How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help With Lost Wages?

If you have been out of work due to circumstances beyond your control, you may be able to claim compensation for lost wages. A personal injury lawyer in Cumming, GA, explains.

How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer in Cumming Help With Lost Wages?

Assessing Your Claim

A lawyer will evaluate the circumstances of your case and determine if you have a valid claim for compensation. The validity of a claim depends on whether the lost wages were due to someone’s negligence. For example, you may have been out of work after an injury in a car accident caused by a driver’s reckless behavior, or you may have been injured at work because of a hazard that your employer failed to take care of.

Calculating Losses

A personal injury attorney will help you calculate exactly how much you have lost in wages due to the incident. If you are an hourly worker, calculating lost wages can be straightforward: multiply the number of hours missed by the hourly rate. Salaried employees, of course, will multiply their monthly salary by the months missed. For self-employed persons, it may be necessary to use tax returns or business records, since actual earnings may not be clearly seen from taxable income because of deductions.

A lawyer will also help to estimate how much in earnings you will lose in the future based on your rate of recovery or your loss of future earning capacity. Estimating future lost wages will require estimates of how long the injury will keep you from working, and the impact of the injury will have on you long-term. This may mean getting testimony from experts such as medical professionals or vocational experts, who can speak to the long-term impacts of your injury, such as a disability preventing you from returning to your previous job or to full-time employment.

Gathering Evidence

A lawyer will help you collect the physical evidence needed to prove lost wages. This could mean medical records and doctors notes, to prove the extent of the injury as well as the time off work. Employment records, such as pay stubs, tax returns, and W-2 forms, will also be collected as proof of income before the injury.

For hourly employees, a lost wage verification may be presented as evidence. This is a form completed by your employer, stating the hours missed at work and the hourly rate of pay. A lawyer may also call in experts to give testimony as to the future lost wages or your loss of earning capacity. This can help to establish future losses that you may claim.

Filing a Claim and Negotiating a Settlement

A personal injury lawyer will file your claim with the appropriate party. Generally this is the at-fault party’s insurance company, although it may be necessary to file a lawsuit with the court to seek compensation. A lawyer can advise you as to your best option for getting compensated for your lost wages.

If the claim has been filed with an insurance company, it is common for insurance companies to offer a lower settlement than is appropriate. If a lawsuit has been filed, the other party may seek to settle out of court. In either situation, your lawyer can negotiate for a settlement that will actually compensate you for your losses.

If you need assistance with claiming lost wages, reach out to Spaulding Injury Law in Cumming, GA. We also serve the Atlanta, Alpharetta, and Lawrenceville areas.

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