Car accidents can come with extreme life changes. Surviving a car accident is one thing, but not sustaining injuries after an accident is another. Accident injuries can result in pain, suffering, heavy medical bills, lost wages, or job loss. Without a job or income, it may be challenging to cater for everyday living expenses, leave alone medical bills and other accident-related costs. So, what is one supposed to do in this case? Read on!
File a Claim for Lost Income
Lost income refers to the legitimate income someone relies on to take care of their living expenses. When an accident victim cannot work due to injuries, they can file a claim and get compensated for their lost income from missing work. Lost income may include:
Lost Wages
Lost wages refer to the income amount an injured person would have earned for the time they were absent at work following an accident. That means if the victim was hospitalized and unable to work for three months, they are eligible for three months’ worth of wages. Note that if the person used their sick leave or vacation days when recovering, they still should get earnings they would have made during those periods.
Lost Opportunities
This category involves career-related activities or events that the victim missed due to the accident injuries. Lost opportunities may include missed job opportunities for contractors or people working on a commission basis, missed job interviews, business events, or special projects.
Lost Earning Capacity
Lost earning capacity refers to the cash lost out because the insured injuries prevented them from making as much money as before. For example, a person who acquired a disability from an accident would have reduced earning capacity. In this case, the person is compensated for their lost earning capacity.
How is Lost Income Compensated?
Various programs compensate for lost income, depending on location. Some of these programs include:
Income Replacement Benefits
Income replacement benefits refer to financial help given to accident victims below 65 years who cannot work or have reduced working capacity due to accident injuries. The eligibility for income replacement benefits is for victims who have been injured in a car accident and sustained severe injuries that rendered them incapable of working or unable to work in the same capacity as before.
The victims should also have been employed or self-employed when the accident happened and worked for at least 26 weeks in the last year before the incident. The casualties should already be receiving employment insurance when the accident occurred. Unemployed persons too qualify for these benefits provided they are 16 years or more and unable to attend school due to injuries.
Income replacement benefits constitute 70% of gross weekly income up to a maximum of $400 per week. However, this amount varies depending on employment history. The benefits are also payable for two years from the time the accident occurred and unpayable during the first seven days post-accident. Income replacement benefits may be less if there are other income replacement sources.
Bodily Injury Liability Insurance
Most drivers take liability insurance to help them cater for any damage they cause while on the road. Bodily injury liability insurance refers to the coverage provided to people injured after a car accident and the insurance coverage takes care of all the injured people in the accident except the driver. Bodily injury liability insurance covers the following:
- Medical bills include consultation fees, emergency room, surgery, medication, and rehabilitation costs.
- Lost wages or lost income refers to the amount of money the injured person would have made from the days they could not work.
- Pain and agony the accident brought.
- Funeral expenses in case a passenger dies in the accident.
- Legal fees to pay attorneys representing the one who caused the accident.
Employment Insurance
Employment insurance is a program insuring people in different situations. For example, the program provides temporary financial aid to people who have lost their job or income. Employment insurance programs also cover individuals who cannot work because they are sick, are accident casualties, or are catering for their young children or severely ill family members.
Employers pay 1.4 times the quantity of employees’ premiums. Benefits of this program may include pension, training, housing, education, family leave, and disability benefits. Insured people who cannot work due to accident injuries should receive employment insurance benefits if they paid past year’s premiums. The benefits are 55% of the insured’s average weekly insurable earnings up to a specific maximum. Employment insurance benefits for the post-accident victim can last up to 15 weeks.
Who Compensates for Lost Income?
After an accident, the party responsible for the injuries, their employer, insurer company, or the injured insurance company, takes care of the compensation. For compensation to take place, proof that the person lost income post-accident would be required and may include:
Medical Records
A physician’s report on injuries and treatment shows the extent of trauma suffered in the accident, while a doctor’s report indicates the reasons why the injured cannot work.
Police Report
Police reports cover an in-depth of the accident details, including the person responsible for the accident and injuries observed by the first respondents.
Employment Documentation
Employment documents, including payroll and human resource records, provide information on the victim’s job and salary that is needed to calculate lost wages value.
Note that compensation for victims who are self-employed or work occasionally is different and may fluctuate throughout the year. Calculating lost income, in this case, maybe difficult. But attorneys usually rely on the victim’s previous earnings and business documents to arrive at the appropriate compensation rate.
To calculate lost income, attorneys may need:
- Previous years’ tax returns show a decline in the current years’ earnings.
- Different tax forms.
- Proof of inability to handle projects, contracts, and agreements.
- Proof of nullified appointments.
Nursing accidents injuries coupled with an inability to work may be devastating and overwhelming, especially if somebody else is responsible. But the good thing is that the law can help you be compensated for medical costs incurred, lost wages, and opportunities. You only need to find the right lawyer to help with all the legal work.
