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The Importance of Including Lost Wages In Your Personal Injury Financial Recovery Claim

Seeking medical care immediately after an accident is the best way to understand the extent of your injuries and outline the treatment necessary to get your life back on track.

If you have been severely hurt in a car accident, motorcycle collision, pedestrian accident, or truck crash, your medical bills and other injury-related expenses will continue mounting as you undergo continued treatment, which can include x-rays, specialty care, surgery, therapy, and rehabilitation.

While an injured person may seek compensation for their complete medical treatment stemming from the accident, another category of damages that should not be overlooked is the lost income caused by the crash since the person was too injured to go to work while recovering.

At Redkey Gordon, our Stockton personal injury attorneys focus on more than our clients’ medical costs, but the importance of pursuing the lost income and lost financial opportunities that followed while they seek care.

Can I Recover Lost Wages If I Was Only Working Part-Time When the Accident Occurred?

If you have been hurt in an accident, you have the right to be reimbursed for the income you were unable to earn because of your injuries.

This applies to those with: 

  • Full-time or part-time jobs
  • Regular or occasional employment
  • Hourly wages
  • Weekly, biweekly, or monthly salary
  • Self-employed or independent contractor

Each of these employment categories will require our Stockton personal injury lawyers to provide the insurance company with evidence of your losses, so you can be properly compensated for your complete losses, leaving no detail to chance as we compile your case.

What Are the Different Types of Lost Wages I Can Pursue After An Accident?

At Redkey Gordon, our personal injury attorneys will outline your complete injuries and the time you have already taken away from work, as well as the time you are unable to work going forward to ensure your injuries can heal properly.

Each personal injury case is unique, and each of our clients may be eligible for different types of lost wage compensation, which can include:

  • Past Lost Wages

Past lost wages are those that were missed from the time of the accident until the time you could return to work.

For example, if your accident and injuries occurred on March 1, and you were unable to return to work until April 1, your past lost wages would be those missed in between those dates.

  • Future Lost Wages

Future lost income often accompanies severe injuries, including multiple broken bones, internal injuries, and brain injuries that require you to take extensive time away from work for the foreseeable future.

Future lost income will be outlined based on your medical records and physician recommendations and pursued in your personal injury claim alongside the already lost wages.

  • Diminished Earning Capacity

If your injuries allow you to go back to work but not to the extent you were able before the accident, we may pursue diminished earning capacity damages on your behalf.

That could include accounting for injuries that keep you from returning to work full time, or if you are forced to take a lesser paying position or job because of your physical limitations and restrictions.

How Will the Stockton Personal Injury Lawyers at Redkey Gordon Prove My Lost Income?

If you have been injured in an accident, keeping track of the days you are out of work to heal will help create a timeline for your financial recovery needs.

Our California personal injury lawyers will help you outline and calculate the appropriate losses based on the: 

  • Shifts, days, weeks, or even months of missed work caused by your accident’s injuries
  • Projects you were unable to procure or complete because of your injuries
  • Amount of money you would have made during the time you missed

To prove the total amount of lost wages for our injury claim, we can obtain a statement from your employer’s human resources department or a supervisor that contains the details of your pay rate and the number of hours or days you normally work.

If you are self-employed or an independent contractor, we will need to explore your financial records, including tax returns or bank statements, to understand the total losses associated with your injuries.

For serious and permanent injuries, our Stockton personal injury lawyers will partner with expert witnesses to testify about the full extent of our clients’ future lost wages and diminished earning capacity.

If your injuries are permanent, we will ensure your team of physicians will testify to your condition to ensure your personal injury case fully encompasses your long-term financial needs.

Hurt in an Accident? Call Us Now

If you have been hurt in an accident of any type, contact our San Joaquin County personal injury lawyers at Redkey Gordon today by calling (209) 680-3083 or (916) 877-9700 to schedule a free consultation to discuss the details of your accident and learn how we can help you pursue the best financial outcome available for your unique case.