How to Claim Lost Wages After an Alabama Car Crash

All too often, car crashes take more than just your mental and physical health. If your car crash injuries keep you from returning to work, you could lose out on wages, promotions, bonuses, and career advancements.

Personal injury lawyers, like the team at Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys, can help you to reclaim lost wages after a car crash in Alabama. Here’s what you need to know about getting fair compensation after a crash and what you can expect from an attorney in the process.

What Are Lost Wages?

Lost wages are anything you would have earned during the period of work you missed or will miss due to injury sustained as a result of a crash.

When you get hurt in a car crash, lost wages are typically paid for by the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident. However, you may also be able to claim lost wages from your own insurance if you have a Personal Injury Protection or Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists policy if the driver who hurt you didn’t have enough insurance.

To collect lost wages you must provide the following:

• Documents that prove you are prevented from working due to the injury, such as a doctor’s note that details your injury and how much time is needed for you to recover before returning to work.
• Documents that prove your wages, such as pay stubs, a tax return, or a W-2 form.
• Documents that prove you are currently employed, such as a letter from your employer.

If you’re struggling to compile all the documents you need, or the insurance company isn’t taking your claim seriously, it’s time to call an attorney.

How to Calculate Lost Wages

How an attorney will calculate your lost wages depends on your unique employment situation.

• For hourly workers: Your lost wages are calculated by multiplying the number of hours of work you missed by your hourly rate. For instance, if you earn $15 an hour and missed five days, or 40 hours, of work you are entitled to $600 in lost wages.
• For salaried workers: Divide 2,080 hours (the number of working hours in a year) by your salary. Then take that number and multiply it by the number of hours missed due to your injury. For instance, if you make $35,000 a year, the rate that you are paid per hour is $16.82. If you missed five days, or 40 hours, of work, you are entitled to $672.8 in lost wages.
• For self-employed workers: You will need to provide additional documentation to prove the amount of income that you would have earned in the time period you were unable to work, such as a 1099 form, correspondence invoice, or receipts.

RELATED: 5 Ways a Car Accident Lawyer Can Support Injured People After a Crash

Factoring in Additional Lost Income

You may have missed out on more than just your regular income due to your injury. If you’re hurt and can’t work, you may miss out on bonuses, promotions, sales commissions, or raises as well.

If your injury keeps you from returning to work long-term or permanently, it’s time to call an experienced attorney who can help you calculate future lost wages and additional lost income.

By working with a forensic economist, attorneys can determine any wages you would have made in the future by using factors such as education level, age, physical ability, and employment history. Using this information, your legal team can put together an accurate estimate of what you would have earned if you hadn’t been injured and stand up and demand a fair settlement.

And if the people who hurt you don’t want to take accountability for their actions, our team isn’t afraid to take your case to trial if it means ensuring you get the money you deserve.

An Experienced Attorney Can Help You Demand a Fair Settlement

Though the process of getting compensation for lost wages after a crash may seem straightforward, the legal process behind it is typically anything but simple. The insurance company rarely offers settlements that cover all your costs, and they do their best to manipulate injured people into accepting low-ball settlements. Our team has seen this happen too many times. Fortunately, we know how to fight and win for people who are injured and out of work.

In the case of June P., a restaurant’s negligence left her injured and forced out of the workforce at least seven years before she planned to retire. After a tough legal battle, we were able to recover nearly $250,000 in past and future lost wages on June’s behalf.

Hurt and Out of Work? Andy Citrin Is Ready to Win for You

If you were injured in an accident or car crash in Alabama, you should be able to focus on your recovery, instead of worrying about money. If you need to win, you need to call our law firm.

The Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys team has recovered over half a billion dollars for injured people in Alabama and Mississippi. We’re ready to hear what happened to you and offer down-to-earth legal advice about how much your case is worth and what to do next.

To schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys, please contact our team at 251-888-8888 or complete our online form.

We look forward to speaking with you!

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.