When you suffer an Augusta car accident due to another driver’s fault, you are entitled to compensatory damages. Compensation in a car accident covers not only the medical costs of your crash-related injuries. It also covers the wages you lose after being prevented from resuming work due to the injuries. An Augusta car accident lawyer can help you calculate a ballpark estimate for your car crash claim.
You may be under a lot of mental stress in the wake of a car crash. To add to it, the steep costs of medical treatment and your inability to earn wages for a period can also put you under financial stress. This is precisely why you are entitled to damages in lieu of lost wages after an accident. By recovering the wages you have lost due to a crash caused by another party’s fault, you are able to make good your loss.
However, it is important to understand exactly how lost wages are defined as per the law, and how can you substantiate a claim for lost wages.
How Is Lost Income Defined?
Lost income or lost wages simply refer to the total amount of income you lose due to the accident. For instance, suppose you were earning a monthly wage of $10,000 before your accident. If the crash forces you to stay at home for three months following a crash, you net lost income is $30,000. You are entitled to recover the full amount of this lost income in an Augusta car accident claim. However, you must be able to furnish sufficient proof of lost income before you can recover the amount.
Proof of Lost Income
You will be required to produce clear proof of lost income before your claim can be accepted. This can be done by asking your employer to provide you with a record of your monthly earnings just before the crash. You can also produce your last paycheck from the employer just before the crash. This serves as evidence of your level of earnings at the time the accident took place.
Proving lost income is a bit complicated if you are self-employed. Being self-employed usually means that your monthly wages vary from month to month. To show your average monthly income, you can get invoices of several months or the entire last year to establish a baseline wage. This wage is then used to calculate your total lost income.
You will also need a formal statement from your employer that you have actually missed work after the accident. Such a statement should be on the official letterhead. It should also include relevant details such as the dates during which you missed work, the number of hours you would have worked during this period, the hourly pay rate, and so on.
Depending on the nature and severity of your injuries, you may also need the testimony of experts. Such testimony can help establish that your injuries are serious enough to result in lost wages. The testimony of a relevant expert, such as an economist, can also confirm the total amount of lost wages.
Lost Business Opportunity
In addition to the wages you lost due to your Augusta car accident-related injuries, you can also recoup compensation for lost business opportunities. These are the opportunities you may have availed had the accident not took place.
For instance, suppose you are an entrepreneur with a major product launch scheduled for the next month. The launch was likely to yield major sales opportunities for your business. If you were prevented from the launch due to the accident, you can seek damages to cover this loss.
If you are a business owner or entrepreneur, it is easier to prove that you have suffered a lost business opportunity. This is because your absence from work is likely to have a significant impact on business. However, proving lost business opportunities is harder when you are an employee.
How Can an Augusta Car Accident Lawyer Help?
If you have suffered a car crash in Atlanta, GA, it is vital that you get legal help at the earliest. A good lawyer will help you determine the full amount of damages that you are eligible to receive for your crash-related losses.
Here at Ted Greve & Associates, we work with crash victims to help them recover the maximum amount of compensation. This includes damages in lieu of lost wages, lost business opportunities, future loss of income, and loss of earning capacity. Contact us today to discuss your Augusta crash claim with our lawyers.
