After being injured in a personal injury accident, it is not uncommon for you to be unable to return to work right away. Injury victims often miss a significant amount of time from work because they are unable to perform their job duties while they are recovering from their injuries. This is especially the case if your injuries are severe.

Fortunately, California’s personal injury laws allow plaintiffs in personal injury cases to recover compensation for more than just their medical bills. In addition to your medical expenses, compensation for property damage, and pain and suffering, you may also be entitled to compensation for any wages and income you have lost as a result of your injuries.

However, recovering the compensation you deserve can be complicated. Especially if you have been so severely injured that your potential future earning capacity has been diminished. That is why it is so important to consult with an attorney who can review your claim and make sure that you are compensated fully for your lost wages and income.

For help recovering the compensation you deserve, call eAccidents today at 844-400-0123 to arrange a free consultation with an experienced California personal injury attorney.

What are Lost Wages in California Personal Injury Cases?

Lost wages are wages that you lost because you were unable to go to work because of your injuries. This can include lost:

• Salary
• Overtime pay
• Bonuses
• Commissions
• Vacation pay, etc.

 

What’s more, you may be entitled to compensation for anticipated future losses of income if you will be unable to work or enjoy the same earning capacity as you did before the accident.

How Are Lost Wages Proven in California Personal Injury Cases?

To prove lost wages in a California personal injury case, you first have to prove that the accident caused your injuries, and then that your injuries prevented you from going to work. This will typically require you to have your employer, or some other knowledgeable witness testify as to how much money you would have earned had you been able to go to work.

However, proving lost wages can be difficult if you are self-employed or own your own business. In this case, you need to show how much money you would normally have made in wages and/or profits had you been able to work. The best way to do this is by using accounting records, prior tax returns, and so forth.

But if your business is new, you may not have enough records to show how much money you made in the past in order to estimate how much you would have made if not for the accident and your injuries. In this case, your attorney may need to hire an economist or accountant to testify as an expert as to what your losses were.

Even still, if your evidence isn’t strong enough, meaning you do not have solid evidence to show how much you would have made—the judge might refuse to let you make the claim for those losses and grant summary judgment on that issue.

What is Loss of Earning Capacity?

California’s personal injury laws also allow injury victims to recover compensation for anticipated future losses of income due to loss of earning capacity. Loss of earning capacity is your ongoing loss of ability to perform your job at all, or to perform it as well as you did before the accident. This is only an issue if you have suffered an injury that is permanent or that will affect your ability to work well into the future.

For example, if you were employed as a construction worker, and you sustained a permanent injury that affects your ability to lift objects more than 20 pounds, this will obviously reduce your ability to perform the tasks of a construction worker. Similarly, if you are a teacher and are unable to either sit or stand for more than 15 minutes without extreme pain, your ability to teach will be reduced.

The best way to present loss of earning capacity to a jury is by hiring vocational experts to calculate the loss. He or she may find that your earning capacity has been reduced by a certain percentage, or that you are totally disabled from a vocational standpoint—meaning there is no job that you can reasonably perform given your injuries.

Consult With An Experienced California Personal Injury Attorney

The California personal injury attorneys at eAccidents have significant experience handling wage loss claims. We also have access to the expert witnesses needed to prove the amount of your lost wages and earning capacity, and that they were reasonable and necessary.

Furthermore, we handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there is no cost for our services unless we recover a settlement or judgment on your behalf. Call us today @ 844-400-0123 to arrange a free consultation with the best California personal injury attorneys.