Lost Wages

Compensation for Time Off of Work

A serious debilitating injury affects more then just the physical body of the individual it impacts their ability to make a living in both the short term and long term. In the short term, the inability to work and make a living cannot come at a worse time then when an injured person and their family are attempting to put their lives back together, recovering from the physical injuries and mounting financial pressures that are associated with those medical costs. Bills still come at the first of each month whether one is working or not.

Unplanned Injuries

Most people to do not plan to be incapacitated for long periods of time through disability insurance or otherwise, and as a consequence, these are far and away the most difficult times of their lives. In the long term, a serious head injury can impact the individual’s ability to do the work that he was able to do prior to the injury. The mind and body does not function the way it used to following a serious injury and thus, the individual’s future earning capacity is also affected.

Awarding Lost Wages

This all being the case, there are a number of factors that insurance companies, judges and juries take into account when determining the proper amount of past and future lost wages to be awarded. The more information the client can obtain from their employer and provide to their lawyer the better and quicker their claim for lost wages and time off of work can be determined. The information that will need to be obtained is as follows:

1. Job title and responsibilities
2. Rate of Pay – Dollars/hour or salary
3. Total regular hours per week 
4. Total overtime hours per week 
5. Total bonus per week or per set time period
6. Weekly wages before any deductions
7. Weekly wages after deductions 
8. Dates absent for work and reasons for those absences 
9. How much sick time and/or vacation time was used for these purposes by the employee 
10. Was the employee covered by Health Insurance, if so company name and group
11. Was the employee covered by Disability Insurance, if so company name and group 
12. Amount employee was paid due to absence 
13. Amount of 401K or other employee benefits per week