Key Takeaway
New York courts require substantial documentation to prove lost wages in personal injury cases, creating challenges for healthcare professionals reluctant to share financial records.
Lost wages represent a crucial component of personal injury compensation, yet proving them can be surprisingly complex. New York courts maintain strict standards for establishing past earnings, requiring plaintiffs to provide concrete documentation rather than relying solely on testimony. This standard becomes particularly challenging for healthcare professionals and self-employed individuals who may be reluctant to disclose detailed financial records during litigation.
A recent First Department decision illustrates these evidentiary hurdles and highlights the ongoing tension between plaintiffs’ privacy concerns and the legal requirement to substantiate damages claims with verifiable proof.
Jason Tenenbaum’s Analysis:
Martinez v Metropolitan Transp. Auth., 2018 NY Slip Op 02028 (1st Dept. 2008)
“Plaintiff failed to establish her past lost earnings with reasonable certainty since her testimony was unsubstantiated by tax returns, W-2 forms, or other documentation (Orellano v 29 E. 37th St. Realty Corp., 4 AD3d 247 , lv denied 4 NY3d 702 ; cf. Kane v Coundorous, 11 AD3d 304, 305 ).”
My sources certain insurance companies refuse to pay plaintiff healthcare practitioners who come in for EUOs. Question always becomes how do you prove lost wages? Healthcare professionals are loathe to give up their tax records and bank statements. Those “marketing charges”, “maintenance charges”, “computer upkeep charges” – well are a Pandoras box that makes payroll for SIU defense firms
What “other documentation” can prove lost wages?
Key Takeaway
The Martinez decision reinforces New York’s demanding documentation requirements for lost wage claims. Healthcare professionals face a particular dilemma: courts require substantial financial proof, but providing tax returns and bank statements may expose business practices to intense scrutiny from insurance defense teams, potentially creating more legal complications than the original injury claim.
