If you suffered serious injuries in a car accident, you likely are unable to return to work due to your injuries, leaving you without a paycheck for possibly a considerable amount of time. Often times the lost income can amount to a substantial sum and may also include the loss of insurance and other employee benefits in the workplace. Learn what you need to do in order to prove economic losses in your personal injury case.
What Really Means
Many people think that actual lost income is only the amount that can be reimbursed as a result of an injury from an accident. While your lost income is a part of your losses, it is only a portion of what may be claimed. In addition to the decreased wages or salary, you may also have losses with regard to vacation or sick time, employer contributions to fringe benefit plans, overtime, profit sharing, retirement, or bonuses as a result of your injuries. It is important to realize that these benefits can be considered as part of economic losses in a personal injury case. Additionally, you may have lost certain employee benefits, such as promotions, employee benefits such as contributions to pension plans or retirement plans, in some cases you may have lost health insurance benefits, and in other cases, you may have lost the ability to attend certain training which would directly impact your ability to receive a promotion. All of these different types of losses may be included in the lost wages portion of your personal injury case.
Making a Lost Wages Claim
Regarding your lost wages, you may need to provide wage documents in the form of pay stubs, or W-2 IRS forms to show your past income. Additionally, you may need to submit your last year’s tax return. Also, your employer should provide a letter indicating the days that you were absent from work as a result of your injury, and any other wage or losses such as benefit information that is relevant. You will need to tell your employer to include not only your base salary but any typical overtime that you accrue in a pay period, as well as any bonuses that you typically receive. Finally, you should include any vacation or sick leave that you were required to take as a result of your inability to return to work due to your injuries. as you put together this information, consider any employee perks such as profit sharing, retirement plan contributions, stock options, transportation, or any other type of employee benefit or employer contribution that you would have received if you had not missed work as a result of your injury.
Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you suffered injuries in a car accident, contact an experienced personal injury attorney at Griggs Injury Law at (816) 474-0202 today to help you determine the true amount of lost wages you are owed for your personal injury claim.
