You are driving home from work one day and sitting at a stop light waiting for the light to change. All of a sudden you hear a huge crash and you are thrown forward into your steering wheel. A drunk driver just rear-ended you and totaled your car. Because of the accident, you suffer neck and back pain and are forced to missed several weeks of work without pay.
You are going through pain and suffering and your family is suffering because of your lost income. You may be struggling to pay your bills on time.
It’s time to speak to a personal injury lawyer, not only to help you with your personal injury claim for medical bills and property damage, but also to help you with a lost wages claim.
What Are Lost Wages?
In a car accident case, lost wages refers to the money that you would have earned from the time of your accident to the date of the judgment or settlement if you had not been injured in the accident. To prove lost wages in a personal injury case, your injuries must have resulted from the car accident.
For a free legal consultation, call (702) 857-6000
Lost wages are slightly different from lost compensation and lost earning capacity. Lost compensation refers to lost wages plus any other financial benefits that you would have received if you had been able to work. Lost earning capacity refers to any diminished earning capacity you may have due to a disability or permanent injury that you have because of your accident.
Who Will Compensate You for Your Lost Wages?
If you have lost wages because of a car accident, you have a few different options on how to recover compensation. You could: file a request with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, file a request with your insurance company, or file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
If you are submitting a claim with an insurance company, the damages that you will be able to recover will depend on the type of insurance coverage.
If the insurance is liability bodily injury coverage and the other driver caused the accident, you can submit a claim with their insurance company.
If the at-fault driver does not have insurance or enough insurance to cover your damages, you can collect lost wages through your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
How To Prove A Lost Wages Claim
To prove a lost wages claim, you will typically need to provide the following information:
- Proof of medical injury. This will usually be in the form of a doctor’s note or disability slip that details the recommended time to take days off from work due to your injuries.
- Wage documents. You will need to prove how much money you missed out on earning. The most common way to do this is through your most recent pay stubs before the injury occurred. If recent pay stubs are not available, you should provide recent tax returns or W-2s that would illustrate your income loss.
- Letter from employer. You will also need a letter from your employer to confirm the number of days of work you missed, your salary, and the amount of hours you typically work each pay period.
Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys
If you are looking to work with a law firm that has experience dealing with lost wages and personal injury claims, contact Anthem Injury Lawyers today. We offer Free Consultations.
Call or text (702) 857-6000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
