Dealing With The Legal Consequences Of Being Broke

Posted on: 31 August 2016

If you've been injured in a car accident, you are likely expecting the insurance company to take care of your medical bills and get you back on the road, but don't forget about your lost wages. The time you spent away from your job is considered a damage, and you may be entitled to be compensated for those funds lost. Read on to find out more about how lost wages are calculated and what to expect from the insurance company.

What is Included in Lost Wages? 

Every moment you miss work, from the time of your accident to any time spent getting medical treatments and resting at home is included in this compensation. Even the time you spend driving back and forth to your medical appointments can be included. Careful record keeping is key, so make sure that you begin making note of any time lost from work as soon as possible after the wreck. Your attorney will be able to use this information when they prepare a demand letter, which is a summary of your damages and a request for compensation.

Documentation to Calculate and Prove Lost Wages

No matter what type of job you have or work schedule you follow, you're entitled to compensation, but you may need to have the following types of documents available.

• For full time and part time workers, a copy of your pay stub.
• For salaried workers, provide a letter from your company verifying your normal hours worked and your rate of pay.
• For the seasonal/temp employees and the self-employed, a copy of your tax return. It's important to note that the self-employed need only supply the first page of your tax return, not the entire schedule C.

Vacation Pay and Sick Leave

These job benefits are too valuable to lose due to no fault of your own, so if you have to use them to keep the income flowing, be sure to keep up with the hours and days used so that you can be compensated.

Potential Lost Income

You may be entitled to not only your actual lost income, but any potential losses. What are potential losses? Any pay increase or bonus that you may have received had you not been in an accident. For instance, if you missed out on important training and are now behind in learning your new sales software at your job, your commission-based income could be affected. If you missed an important client meeting due to accident and failed to win the account, you may be entitled to compensation for any bonus or raise that was expected.

Be sure to talk to your personal injury attorney about getting fairly compensated for your lost wages.