate element of damage.” Juries are instructed on them separately: first, “the value of work time lost to date due to his inability or his diminished ability to work,” and second, “the value of the loss or diminution of the power to earn in the future.”
The difference matters most for people whose paychecks do not tell the whole story.
- You do not need lost paychecks to claim lost capacity. “Proof of an actual loss of wages or earnings is not essential to a recovery for loss of earning capacity.”
- You are not limited to the job you had. Diminished earning capacity “is not, of necessity, measured by its diminution in the particular calling in which plaintiff was engaged at the time of the injury, or by the amount of wages which he was then receiving.” The jury “may consider what plaintiff might have been able to earn but for the injury in any employment for which he was fitted.”
- Students and people between jobs can recover. The Nebraska Court of Appeals has held that “the mere fact that a plaintiff is unemployed at the time of his or her injury does not, in and of itself, preclude recovery for the value of time lost.” In a rear-end collision case, a senior dental student recovered for both lost earnings and earning capacity.
If you went back to the same job
This cuts both ways, and the cases show why. A teacher with a permanent ankle impairment who returned to teaching lost on earning capacity because “nothing is shown to indicate she will not be able to earn the same salary in the future.” Another teacher, who could return only for half days after a collision, was allowed to take the claim to the jury because there was “competent evidence of the injuries, the extent thereof, their duration, and their relation to the plaintiff’s work performance.” The difference was proof connecting the impairment to the work.
How Lost Wages Are Proved
The standard is reasonable certainty, not arithmetic perfection. “Where it has been proved that damage has resulted and the only uncertainty is the exact amount, it is sufficient if the record shows data from which the extent of the injury can be ascertained with reasonable certainty.” In one truck collision case the plaintiff’s “hourly base pay and average weekly income were shown,” and that was enough even though some of the evidence was “not as definite as might be desired.”
What to collect:
- Pay stubs for several months before the crash and every one since.
- W-2s and tax returns for the prior two or three years.
- A letter from your employer stating your position, rate of pay, usual hours and overtime, the dates you missed, and any leave you used.
- Work restrictions in writing from your medical provider for every period you were off or on light duty. Without a provider saying you could not work, the insurer will treat the time off as your choice.
- Evidence of missed overtime, bonuses, tips or commissions, usually by comparing the same period in a prior year.
If you are self-employed
Self-employed people recover lost income too, but the proof takes more work, and it begins with your tax returns. Nebraska courts have accepted practical methods. A self-employed dentist proved his loss by showing the working time he lost each day and his hourly billing rate. In another case, a roofer’s loss was shown by comparing his income with that of a former co-worker who was still roofing. For business income generally, the Supreme Court has said there is “no precise formula,” only that the calculation “be supported by some financial data which would permit an estimate of the actual loss to be made with reasonable certitude and exactness.” Income that was never reported is very hard to recover.
Results in motor vehicle injury cases. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case is different.
Proving Lost Earning Capacity
A claim about the future is held to a firmer standard. Damages for impaired earning capacity “may not be based on speculation, probabilities, or uncertainty, but must be shown by competent evidence that such damages are reasonably certain as the proximate result of the pleaded injury.” Three things carry these claims:
- A physician’s opinion that the impairment is lasting, and what it prevents you from doing.
- Evidence of what your work requires and what you were on track to earn: your work history, training, and the wages of people doing the work you can no longer do.
- Reduction to present value. An award for future loss is reduced “to its present worth,” because it is paid now rather than over a working life.
The court has also cautioned against treating this as simple multiplication. It criticized an economist who multiplied a wage by a number of years as offering “a mathematical computation that was within the capabilities of a lay person.” At the same time, it has said that these losses “are incapable of exact measurement and the fact that they are difficult to ascertain should not be a bar to recovery.”
What If I Used Sick Leave, PTO or Disability Benefits?
You can still claim the lost time. Nebraska follows the collateral source rule: “benefits received by the plaintiff from a source wholly independent of and collateral to the wrongdoer will not diminish the damages otherwise recoverable from the wrongdoer.” The reason the courts give is that a wrongdoer should not escape liability “because of the act of a third party.” The Supreme Court has applied the rule to a disability pension, holding it “a ‘collateral’ and ‘independent’ source of income.”
I have found no Nebraska appellate decision dealing specifically with paid time off, but the principle is the same: leave you earned is yours, and spending it because someone injured you is a loss. Some sources of benefits, such as a disability insurer or a workers’ compensation carrier, may have a right to be repaid from the settlement; see medical liens and subrogation.
