Lost Income in Madison County Car Wrecks

Whether you like it or not, you have to worry about a lot of things when you get involved in a car accident. It is not just the damage to your car or the bodily injury that you incurred. You also need to worry about your lost income.

After a car wreck, you have to recover from your injury, repair your car, talk to your insurer, get a police report, prepare paperwork and documents, and a lot more. All these things can eat up time, energy, and resources—things you should have used to earn a living. Speak with an attorney experienced in recovering lost incoming in Madison County car wrecks. A skilled lawyer could help you understand your legal options.

The Economic Impact of Vehicle Crashes

Just to give you an idea of how costly vehicular accidents are, take a look at the 2010 report distributed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to the report, in 2010, 24 million vehicles were damaged due to traffic accidents. These accidents resulted in a total of $242 billion economic loss. Part of this economic loss is the productivity and income of people involved in motor vehicle crashes.

The report went on to say that the $242 billion economic loss represents 1.6% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

What are Acceptable Claims for Lost income?

If you experience any of the following, you may file lost income claim:

• Your injury prevents you from going to work.
• You are forced to use your paid leave or sick days.
• You lose future opportunities to earn an income.
• You lose a loved one due to the accident and therefore, you lose someone who earns money for you.

How Much Should You be Compensated?

It’s easy to determine whether you should be compensated or not. What’s difficult to decide on is how much you should get. While this aspect of your claim is determined best by professionals, here are some factors that may come into play:

• Your monthly earning
• Your current job situation
• Your historical and future earning potential
• The nature of your work
• The job skills that you have
• Your age
• Educational background
• Your role in your family

In some cases, lost income makes up the biggest bulk of the claim you will make in a lawsuit. Thus, you need to calculate your loss in income properly and accurately.

How to Prove Lost Income

To prove lost income in court, you need documentation and records to show how much wages you have lost because of the accident.

For self-employed, you can present invoices from previous months to show how much you are supposed to earn for a certain time period. For employees, pay checks are helpful in proving lost wages.

Consult a Madison County Car Accident Lawyer on Lost Earning Capacity

Because of the injury you developed, you have lost some of your ability to earn a living both now and in the future. That’s when lost earning capacity comes in. Even if you are able to go back to work, your disability may prevent you from performing certain tasks and therefore, land higher-paying jobs.

Compared to lost income in the past, lost earnings in the future can be trickier and more complicated to prove in court. For one, it is difficult to predict the future, and thus, determining how much compensation you get involves some level of assumptions and speculations. Not only that but presenting proof of lost earning capacity may involve hiring economic experts and medical witnesses to support your claim.

Hard and factual pieces of evidence are needed to successfully win lost earning capacity cases. Contact an attorney to learn more about recovering lost income in Madison County car wrecks.