If you suffered an injury in an accident and that injury prevented you from working, do you have any options? If the accident was the fault of someone else, then yes, you do have the option of attempting to recover your lost wages through a personal injury claim or lawsuit. You can also recover other damages, including medical care, pain and suffering, and more. Keep reading to learn more, or just contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney.
How Damages Are Awarded in California
While there are exceptions, in most cases, the plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit can be eligible for two types of damages. First, economic damages compensate victims for actual economic losses, such as their lost wages, medical bills, and prescription drug cost. Second, non-economic damages compensate a victim for losses that do not have a specific monetary value, such as pain and suffering.
It is Easier to Recover Lost Wages than Other Types of Damages
The good news is that it is typically easier to recover economic damages like lost wages than it can be to recover damages for non-economic damages. This is because it is easier to show evidence of exactly how much your wages were leading up to the accident, how much they were after the accident, and how much you lost overall. This creates a specific amount to be awarded.
Remember that Future Lost Earnings Should Be Considered Too
If you do not work with an attorney and instead try to settle with the insurance company on your own, you might make one of the most common mistakes people make in these situations: looking only at what the injury has cost you and not what it will cost you in the future.
The truth is that you do need to recover damages for lost wages, but you should also be looking at your lost earning capacity. Whether temporary as you heal and get back on your feet or permanent due to a permanent disability, if you have suffered a catastrophic injury that will prevent you from returning to your full-time job, then you should be compensated for that as well.
Let an Experienced Attorney Determine Fair Compensation
At the end of the day, you need a legal expert on your side to determine what your lost wages should be. If you need to talk to someone who can help, we invite you to contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation.
