Lost Wages and Earnings

There Are Lost Wages You Can Recover Quickly and Lost Wages You Cannot Recover Quickly

A quick recovery for lost wages within 2 weeks of injury depends on whether or not you have one or more of the following:
‍

• personal injury protection
• short-term disability
• accident or injury insurance
• employment benefits from saved sick time

If you do not have one of the above insurance or employment benefits, then you probably cannot recover lost wages within two weeks of injury.

For clients without the above benefits, Burman Law files a personal injury claim to collect lost wages from the responsible party along with your pain and suffering and other damages for the harms and losses you suffered.  Unfortunately, insurance companies settle claims one time, and rarely settle the lost wage part of a case until the other parts of the case can be settled.  This can be a cause for tremendous stress and anxiety on a family that depends on a steady income.  At Burman Law, we will explain the law and develop a plan of action to secure lost wages as soon as possible.

To calculate the value of the lost earnings, Burman Law gathers documentation that proves your injury, your wages, your work hours, and your expected pay increase to demonstrate a clear and accurate summary of your lost wages and earnings.  The most important evidence is a “work excuse” from your doctor documenting how much time off from work is medically reasonable.  Work excuses are your pay check.  Don't leave the doctor's office without a work excuse in in your hand, signed and dated by the doctor, that takes you off work for a clearly stated period of time.  Keep your employer informed about your injury, your medical treatment, and deliver a copy of your work excuse to your employer.  Keep notes on the date, time and person who receives any work excuse.  Lost wage claims can be difficult to prove if you are not authorized to miss work, so contact Burman Law immediately if you cannot work but your doctor will not give you a work excuse, or you have a work excuse, but your employer will not honor it.

If you are self-employed, then Burman Law will secure a copy of your profit and loss statement or tax returns to show lost earnings.  Oftentimes, self-employment earnings can be difficult to prove, but Burman Law has access to a good accountant who can assist if necessary.