If you were recently hurt on the job, you may have to take time away from work to heal physically. At a certain point, you may use up all your allotted vacation days, sick days, and medical leave and have to take the rest of your time off unpaid. This may be tricky, especially if you now have hefty medical bills to keep up with. Well, in this situation, please continue reading to learn whether you can collect lost wages after a serious work injury and how an experienced St. Mary’s County work injury lawyer at The Dorsey Law Firm can help fight for the compensation you are entitled to.
Can I collect lost wages after incurring a work injury?
You may pursue a workers’ compensation claim if you sustained a work-related injury due to your employer’s negligence. Here, you may be able to collect lost wage benefits. Otherwise known as temporary total disability payments, this is calculated as two-thirds of your average weekly wage. Now, your average weekly wage is summed by your pay for the 14 days immediately before your workplace accident, divided by 14. These payments may last until you can safely return to your job post or until you reach a maximum medical improvement.
Contrastingly, if someone other than your employer was negligent in your workplace accident, you may file a third-party claim instead. In this civil claim, you may claim lost wages as one of your economic damages. For this, you may multiply your average hourly rate by the number of hours you missed due to your work-related injury. Or, if you are salaried, you may divide your annual salary by the number of workdays in a year and then multiply it by your missed days.
Under what circumstances can I claim a lost earning capacity?
If you cannot return to work indefinitely due to your incurred injuries, you may claim permanent total disability instead. These payments have the potential to last for life, or until you reach a point where you are no longer considered permanently or totally disabled.
As for a third-party claim, you may claim a future lost earning capacity in addition to your past and current lost wages. This is if you believe your injury or disability will hold you back from obtaining the same or similar employment with a competitive wage rate or salary.
For this, you may need to consider the job promotions and monetary raises you would have received if you continued to progress in your career. This is along with your anticipated annual bonuses, contributions to your 401(k) plan, and more. Here, we recommend bringing a financial expert onto your team, to ensure that you seek a fair and accurate amount of financial compensation.
No matter what, you do not need to feel alone in this process. A skilled Leonardtown personal injury lawyer is ready to be in your corner and support you throughout. So please reach out to The Dorsey Law Firm whenever you are ready.
