If you are seriously injured, you will lose time at work. That is just a fact. But here is the good news: Alabama thinks you should get that money back.
After an accident, there is a lot of talk about getting hospital bills paid, compensation for physical injuries, and even mental anguish. Still, I have to push people to discuss all the money they lost from not working. Yes, getting the proof can be tedious and difficult, but boy, is it worth it.
Now, we will do the calculations, but you have to help us a little with getting the paperwork.
Let me break down the most common situations.
If you are salaried, what you lost is simple. Divide your weekly salary by the hours you work each week, and that is your hourly rate. Multiple that by the number of missed hours, and you have the number you would have received if you had been able to work. Don’t forget overtime, bonuses, raises, and employer contributions to your retirement. You may be surprised at the amount. I can be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
If you are on commission or own a business, this can be more difficult but not impossible. We can look at what you earned in the past few months before the accident or last year at about the same time. We can use your tax filings. Didn’t file? There are ways to get those numbers without going to the IRS.
Don’t forget what your caregivers have lost. I am thinking of a specific case where I collected the wife’s full salary when she was forced to quit her job to take care of her husband.
Calculating your lost wages is just one of the reasons you need to hire a lawyer experienced in personal injury work. I can show you at least one study that proves that people who hire lawyers put more money in their pocket — even after the lawyer gets paid.
If you or a loved one is injured in a personal injury accident, you can talk to us at the law firm of Steele Ritchie for free. We genuinely want to help. We are local attorneys with decades of experience helping people, especially in the southwest Mobile area.
Give us a call at (251) 666-1212. We are proud to be called the “personal injury lawyers near me” by many people here in Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
Alabama Personal Injury Lawyer