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Traffic Accident Insurance Claims Article
By Dan Baldyga
Other than your medical bills your Lost Time
and Earnings (commonly described as “Lost Wages”)
are the days and hours you were unable to function at work
- - thus adding up to money you may have lost! This constitutes
one of the most important elements of your damages, namely
your Lost Wages.
Generally, you shouldn’t view your time
away from work, because of an injury, strictly as “Lost
Time and Earnings” but rather as “Lost Earning
Capacity“.
In many instances you can claim your “Lost
Time And Earnings“, even if you’ve had no actual
loss of money! For example, when your salary is paid because
you’ve taken “Sick Leave“, or because of
an Accident and Health Policy that’s available to you,
or some other similar arrangement.
DOCUMENTATION OF LOST INCOME: If you’re
regularly employed by someone else, ask your supervisor, boss
(or the person in charge of such matters) to write a letter
for you, on company stationary. This letter should include:
Your name, position, rate of pay, number of hours you normally
work and the number of days, and/or weeks, you missed because
of the accident.
Be ready to discuss with the insurance adjuster
one or more of the six following potentials: #1. If your work
demands heavy labor and/or lifting. #2. If you lost any Vacation
Time or Sick Leave. #3. If there was any loss of future earning
capacity. #4. If you were absent from one or more business
meetings. #5. If you were unable to make appointments with
important and/or potential customers. #6. If you had an opportunity
for an interview that may have led to a better job.
SHOULD YOU BE SELF-EMPLOYED OR OWN A BUSINESS:
Be sure to collect for the cost of any additional help you
were forced to hire while undergoing medical treatment or
recuperating. Be ready to discuss: If your work demands heavy
labor or lifting, how many hours you normally work each day
and week, your average income per week, if your business lost
money while you were laid up, and have proof as to how much!
To substantiate your claim you should consider
presenting to the adjuster whatever documents will prove a
loss in billing or services. Two simple examples would be:
#1. A diary or calendar showing appointment’s you had
to cancel. #2. Letters (or documents) which clearly reflect
the reality of important business meetings you had no choice
but not to attend.
COMMISSIONS AND OVERTIME: Commissions and overtime
are absolutely legitimate losses you can claim. Be sure to
obtain a letter from your employer, on his letterhead, spelling
out the approximate amount of money you lost in commissions
and overtime. This can be accomplished by reviewing last years
figures, during the same period, (then averaging them out
- - for that identical space in time) you were unable to work.
BELOW YOU’LL FIND A VERITABLE HOST OF LOST WAGE “FACTS”
To help your lost wage situation you should
ask yourself two basic questions: (1) Did the injury you were
the victim of necessitate a change of job or employment? (2)
Did the injury allow you to get back to work but only on a
part time basis?
If the answer to one or both of these two questions
is “Yes”, ask your employer to document these
facts on their letterhead. The proof of either will absolutely
give your claim more value.
You should collect for the full Gross wage’s
you lost, not just the Net. For every week of “Total
Disability”(a fact your attending physician must clearly
state in their discharge Medical Report) your doctor declares,
you should use your total weekly income, even though you were
paid . For every week of “Partial Disability”
your doctor states in that Medical Report, you can claim up
to 50% of your daily and/or weekly income, even if you didn’t
lose any !
If you had to take what your company identifies
as “Sick Leave” or “Vacation Pay”
(during the period you missed from work) that must be taken
into consideration when determining the value of your claim
because of the accident! Keep in mind you would have been
entitled to use that sick leave, or vacation time, for other
periods when you may have needed or wanted it. If you’re
forced to take your “Sick Leave“, or your “Vacation
Pay“ (because of an accident) it’s to be considered
the same as losing the money itself!
You’re also entitled to be compensated
for work opportunities you may not have been able to take
advantage of because of your injuries. Even if you can’t
point to specific dollar amounts you may have lost, the fact
is the adjuster knows the potential, in the area of “Lost
Opportunities” (situations you were unable to take advantage
of) are legitimate issues and (if somewhere down the line
they were presented to a sympathetic judge or jury) they would
indeed - - increase the dollar value of your claim.
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DISCLAIMER:
The purpose of this article "SOME
CRUCIAL PERSONAL INJURY INSIGHTS" is for all readers
to understand the motor vehicle accident claim process. Neither
Dan Baldyga, Scott Baker, I GOT HIT, LLC, and/or the Accident
Resource make any guarantee of any kind whatsoever, NOR do
they purport to engage in rendering any professional or legal
service; NOR to substitute for a lawyer, an insurance adjuster,
or claims consultant, or the like. Where such professional
help is desired it is THE INDIVIDUAL’S RESPONSIBILITY
to obtain said services.
Dan Baldyga’s third and latest book,
AUTO ACCIDENT PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIM (How To Evaluate
And Settle Your Loss) can be found on the internet at http://www.caraccidentclaims.com
or http://www.autoaccidentclaims.com.
This book reveals “How To” handle your property
damage claim so you won’t be taken advantage of. It
also goes into detail regarding BASE (The Baldyga Auto Accident
Settlement Evaluation Formula). THE BASE FORMULA explains
how to determine the value of the “Pain and Suffering”
you endured - - because of your personal injury !
Copyright (c) 2004 By Daniel G. Baldyga.
All Rights Reserved.
Dan Baldyga - Author
dbpaw@comcast.net
AUTO ACCIDENT PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIM
(How To Evaluate And Settle Your Loss)
http://www.autoaccidentclaims.com
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