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How to Obtain a Client's Earnings History 01/12/2011By Barbara Haubrich, ACP/CAS

A. Obtaining Your Clients Earnings History

Clients are not always the best historians when it comes to their employment or earningshistory. In fact, a party in a civil action in California must provide this information in responseto Form Interrogatory number 2.6, which asks for the responding partys employment history for

five years prior to the incident. This information is also very important when there is a clientwith a future loss of earnings and/or a loss of earning capacity claim. An economist and

vocational rehabilitation expert requires this information in order to form an accurate opinionand calculate the loss. All forms mentioned in this article can be obtained from the Social

Security Administrations website at: http://www.ssa.gov/online/

Procedure to Obtain a Clients Employment and Earnings History:

1. Have the client complete and sign form SSA-7050-F4, Request For Social SecurityEarnings Information.

2. In most circumstances, SSI charges a fee. The fees are outlined on Form SSA-7050. Confirm the fee before sending in the form. Enclose a check or money order for

the entire fee required. Payment can also be made by credit card.3. Mail to: Social Security Administration Division of Earnings Record Operations, P.O.

Box 33003, Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3003.

Another way to obtain a clients earnings history is to have your client request his or her Social

Security Statement. Form SSA-7004, Request for Social Security Statementcan be used to get arecord of a clients Social Security Statement. Simply have your client fill out and sign Form

7004, and mail it to: Social Security Administration, Wilkes Barre Data Operations Center, P.O.Box 7004, Wilkes Barre, PA 18767-7004.

B. Obtaining Social Security Lifetime Earnings History of a Decedent in a Wrongful

Death Case

There will be times in a wrongful death action when the heirs will be unable to obtain thedecedents earnings history. The decedents earnings history is important in order to support the

damages related to the death. One way to confirm the decedents income at the time of death isto obtain a copy of the decedents employment records. But if the employment records do not

provide a consistent earnings history, it will be necessary to obtain a certified copy of the

decedents Social Security lifetime earnings history through the Social SecurityAdministration. A request for the lifetime earnings history of a deceased person can only berequested if you are the legal representative of the estate, an heir, or an individual with a

financial interest who is an heir at law, next of kin, or beneficiary under the estate. Proof of anappointment as the representative or proof of the relationship to the decedent, and proof of death,

must be included in the request.

http://www.ssa.gov/online/http://www.ssa.gov/online/

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Procedure to Obtain a Decedents Lifetime Earnings History:

1. Complete form SSA-7050-F4, Request for Social Security Earnings Information with the

information of the decedent.

2. Attach a copy of the Death Certificate of the decedent and the proof of the relationship to

the decedent of the client.3. Attach the appropriate fee.4. Mail to: Social Security Administration, Division of Earnings Record Operations, P.O.

Box 33003, Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3003.

Barbara Haubrich is an Advanced Certified Paralegal in Trial Practices and Wrongful Death. She is also a California Advanced

Specialist in Civil Litigation. Barbara is the creator and author ofThe California Litigator, a website that is designed to provide

resources and facilitate discussions relating to California state civil litigation. The California Litigator includes a bi-weekly e-zine

on all topics relating to civil litigation. Additionally, Barbara is the owner and creator of Deadline Direct, a downloadabledeadline calculating gadget for your Microsoft 7 or Vista computers. Deadline Direct is a handy tool that gives you all the

options you need in calculating deadlines and syncs a note field with the calculation to Microsoft Outlook as a task, calendar

event, or e-mail.

DISCLAIMER: Barbara Haubrich, ACP/CAS, is not an attorney. Any information derived from The California Litigator,and any other statements contained herein, are for information purposes only, and should not be construed as legaladvice or a recommendation on a legal matter. The information from The California Litigator is not guaranteed to becorrect, complete, or current. Barbara makes no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy or reliability of theinformation provided within this newsletter, or to any other website to which this newsletter may be linked.