Getting Compensation For Lost Wages
If you are injured in an accident and as a result of those injuries you miss work, you can try to get compensated for those lost wages or income through a lost wages personal injury claim. But, what can you sue for in a car accident claim and what information do you need in order to do that?
You will need medical proof that it was necessary for you to miss work as a result of your injuries. If your time away from work is legitimate due to your injuries, be sure to keep detailed records to help support your claim. Even if your employer tells you to take a few days off, it’s always best to be safe and get a professional opinion from a medical provider.
I t can be a complicated process to get compensation for your lost wages, but it’s well worth the hassle.If you were injured in a car accident while working and are wondering “Should you hire an attorney after a car accident?” Avrek Law is here to help.
Types of Employment Compensation
It’s important to know the difference between workers comp vs personal injury law. The forms of compensation listed below are often overlooked by personal injury victims, and an insurance adjuster is likely not going to help with this.
- Sick Days – You can be reimbursed for the sick days you had to use while away due to injury
- Vacation Days – If you used vacation days while recovering, you an be compensated
- Bonus Days – These days you earned and burned due to injury can also be compensated
- Pay Bonuses – Usually paid due to good performance, if being away from work due to injury cost you a bonus you can be reimbursed
Evidence of Lost Income
If you have suffered a serious injury from an accident, you want to be careful before you just start taking days off from work. The best way to handle the situation is obtain proof of your injuries from a doctor, which entails a detailed write up of your injuries and should include a complete diagnosis and your path to recovery.
The doctor’s note must state your prescribed treatment and an estimate of how long you need to be off work. Generally, it should state you can return to your job with restrictions on what duties you can handle, so be sure to tell your doctor you need a medical narrative for your claim.
The more detailed the narrative is and the more it supports your injuries and recovery time, the more your chances for reimbursement will increase. Do not produce a vague narrative as it will give the adjuster a position for arguing against paying your lost wages.
You Need a Letter From Your Employer
Your supervisor or authorized personnel must give you a written letter (on company letterhead) that is signed by a manager. To be successful in your claim (and dealing with insurance companies) you need to have legitimate proof of the income and compensation you lost during your treatment and recovery period, this is where the letter from your employer will come into play.
The written letter from your employer will confirm –
- What days you were absent
- Your hourly pay or salary at time of injury
- Any overtime you might have worked in weeks prior to accident
- How many hours you normally work each week
- Any promotions you were being considered for
- Vacation and sick days used while recovering
Loss of Income When Self Employed
If you are self-employed it can be more difficult to get paid for lost wages due to an accident, even though self employed people have the same rights. Gathering proof of lost income can be difficult and claims adjusters may consider lost income claims from self employed people to be questionable, so be sure to gather a current financial statement and your tax returns for the past several years.
If your business has been growing, then be sure to include the averages in your calculations. Addiitonally, if you were working with potential customers and lost them due to your injuries, include documents proving this.
Always Tell The Truth, Don’t Lie About Numbers
The California Department of Industry and Labor recognizes a maximum compensation rate, which determines the maximum amount you can receive. Throughout the state of California the basic way to calculate the maximum compensation rate is the Weekly Wage Average. This average weekly salary is determined annually by the Department of Industry and Labor.
If at any point in the investigation it is determined that you lied about your salary to get higher compensation you could even face jail, so do not exaggerate or inflate your financial statement, if caught you’re in trouble.
Lost Income vs Lost Compensation
American courts have typically ruled that personal injury victims are able to receive compensation for all the income they lose while recovering from their injuries. The lost income includes the lost wages in addition to any additional compensation they might have gotten (like bonuses). Lost income is just the amount of money your employer pays for the work do on a normal basis. When it comes to lost wages personal injury claim settlements, lost compensation can include sick and vacation days, bonuses, etc.
What To Do After a Car Accident to Ensure You Get Lost Wages Reimbursed
Since workers’ compensation usually only covers part of your normal income, you can ask to be compensated for the total amount of money that all your lost income represents through your personal injury claim. Because these claims can be complicated, it’s also important to stay out of the lawyer vs insurance company discussion yourself – a knowledgeable attorney will be able to speak with the insurance company on your behalf.
If, after an accident, you cannot make a living properly, Avrek Law can file a claim that is known as loss of ability to generate income or loss of work capacity, which can be an important factor in a claim for personal injury in which there were permanent injuries.
Work ability is defined as your capacity to work when you suffered the injury and in the future. If your injuries affected or eliminated your ability to work, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages.
If you suffered serious injury in a car accident, our personal injury attorneys will speak to your doctors or experts as necessary to determine what percentage of your work capacity was affected by the injuries you suffered during the a uto accident.When the percentage has been calculated, we will proceed to determine the amount that we will ask for in your personal injury claim.
If you are unable to work because of an injury that was not your fault, we urge you to contact our offices as soon as possible by calling us or by filling out the form on this page for a free consultation with an expert personal injury lawyer in California.
Contact Avrek Law Firm Today
If you’ve been injured in an accident and are still wondering how to begin a lost wages personal injury claim, Avrek Law Firm is just a phone call away! Avrek Law has recovered more than $1 billion for accident victims in over 45,000 personal injury cases – view our locations and contact us for a free consultation to learn more today!
