Have you been injured in an accident and wondering how to make a lost wages claim? There are more than 40 million lawsuits filed each year in the United States!
Many of these lawsuits are started to recover damages caused by the negligence of someone else. Oftentimes, this will include seeking the recovery of lost wages and other damages to try to make yourself whole again.
Read on to learn how to file a lost wages claim after a work injury!
Contents
Make a Workers’ Compensation Claim
In most states, you will need to make a workers’ compensation claim for the recovery of damages after a work injury. Under state law, most businesses will need to carry workers’ compensation coverage. This is an insurance policy that helps to cover losses for workers injured on the job.
For example, in the State of Florida, a worker can recover a maximum of 104 weeks of lost wages. Sometimes, a worker may suffer a more serious injury that will cause them to miss many years of work.
Extra Steps For More Serious Injuries
Every work injury is life-changing in one way or another, but for those that are truly disabling, you will need to file a lawsuit to recover lost wages. A work injury claim under workers’ compensation can only get you payment of lost wages for a limited time.
For example, if you were injured and couldn’t work anymore, you would need to make a demand for payment of more lost wages. If your demand was not accepted by your employer, you might need to take it to court.
A workers compensation law firm will have a team of attorneys with experience handling lost wages claims on behalf of injured employees.
Determine Extent of Lost Wages
Before you make a demand or file a lawsuit to recover lost wages, you need to know the amount of lost wages due to injury. This often means you must be seen by a doctor or other occupational health professional to let them decide how badly you are disabled.
For example, if you worked in manual labor with your hands but were injured at work and lost the total use of your right hand, you may not be able to work at all. When this kind of situation is at play, you will need to learn about your life expectancy and what you would have earned if you were healthy.
If you win the claim for lost wages, the damages may be paid out in a lump sum or as some level of disability. This will help you to continue living with income during your life.
Make a Winning Lost Wages Claim
You can make a winning lost wages claim by knowing the strength of your case and having realistic expectations. An injury on the job can cause pain and suffering for you and your family members.
By learning about lost wages claims, you can be better prepared to participate in your case in the event you suffer an injury on the job in the future. Check out our blog section for posts on how to maintain your finances and continue living a healthy life!
