Lost Wages and Your Injury Settlement
If you have sustained injuries from an accident that was not your fault , more than likely you won’t be able to return to work right away. It’s common for an injury victim to miss some work because of necessary recuperation from the accident. You will have lost wages as a result of missing work. Depending on the time required to be out of work, losing income can be significant and harmful to your financial situation.
Generally, as the injured victim of an accident, in addition to claiming compensation for medical expenses, you may be able to get reimbursement for wages you have lost. You will need to present evidence regarding the nature of your employment and the scope of your injuries. Submitting a strong claim for lost wages is straightforward and relatively simple, but it is important to understand the mechanics and procedures for formulating and presenting your claim for lost wages. Personal injury lawyer Hank Doyle will walk you through some of the steps.
Calculating Lost Wages
In order to be reimbursed for lost income, you need to show:
- The amount of time you missed from work because of the accident, including injuries and recovery
- How much money you would have made during the time you missed
The simple way to arrive at an amount of money you have lost in income is to multiply your daily wage by the number of days you missed.
It may not be as straightforward to calculate if you are self-employed, irregularly employed, or work a variable number of days or hours each week. You will need to show how much work time you lost and what you may have earned had you been able to work. In this situation, the court may use an average number of hours multiplied by the number of days and the hourly rate. If you work sporadically during the year (for instance, seasonally), you can show the value of lost work time through evidence of what you make during an entire year and then divide that number into a weekly or monthly average.
Documentation that Supports Lost Work
If you are regularly employed by a company or individual, documentation can be obtained from your supervisor or human resources department. You will need a printed letter or an emailed document that includes your name, your position, your rate of pay, the number of hours you normally work, and the number of hours or days you missed following the accident.
To document in a variable situation, you can use evidence that shows a drop in billing or invoices, a calendar showing appointments you had to cancel, and any other proof that shows meetings, conferences, or other appointments you were unable to attend.
Additionally, for a sporadic work situation, the best evidence of your yearly income is your personal income tax return for the previous year. If you had unusually low earnings during the previous year, include two or three years of returns to demonstrate how much you usually earn.
Other Compensation Other Than Lost Wages
You are also entitled to reimbursement for work opportunities that you have lost because of the accident and injuries. This entails showing that you have lost potential income due to the injury. Information that documents specific amounts may be difficult to provide, but lost potential income can add weight to your claim and increase your settlement amount.
If you are an employee who has benefits such as sick days and vacation days that you have had to use to recover from the accident, you can seek reimbursement for those as well. By using these benefits, you won’t have them available to you in the future, so reimbursement is considered acceptable.
Call Us When You Are a Victim of an Injury
Our team at Doyle Law Offices, P.A. are experienced at formulating personal injury settlement claims. We will make sure that no stone is left unturned in terms of getting all the compensation you deserve. With offices in Cary and Wake Forest, we serve Raleigh, Garner, Apex, and surrounding communities. Call us at (919) 228-4487 or complete the form below.