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Auto Accidents and
Lost Wages
On your normal daily drive to work the unexpected happens.
Someone runs a red light and hits your car.
What do you need to do?
First the normal reactions of course, check to make sure you are okay and that
the other driver is as well. If the collision was hard enough you will have
injuries that will not only hurt but side line you from work. Without work you
are losing wages. There are ways in which to recoup your lost wages when you
were not at fault in an auto accident.
After you have been involved in a car collision there are many questions running
through your mind. The first being if you car is inoperable how you are going to
get home or to work? Next what form of transportation will you have until your
car is fixed or the insurance company comes through with money for your totaled
automobile?
Once these issues are resolved you will realize there are even more concerns to
consider. If you were indeed injured you will have medical bills to contend with
and probably days taken off of work. This is what this article is going to
discuss, how to try to get your lost wages paid for.
You were minding your own business on your way to work when the accident
occurred. Why should you be penalized for not only the time the actual accident
took away from your job but also the time taken off due to injuries? You were
not at fault why should you lose money from someone else’s mistake?
How can you go
about recouping your lost wages? Before going
through the pain staking task of dealing with the other person’s insurance
company check to make sure you did not purchase an add on to your own insurance
coverage. If you did purchase the lost wage reimbursement coverage you may not
have to go any further. You paid for that coverage take advantage of it. It
should pay some or all of your lost wages. The down side is that your insurance
company may wait till your case with the other party’s insurance company has
been settled before they settle the lost wages amount with you.
Unfortunately you will always have to deal with the insurance company of the
person who hit your car. This can be easy or hard. More than likely it will be
the later since many insurance companies hate to part with their money. Most
insurance companies have very complex strategies put in place to try and confuse
you so that they can limit the financial compensation that they will have to pay
out to you, the accident victim.
Dealing with an insurance company’s adjuster might make you end up running to a
lawyer. If that is the case make sure the lawyer you contact understands you
were injured and not only want your car repairs and physical injuries covered in
the settlement but
also your lost wages from work. Your workplace
might have covered your days off with sick or vacation time so that you still
received a paycheck. If this is the case you should still be entitled to
reimbursement because this is obviously not how you would have wanted to spend
your time off from work. That time cannot be replaced but you can be compensated
for it.
If you end up dealing with the insurance adjuster from another insurance company
be prepared. They will want to negotiate a sum of money that is as little as
possible. The car and injuries will be their priorities so if you do not bring
up your lost wages or compensatory damage they will not offer it to you.
If you health and accident policy happened to have paid you for being out of
work odds are they are did not pay you the full amount of your normal salary.
The other insurance company will mostly likely only try to pay you the
difference of your normal salary and what your health policy paid. Do not be led
into this trap. The insurance company should pay you the full amount of your
lost wages. They did not carry that health and accident policy, you did and that
is why you received money. Their customer caused the incident and should not be
decide to pay you what is due because you planned well for this type of
situation.
For each week that you were out of work, out on disability due to the accident,
you will need a doctor’s medical report to prove to the insurance company why
you were unable to work. Make sure that your doctor takes detailed notes of your
injuries so that the insurance adjuster will understand the depth of your
problems.
The adjuster will want documentation from your employer as well. If possible get
those documents to be detailed and explain even if you were able to come back to
work how your injuries might have still not allowed you to do your work at 100
percent. You will want your gross wages for that time period, not the net so
make sure your company lists that correctly in their report. Make sure to also
let the adjuster know if you lost out on bonuses during your time off of work.
This can be another bartering point.
The longer you were off work should be related to the amount of pain and
suffering compensation you should receive from the insurance company. The rule
of thumb for pain and suffering is three times the amount of your medical bills
so keep after the adjuster to make sure you do not get short changed.
Accidents are never a pleasant experience, especially if you have been injured.
What you need to remember after your car and injuries are compensated for
appropriately that you are not done with Joe Public’s insurance company. Keep
negotiating with their insurance adjuster until you get paid what you are due
and that includes your lost wages.
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes. It should not be
interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any insurance product, or to
provide financial or legal advice. This information is provided for information
purposes only.
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