I was paid in cash. Can I still recover lost wages?

Yes. Cash wages are still wages

Construction, roofing, landscaping, restaurant, cleaning and moving work is often paid in cash, by the day or by the job. If an injury someone else caused keeps you from working, the time you missed is part of your claim, no matter how you were paid. In Grocers Supply v. Cabello (2012), a Texas court of appeals held that an undocumented worker could recover lost wages and lost earning capacity, and that federal immigration law does not block that recovery.

How we prove what you earned

• Messages about pay: WhatsApp or text messages with your boss or crew leader about jobs, hours and money.
• Bank and app records: regular cash deposits, Zelle, Cash App or Venmo payments.
• Money you send home: receipts from Western Union, Remitly or other services show a steady income.
• People: your boss, contractor or coworkers who know your schedule and pay.
• Your own records: a notebook or calendar of jobs, photos at job sites, tools and equipment you bought.
• Taxes: if you filed taxes with an ITIN, those returns are strong proof. You don't need them to start.

What if my employer says I never worked there?

Employers who pay in cash sometimes deny it when an injury claim comes up. That is not the end of it. Messages, photos at the job, coworkers, the people who gave you rides and the stores where you bought materials can all show you worked. If you were hurt on the job, an employer does not escape responsibility just by keeping you off the payroll; here is how work-injury claims work.

Lost wages and lost earning capacity are different

Lost wages are the pay you already missed between the injury and today. Lost earning capacity is the money you will lose in the future because the injury limits the work you can do. The first is usually proven with your own records and witnesses. The second often needs medical opinions and an expert, and it is the part where the other side may raise immigration status.

A Texas rule to know

Texas law requires lost earnings in an injury case to be shown as a net loss after federal income tax. That means we calculate the number the way a court will, and you should not be surprised by it later.

Lost future earnings

If the injury keeps you from going back to the same kind of work, the claim can include future lost earning capacity. That part may need a vocational expert or an economist, and it is where the other side sometimes argues about immigration status. We build that evidence carefully and plan for the argument.

Start keeping records today

Write down every day of work you missed and every job you turned down. Save your messages and receipts. Then call us. Jimmy Suerken is a Mexican-American attorney who speaks Spanish, and you can talk with him directly.

More answers for people injured without papers

Other ways people ask this

I don't have pay stubs or a W-2. Can I still claim lost wages?

Yes. We prove income with messages about pay, deposits, money you sent home, your boss and coworkers, and your own records.

My boss won't say how much he paid me. What now?

Other proof can carry the claim: messages, deposits, remittance receipts and coworkers. A boss who refuses to cooperate can also be required to answer questions under oath if a lawsuit is filed.

I worked under someone else's Social Security number. Can I still claim?

Tell your lawyer. It is confidential, it matters for proving wages, and we need to know before the other side finds it.

Can I claim lost wages if I'm self-employed or work by the job?

Yes. Contractors and day laborers prove income with job records, payments received and the work they had lined up.

Authority: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 18.091