A trial lawyer can help recover lost income when you have had to miss work due to injuries you sustained in an accident. Losing your earnings due to the inability to perform your job can be detrimental to both your future and your everyday life. Fortunately, Missouri law allows accident victims to recover the amount of money that they would have made if they had been able to work. If you’re planning to file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit following an accident, talk to a trial lawyer first.
The types of earnings typical to lost wages claims include the following:
- Hourly wages: This involves adding up your actual missed work and multiplying by your hourly rate. For example, $20 per hour x 8 hours per day for 10 days missed = $1600.
- Overtime pay: If you work overtime regularly, this can be included in your claim.
- Bonuses: If your injury caused you to miss out on a bonus, your trial lawyer can ask for compensation for that and help obtain documentation from your employer.
- Sick Days: Accident victims often use sick days to recover from their injuries. You have a right to compensation for the fair value of a sick day.
- Vacation Pay: Just as with sick days, you may also use vacation days to recover. Without your injury, you’d have been able to save those days for a real vacation. Your trial lawyer will include a request for compensation for the value of vacation days.
- Special Perks: Lost work can also mean lost perks, such as a company cell phone, car or a gym membership. Your trial lawyer can include the value of these things in your claim for lost wages.
- Tips: Tips can be included in a lost wages claim; however, you need to be able to show that you claim your tips on your taxes or deposit them in your bank account on a regular basis.
Whether you’re down and out for a day or a year, you can claim lost wages due to missed work, although it can sometimes be difficult to prove it. The process of proving lost wages is often much more technical and complicated than other types of damages. Many injury victims will simply omit lost wages from their claim because of the specific challenges of proving them.
The best way to ensure that you can prove all of the damages in your injury case, including lost wages, is with an experienced Kansas City trial lawyer, who can help you evaluate your claim and determine how to go about getting the maximum compensation possible. Craig Divine, of Divine Law LLC, is a skilled trial lawyer serving the greater Kansas City metro, including Platte County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, Jackson County, Missouri, Johnson County, Kansas, Wyandotte County, Kansas and all cities within the area.
Craig Divine is waiting to assist you when you need it, including ensuring you have the documentation necessary to include lost wages in your claim for recovery. Take advantage of your Free Consultation. Get in touch today and get started on your claim for lost wages!
Divine Law Office LLC
816-474-2240