When a car accident causes you serious injuries, you could be hurt and left out of work for a while. Some car crash victims can return to their jobs after a recovery period, but others are left with ongoing medical complications and disabilities that could leave them out of work on a long-term basis. Some even face permanent disabilities and job loss.
To recover compensation for lost wages after a car crash in Maryland, you can often file an insurance claim or a lawsuit. Insurance claims sometimes do not cover your injury case in full – if the insurance company is even willing to settle the case. In a lawsuit, your attorney can present evidence of present and future lost earnings, potentially resulting in maximum compensation.
For a free case review, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’ Maryland car accident attorneys today at (410) 694-7291.
Claiming Lost Wages in a Maryland Car Accident Case
When you are injured in a car accident, you could be entitled to any damages related to the crash. Even if your accident was not related to your job in any way, your inability to work after a serious car crash could still result in lost wages. These damages can be claimed as part of an insurance claim or a lawsuit. Both are often filed after a crash, but both types of claims could be ineffective without the help of an experienced Maryland car accident lawyer.
Insurance Claims
When you file an insurance claim against the at-fault driver, you could be entitled to get damages for lost wages as well as medical bills and lost wages. However, insurance companies only have to pay claims when there is sufficient proof that their driver was indeed at fault. Additionally, they only have to pay the damages they recognize as sufficiently proved.
If the insurance company in your case is putting up a strong defense, they could deny that their driver is at fault altogether. This would mean denying your claim – which you can appeal. Insurance companies might also accept your claim but refuse to pay future lost earnings or pay only a portion of your lost wages.
Our Baltimore car accident lawyers can work to drive up the insurance payout by providing additional evidence of your injuries and lost wages. However, at the end of the day, leaving your case up to the whims of an insurance adjuster might result in insufficient compensation.
Sometimes drivers have optional first-party benefits on their insurance policy, such as PIP coverage. These policies often pay damages for medical care and lost wages, but they do not pay the full value of these costs. Speak with our attorneys about claiming damages above and beyond the limits of your policy by filing a third-party claim against the at-fault driver.
Lawsuits
When you file a lawsuit, the decision of who is at fault and how much your case is worth is left to a judge and jury instead of the insurance company. The judge and jury will often look carefully at your evidence and take it all in when considering how much your case is worth. This could ultimately result in something closer to full compensation for the wages you lost.
At trial, your Maryland car accident lawyers can present evidence of wages you have already lost as well as wages you might face going forward. Insurance companies might not be willing to accept some of this evidence, but the court will weigh it carefully when deciding your case.
Ultimately, the fact that a lawsuit is on the horizon can often pressure insurance companies to settle. Filing a lawsuit does not necessarily mean that you will have to go to trial, but it does give you the option to do so if a satisfactory settlement cannot be reached. Most lawsuits do settle before trial, and our attorneys will seek to help you settle your case at a fair value.
Calculating and Proving Lost Wages in Maryland Car Accident Cases
Courts and insurance companies both need valid proof of how much your injuries are worth before you can get paid. When it comes to proving how much your lost wages are worth, there are a few common types of evidence you will use to prove your income and how much you lost on account of your car accident injuries. Additional evidence is often needed to satisfactorily prove future lost wages and lost earning capacity.
Wages During Recovery
If your injury kept you laid up or unable to work for a limited period, and you have now recovered enough to go back to work, proving your lost wages is somewhat simple. Generally, you will need evidence of what your wages were before the accident. Combining that with proof of how long you were unable to work will allow your Annapolis car accident lawyers to simply multiply the lost wages by the time missed at work.
Often, you will need a medical expert’s testimony to prove when you were truly able to return to work.
Reduced Earning Capacity
If you have returned to work but were forced to take on reduced tasks or a lower-paying position, you could be entitled to damages for the reduced earnings. While you might still be working and receiving income, it isn’t as much as you used to make. Our lawyers can provide pay stubs and financial statements to show the difference between your old wages and your current wages and include that as part of your lost wages claim.
Future Lost Wages
If your injuries will involve a disability that makes it impossible to return to work at your current level, you will need additional evidence to prove your lost future earnings. Medical and financial experts will be needed to testify as to what your limitations are, how they affect your earnings, and what your wages would have been going forward without the injuries. Often, these calculations are complex, but our Ocean City car accident lawyers can present this evidence as part of your injury claim.
Call Our Maryland Car Accident Attorneys Today
After being involved in a car accident, it is vital to have our Pasadena car accident lawyers help you with your case. For a free case assessment, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291.