How Do I Pay My Bills While the Claim Is Pending?
The other driver’s insurer does not replace your paycheck as you go. Lost income is paid as part of the final settlement or judgment. These are the sources to look at in the meantime.
| Source | Who qualifies | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| Workers’ compensation | Anyone hurt while working, including in a crash on the job | “Sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the wages received at the time of injury,” up to $1,166 a week in 2026; no benefits for the first seven days unless the disability lasts six weeks |
| Nebraska paid sick time | Employees of employers with eleven or more employees, since October 1, 2025 | One hour for every thirty worked, up to forty or fifty-six hours a year depending on employer size |
| Employer leave and short-term disability | Depends on your employer’s plan | Paid leave or a share of wages |
| FMLA leave | Twelve months and 1,250 hours with an employer of fifty or more | Up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave |
| Social Security Disability | A disability expected to last at least twelve months | Monthly benefits after a five-month waiting period |
| Advance payment from the insurer | At the insurer’s option | A partial payment credited against the final settlement |
- Hurt on the job? A crash while working gives you two claims: workers’ compensation from your employer’s insurer, which starts paying long before any settlement (current benefit rates), and a claim against the driver who caused it. See car accidents while working.
- Your job. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act entitles an eligible employee to “a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period” for “a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position,” and to be restored to the same or an equivalent position. It is unpaid, and it does not apply to small employers.
- Unemployment is usually not the answer. To qualify, a person must be “able to work and … available for work.” If your doctor has you off work entirely, you generally are not eligible.
- Advance payments. Nebraska law lets an insurer make “advance payments or partial payment of damages” without admitting liability, and treats them as “a credit” against the final amount (§ 25-1222.01). Insurers are not required to do this, but it can be requested. Never sign a release to get one.
- Avoid lawsuit loans. I advise my clients against pre-settlement funding, and I explain why in pre-settlement funding in Nebraska.
What the Insurer Will Argue
- “No doctor took you off work.” The fix is a written restriction for each period.
- “You could have gone back sooner.” You are expected to use reasonable care to recover and limit your losses. But that defense belongs to the other side: Nebraska places “the burden of proving” a failure to mitigate “upon the defendant.” If your employer offers light duty within your restrictions, talk to your doctor and your lawyer before declining it.
- “Your condition was pre-existing.” See pre-existing conditions.
- “Your income was not what you say.” Tax returns answer this one way or the other.
One more question comes up often: is the lost-wage part of a settlement taxed? I cover that in are personal injury settlements taxable.
Steps to Take Now
- Get every work restriction in writing and give a copy to your employer.
- Keep a calendar of every day and hour missed, including appointments.
- Save your pay records and ask your employer for a wage and leave verification.
- If you are self-employed, pull your returns, invoices and calendar, and write down the jobs you turned away.
- Apply for the benefits you qualify for rather than waiting on the claim.
- Do not settle until you know whether you will return to your old work. See the first settlement offer.
Statutes, cases and agency figures on this page were read at their sources on October 3, 2026. Benefit programs have eligibility rules beyond what is summarized here. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.
Your Attorney
Frank Younes
Every page on this site is written by Frank Younes, a Nebraska trial attorney with a published record of verdicts and settlements, selection to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and a practice that covers every county in Nebraska and Iowa. No case is handed to an associate — the lawyer you read here is the lawyer who works your case.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover lost wages after a car accident in Nebraska?
Yes. Lost earnings and lost earning capacity are both recoverable from the at-fault driver as economic damages.
What is the difference between lost wages and lost earning capacity?
Lost wages are the income you have already lost. Lost earning capacity is the reduction in what you will be able to earn in the future. Nebraska treats them as separate claims.
Can I claim lost wages if I used sick leave or vacation?
Yes. Under the collateral source rule, benefits you received from a source independent of the wrongdoer do not reduce what the wrongdoer owes.
What if I am self-employed?
You can recover lost income, proved with tax returns and financial records that allow a reasonably certain estimate of the loss.
What if I was unemployed or a student when I was hurt?
You may still recover for lost earning capacity. It is not measured only by what you were earning at the time.
Will the insurance company pay my wages while I am off work?
Not as you go. Lost income is paid as part of the final settlement. Workers’ compensation, paid sick time, disability coverage and leave are the sources in the meantime.
Do I need a doctor’s note?
Yes. Written work restrictions from a medical provider for each period you missed are essential.
Related Guides
Related pages on the questions that come up next.
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