How to Determine Lost Wages After a Car Crash

Could a Car Accident Injury Prevent You From Working?

It could happen to anyone. You’re suddenly injured because another driver was negligent, and you’re unable to work for weeks, months, or longer. What steps should you take? In central California, the first step is arranging to discuss your case with a Fresno car accident lawyer.

If you’re injured, your bills do not stop coming in, and you’ll have medical costs along with your regular monthly obligations. If you’re unable to work because a negligent driver has injured you, can you be compensated for your lost wages? In California, the answer to that question is yes.

The injured victim of a negligent motorist is entitled by California law to compensation for his or her pending and future medical costs, lost wages and projected future lost wages, suffering, pain, and other losses and damages arising from the accident and the personal injury or injuries.

What’s Your First Priority After an Auto Accident?

You have two priorities if you are injured in a California car accident because the other driver was careless. The first priority is obtaining medical attention (and if necessary, medical treatment) as quickly as possible – even if you don’t feel like you’ve been injured.

Some injuries can be latent and difficult to detect. If you’re not examined immediately by a medical provider, after several days or weeks, you may develop a serious medical condition, so you must make the effort to have a medical exam within twenty-four hours of a traffic accident.

What’s Your Second Priority After an Auto Accident?

To recover compensation for your lost wages and other losses after a car accident, you should be represented and advised by a Fresno personal injury attorney. Your attorney will guide you through the personal injury process and fight for the compensation you’re entitled to by law.

After you have been examined and treated, make the call to a personal injury attorney. That is your next priority. If you cannot work, the bills will pile up quickly, so you’ll need a lawyer to begin working on your case at once.

What Will Your Attorney Do on Your Behalf?

At your first meeting with a car accident lawyer, you’ll receive personalized advice regarding your own legal situation, and you’ll find out more about your rights and options. If you have grounds for taking legal action, your lawyer may recommend bringing a personal injury claim.

If you bring that claim, your lawyer will negotiate for a settlement that compensates you for lost wages, medical expenses, and more. Injury attorneys are trained to handle these negotiations. Personal injury claims in California are usually settled in this manner, privately and out-of-court.

Don’t make any formal statement to an insurance company after you’ve been injured by a negligent driver. Let your lawyer do the talking and negotiating, and do not accept the company’s first settlement offer. Your attorney can almost always negotiate a more generous settlement.

After You’ve Been Injured, How Are You Compensated for Lost Wages?

After a negligent driver injures you, you should be compensated for your medical expenses as well as the wages you would have earned if you hadn’t been injured. You’ll need bank or tax documents or a statement from your employer that specifies the total amount of your lost wages.

If you’ve been temporarily or permanently disabled, you’re also entitled by law to compensation for your future lost wages – your lost future “earnings capacity.” Catastrophic injury victims – spinal cord and brain injury victims, for example – may never be able to work again.

If you earn $100,000 a year, but an injury forces you to stop working ten years early, the loss of your earnings capacity may be valued at or above $1,000,000. Your Fresno car accident lawyer may ask a financial authority or a medical expert to testify or make a statement on your behalf.

When Should You Reach Out for an Attorney’s Help?

A Fresno personal injury attorney will consider every aspect of your case and will fight aggressively for the compensation you are entitled to under California law. Seek medical help at once – and then seek legal help promptly – if you are injured by a negligent driver.

You have a two-year deadline in California to take legal action after a traffic-related injury, but the smartest strategy is to call and schedule a consultation with an attorney immediately after you’ve been seen and treated for your injury or injuries.

Over time, evidence can be altered or lost, and witnesses can forget the details of what they’ve seen. And particularly if you are unable to work – and your bills are accumulating – you’ll need to have an attorney working on your case as quickly as possible.

What Does Justice Cost?

You can afford to seek justice even if you’re not working. Personal injury attorneys in California represent their injured clients on a contingent fee basis, so you’ll pay no lawyer’s fee upfront, and you’ll owe no fee to your lawyer until that lawyer recovers the compensation you need.

If you’ve been injured by a negligent driver, you can recover your lost wages, but it’s up to you to take the first step. However, you won’t have to make an extensive search for a personal injury attorney. In or near the Fresno area, take your case to Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian.

Why Should You Choose Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian?

If a negligent driver injures you, an attorney at Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian can review the details of your personal injury claim, offer the frank and candid legal advice you’ll need, and fight for the compensation and justice injured victims of negligence require and deserve.

Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian provides outstanding, affordable legal services to clients in the Fresno area and across central California. We offer our injured clients the advantages of a large law firm while giving every client and case our full personal attention.

If you can’t work after an accident with a negligent driver, or if that happens to you in the future, promptly contact Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian by calling our Fresno law offices at 559-545-0383, and let our legal team go to work for you.