Getting Reimbursed For Lost Income After A Car Accident
Car accidents can leave victims struggling with crash-related pain and physical limitations for years to come. Injured parties may be unable to work, making it difficult, if not impossible to earn the income that they need to pay household expenses, besides the costs of obtaining medical treatment. Fortunately, it is possible for accident victims to recover compensation for their accident-related losses, including reimbursement for lost wages, loss of future income, and decreased earning potential.
Current Lost Wages
If an injured party can’t go to work after an accident, then he or she could be entitled to compensation for current lost wages. These are the wages that a person wasn’t able to earn while recovering. However, in order to obtain compensation, claimants will need to provide concrete evidence of the severity of the injuries, as well as how much they would be earning if they hadn’t been injured. This may require the submission of an array of documentation, including tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements. To learn more about the types of evidence you could need to help establish your own damages, reach out to our legal team today.
Loss of Future Income
Besides being able to recover current lost wages, accident victims could also be entitled to damages for loss of future income. This is only recoverable in cases where a person’s injuries are so severe that he or she is deemed permanently disabled and is no longer able to earn any income. Unfortunately, calculating loss of future income is a bit more complicated than calculating current lost wages, as claimants will need the assistance of medical and economic experts who can determine the compensation amount based on the injured party’s industry, age, and job position.
Decreased Earning Capacity
Some injuries are severe enough that they result in permanent problems that, while they aren’t so debilitating that they keep a person out of work entirely, may require that they seek different employment that is less physically demanding and perhaps doesn’t pay as well. In these situations, an injured party could qualify for damages compensating him or her for decreased earning potential. Again, this will require proof of what the person was making prior to the injury, as well as proof of his or her current wages. Copies of payroll records, pay stubs, and tax returns could all be required, as could testimony from an industry expert explaining why the claimant is no longer employable in the same field.
Contact Our Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers
If you have lost some of your income because of an accident-related injury, please call the experienced Decatur personal injury lawyers at Shiver Hamilton Campbell to learn more about your recovery options. We can help you seek compensation not only for your lost income, but also for your medical bills, property damage, and even your pain and suffering. To learn more, please call 404-593-0020 and set up a free consultation with a member of our legal team. You can also reach us via online message.