How Personal Injury Affects Employment Law
You’re searching for a Bay Area auto accident attorney perhaps because a crazy driver rear-ended you as you were exiting I-5. Or maybe you need a personal injury attorney, because a teenager t-boned you at a stop sign, and your neck is killing you. You don’t know how long you’ll need to take off of work and what you can do to pay your bills in the meantime.
Auto accidents victims can seek compensation for “lost wages” from diverse parties, including the driver who caused the accident, the manufacturer or engineer of a defective auto part responsible for the crash, the municipality responsible for keeping roads clear and safe from hazards, and insurance companies that represent any primary defendants.
Perhaps the accident was relatively minor, and you missed work (or will miss work) for only a few weeks. If so, odds are that you won’t have that much trouble wrangling with the insurance company (or other liable party) to get fair compensation.
However, if the situation is more serious — i.e., if you expect to miss work for months or years, and the damages could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — the legal battle could be much more intense. After all, the defendants have far more on the line, financially.
In addition to asking for lost wages, you can seek compensation for pensions, bonuses, sales commissions, promotions, and increases in salary tied to changes in the cost of living.
To begin, make sure you collect the appropriate documentation. You’ll need a doctor’s note if you’ve missed a substantial amount of time. You will also need a pay stub or employer’s note that shows your wages or salary so the insurance company can figure out the appropriate compensation – If you’re self-employed, this can be more difficult, but not impossible. Our employment attorneys will walk you through the steps.
Even if you can go back to work – in a reduced capacity or at a lower paying job – you can still make a lost wages claim! For instance, maybe you took time off between your old job and a new, lower paying one. You can get compensated for that time off as well as for the difference between your current salary and what you would have been paid, had you never been hurt.
Get Help From Your Bay Area Injury Lawyers
Calculating lost wages may seem overwhelming, but we’re here to help! Call the team at Vega Law at (415) 287-6200 for a confidential consultation about your options.