When you are injured unexpectedly, it can affect every part of your life. One of the biggest problems is losing your income. If you cannot work, you might wonder how you will handle your finances. Is it possible to get money for the wages you lost?
Can you get compensation for lost wages?
If an accident keeps you from working, you could lose a lot of money. Luckily, you can file a personal injury lawsuit to get money for those lost wages along with your medical costs, damaged property and other financial challenges. This compensation includes the money you could not earn because you were unable to work.
If you earn a regular salary or hourly wage, figuring out your lost wages is simple: just multiply your daily pay by the number of workdays you missed. However, for those with variable incomes, such as self-employed individuals or freelancers, the calculation might require a more detailed financial analysis.
What if you cannot work for a long time after the accident?
In more severe cases, an injury might affect your ability to work for a long time or permanently. Some accidents cause disabilities that prevent people from working at all, while others make it impossible for an injured person to return to their previous career and decrease their earning capacity as a result.
In such situations, a personal injury settlement can also include compensation for future loss of earnings. Calculating future losses typically requires expert testimony from medical professionals and financial experts who will assess the long-term impacts of the injury on your ability to earn an income.
How can you show the ways that an accident impacted your paycheck?
To get compensation, you need to show that your injuries directly caused you to lose income. This might involve medical records, a doctor’s note recommending rest and documents that show how much you normally earn.
Consulting with to a personal injury lawyer can be helpful during your claim. They can help you understand how much your claim might be worth and collect evidence to show how much money you lost because of your injuries. They can also help you negotiate a settlement that covers your lost wages.
Losing income due to an accident can increase the financial strain you experience. Thankfully, a personal injury claim can help you get the money you need to support yourself and your family.