Call Earley Before It’s Too Late!
If you are hospitalized or unable to work after a car accident, your inability to work may cause you to experience lost wages. You should be able to seek compensation for your lost wages from the insurance company that insures your vehicle. If your losses exceed what your personal injury protection policy pays, you may need to file an injury claim with the insurance company that insures the driver who was responsible for the crash.
Massachusetts’ auto insurance laws can be confusing if you try to handle a claim on your own. You should consult a personal injury attorney, especially if you are dealing with serious injuries and the expenses that follow. At Earley Law Group, our attorneys can guide you through this challenging time and help you seek all the financial compensation available.
Contact us today for a free consultation about getting your life and financial stability back on track.
How Lost Wages Are Typically Paid?
You’ll turn first to your car insurance for payments to cover your lost wages after a car accident. In Massachusetts, car owners are required to have certain types of auto insurance coverage, including the following:
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP) provides coverage of medical expenses. It also pays 75 percent of your lost wages and replacement services (the cost of services an injured person can no longer perform for the household, such as yard maintenance or housework) up to a limit of $8,000. Personal injury protection will also cover wage losses for passengers in your car and members of your household. As part of the claims process, injury victims will need documentation to support a lost wage claim.
- For lost wages suffered in a car accident, you would first file a claim for 75% of your gross lost wages under your PIP coverage. The claim requires a letter from your doctor stating that you cannot work and a lost-wage verification form completed by your employer to confirm the time you missed from work and your pay rate. A personal injury lawyer at Earley Law can help you understand the documentation needed and handle the paperwork on your behalf if our law firm provides legal representation.
Your claim also requires you to show an actual loss of income and that you were not paid during your absence from work through employer-provided leave compensation such as sick leave.
If your lost wages (and medical and replacement services expenses) exceed t the $8,000 available from PIP, you would need to file a claim against the liability insurance held by the driver responsible for the accident or your uninsured motorist coverage to recover additional losses. You could recoup additional compensation from these policies to cover your losses.
Your lost wages recovery could also include compensation for lost earning capacity and future lost wages if you have suffered a long-term or permanent disability that affects your ability to work for a living.
If the at-fault driver’s insurance refuses to agree to a fair settlement for present and future lost wages, you may need to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. Boston personal injury lawyer Christopher Earley and the team at Earley Law Group can help you hold those who caused your injuries financially accountable for all your losses.
Factors That Determine Lost Wage Compensation
The factors affecting compensation for lost wages include the severity of your injuries, the applicable insurance policy limits, and the circumstances of the accident. If you or your loved one has life-altering injuries, you may need to seek compensation for diminished early capacity if you won’t be able to work again or will be limited in the type of work you can perform.
If you were injured while driving as part of your job duties, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, including paying a portion of your lost wages through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation provides wage replacement benefits regardless of who was at fault for the accident. However, insurance companies that administer workers’ compensation claims often try to minimize the payments they make
You will benefit from having an experienced advocate who can negotiate effectively on your behalf. Our injury lawyers at Earley Law can help you pursue a personal injury claim or a workers’ compensation claim if you were injured on the job. In certain cases, injury victims are entitled to pursue both personal injury claims and workers’ compensation benefits.
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How Our Lawyers Can Help With Lost Wages
If you suffer a serious injury in a car accident caused by another driver, it’s likely you’ll quickly exhaust the $8,000 available from your personal injury protection policy for lost wages and other expenses. When you seek additional compensation from the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, you may find the insurer is reluctant to pay.
There are many reasons for an insurance company to dispute a car accident claim. Some will offer a settlement based on previous claim payouts without regard for your specific situation. The settlement offered may not cover your losses.
To ensure you recover maximum compensation for lost wages and other costs after a car accident, you should consult an experienced Boston car accident lawyer. At the Earley Law Group, our Boston injury lawyers will investigate to determine who is responsible for your accident and injuries and calculate the types of compensation you may claim for your losses.
In most cases, after we submit a demand letter to an insurer that outlines our evidence and the details of our client’s losses, we can negotiate a settlement our client finds acceptable. When an insurance company will not do what is right, our trial attorneys are ready to develop a personal injury case and present a strong case in court.
Earley Law has more than 700 Google reviews attesting to the quality of our client services and the results we’ve obtained in personal injury cases for accident victims. At Earley Law, we attribute our success to more than just large dollar figures in settlements and jury awards. We believe our high rate of client satisfaction comes from what we call “The Earley Experience.” This includes our dedication to delivering top-notch customer service, responsiveness, and individual attention to each client.
Are You Struggling With Lost Wages? Contact Us Now
If the bills are piling up and there are paychecks coming in after a car accident in Massachusetts, our Boston personal injury attorneys are here to listen and help you figure out your next steps. Earley Law can help make sure that insurers pay the lost wages and other compensation that Massachusetts personal injury and insurance law says you are eligible to receive.
There’s never a risk in reaching out to Earley Law for legal advice. The initial consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we obtain a settlement or court award for you.
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