A Bowling Green personal injury case can be challenging if you don’t have the right information. This is because it requires you to prove lost income to qualify for compensation. Your case may be beyond doubt, but compensation won’t come automatically if you, or your lawyer, don’t get the facts right about lost income. Bowling Green residents enjoy PIP benefits, which pays lost wages of people hurt in an accident. At Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers, we reserve your PIP for those benefits.
Here is what you should know about Bowling Green personal injury cases and proof of lost income:
- What is Considered Lost Income?
- Difference between Lost Income and Future Earning Capacity
- How to Prove Lost Income in Bowling Green
- Who Pays Lost Income?
What is Considered Lost Income?
Lost income is the amount of money that was lost as a result of the injured person taking off from work either permanently or temporarily. During this period when the plaintiff is losing their income, they are recovering from the accident or injuries and they are unable to continue working.
With the help of Bowling Green Personal Injury lawyers, you will acquire rights of the injured person appropriate and get maximum compensation for your case. As the plaintiff, you will be guided by these lawyers on how to calculate all your income that was lost during the recovery period.
Difference between Lost Income and Future Earning Capacity
1. General Term
Lost income is the amount of wage or salary pay a person loses as a result of the injury. If you take off work to recover from the injuries, it’s when, as a plaintiff, you lose your income and other monetary benefits. The defendant, as an individual or insurance company, is liable to lost income claims that may be presented by the injured person.
Loss of future earning capacity refers to the reduced ability of a person to earn money in the future impacted by an injury or accident. Victims who claim for future earning capacity have life-changing and very serious injuries. For instance, some people who are affected with paralyzed spinal cord injuries may not be in a position to work on their own again for their whole lifetime. The defendant may need to compensate for all the future income of the plaintiff till the age they are expected to retire from work.
2. Proof
For you to prove loss of income, you need to present documentation and testimonials indicating how much you were injured in the accident. The medical expert will attest to the injuries and how they will cause you to miss work as you recover, whether at home or in the hospital. The doctor also needs to specify the amount of time taken for the injured person was off-work.
Proving the loss of future earning capacity is quite challenging as compared to lost income for personal injuries. The medical expert needs to explain to what extent the injury has impacted a person’s ability to work in the future. At Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers, we hire an economist to establish your losses.
3. Calculations
If you are calculating compensation for lost income, consider the wage or salary earned from the work, bonuses, commissions and other monetary benefits that were earned by the plaintiff before they got injured.
It’s challenging to calculate the loss of future earning capacity claims. When your lawyer is calculating the loss of future earning capacity, they need to consider different factors like abilities, talents, work experience, skills and career trajectory.
How to Prove Lost Income in Bowling Green
You need to consider an experienced lawyer for your personal injuries to help maximize your claims and proof of lost income. Here are the two main types of evidence which help prove your lost income:
1. Financial records
Lost income is classified as economic damage, whose compensation is after personal injury that leads to being off at work. For you to prove lost income, you need to provide financial documentation showing the records of the income before the injury occurred.
You’ll need to present documentation like bank statements, pay stubs, income tax statements and tax forms like W-2 form the employer. You can involve occupational or economic experts for testimonials of lost future earning capacity claims. The experts will help you predict the potential lost based on future income and job-related benefits. At Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers, our Kentucky economists will calculate your loss.
2. Medical records
You’ll also need to present a medical report showing that you are unable to get back to work after the injury. The doctor makes specifications on the time you will be out of work recovering from the accident. The medical report should explain how the injuries limit or prevent you from working.
As a victim of personal injury, you need to follow the doctor’s advice keenly. You should understand the recommendations, adhere to the treatment rules and regulations and keep your medical appointments. You also need a disability slip from the medical expert responsible for your treatments. In death cases, you need to show you were in good health to establish life expectancy.
Who Pays Lost Income?
The at-fault party is liable to compensate for your lost income claims. Your lost income may be paid by the person at fault or their insurance company. The lost income for personal injury claims is only paid if the parties involved come into an agreement to settle the issue. You need to sign on a release of the rights to recover the damages caused by the injury after there is full settlement.
You may take several months in order to reach a full settlement. If your claim is denied, you can file a lawsuit in court, which probably takes time before the final ruling. Most people opt to settle on lost income through agreements rather than lawsuits.
In Bowling Green, Kentucky, your PIP benefits will pay some of your wage income loss while you are recovering from your injuries. Bowling Green attorney Flora Stuart will not charge a fee to collect your lost wages from PIP.
You need to consider an experienced lawyer to guide you on personal injury claims. You need to present medical reports showing your inability to work and for how long. You can contact Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers for your compensation case.
