By Ivy Max
Suffering an injury due to the negligence of someone else that prevents you from doing some of the things you love in life can be devastating.But if it also prevents you from working as normal, this resulting in lost wages, the stress can be almost insurmountable. Bills pile up, and you can fear for you’re the livelihood of you and your family as you are relegated to recovering from an injury that was not your fault.
The good news is, laws that protect you in such cases are designed to cover lost wages in a variety of ways and in many cases can not only recover the amount of money you would have earned while you were recovering, they can also work to secure additional compensation for you and your family as well.
Lost wage laws protect you in 3 main ways:
Past lost wages-This refers to all of the wages you lost while you were out of work recovering, being treated, etc. The responsible party would have to pay for all of this time that may even include vacation days you missed because of the injury as well.
Future lost wages-It is possible that due to your injury, you may lose future income as well, such as the need for future doctors appointments, treatments, etc. These lost wages can often be recovered in such incidents.
Earning capacity losses-If your injury is severe or prevents you from doing additional work, it is possible to recover what is known as earning capacity losses. For instance, if your injury prevents you from being promoted to a higher position because you cannot perform those duties, this could be classified as earning capacity losses.
No matter what lost wages you are seeking to recover, there are two things you must do immediately.
FIRST, secure the services of a law firm that has experiences in dealing with such cases. They can walk you through each step of your case and make sure you understand the process and deal with any other parties involved so you can focus on your recovery.
SECONDLY, keep accurate records. This means that you should keep records of everything you would have earned if you were still working as normal, keep records of any medical bills incurred, keep records of physical limitation you are experiencing while recovering and keep records of any expenses you feel are associated due to this injury.
While there may be a lag time between your receiving wages due you, an experience law firm will use existing lost wages laws to ensure you receive all the compensation you are owed due to an accident you were not at fault for.
