Have you recently been in a car accident in Georgia? If you suffered injuries, you’re likely having to deal with various unexpected expenses, such as medical bills, vehicle repair costs and lost wages.

If another driver or drivers are at fault for the accident and your subsequent injuries, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your costs. One of the damages you can recover are lost wages, which refers to all the days and hours of work you had to miss as a result of your personal injury.

To recover financial compensation for lost wages, you will have to file a personal injury claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Before you file your claim, consider reaching out to an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you gather all the necessary documentation and calculate your lost wages before you submit the claim.

Keep in mind, the insurance company may deny or challenge you claim, as it’s not in their interest to reimburse you for your expenses. Working with a personal injury attorney can help maximize your financial recovery.

How Do I Claim Lost Wages in Georgia?

In the aftermath of your accident, you may have to miss work for several different reasons. You may have to stay home for an extended period of time to recuperate from your injuries. Your doctor may actually restrict you from working or performing certain duties, like heavy lifting.

Always adhere to your doctor’s guidelines, as failure to do so can jeopardize your personal injury claim. It’s also not uncommon to have to take time away from work to attend necessary medical appointments and procedures, including surgery.

Missing work and losing wages after a car accident is often inevitable. You should not have to struggle financially or go into debt to get by during this difficult time. If you haven’t been able to work because of your injuries, make sure to include lost wages in your claim. To prove your losses, you’ll likely need to provide official documentation from your employer and doctor.

Examples of documentation that can be used in a lost wages claims in Georgia include:

• Medical documents with work restrictions from your doctor
• Verification of employment loss of income from your employer showing how many days and hours you missed from work due to your injuries
• Pay stubs from before and after the accident to show the difference in pay
• Log of days and hours missed from work—this is you keeping track of the days and hours you had to miss staying at home or going to doctor’s appointments

Can I Receive Compensation If I Used Paid Time Off as a Result of My Accident?

The short answer is “yes.” According to Georgia law, even if your employer continued to pay you while you were out recovering from an accident, you can still claim lost pay. While this may sound counterintuitive, think about it this way: if it wasn’t for someone else’s negligent actions, you could have used your hard-earned time off as you deemed fit. Instead, you had to give it away to heal from your injuries and go to doctor’s appointments.

Your attorney and employer can help you calculate the exact dollar amount of your loss based on your salary and the number of sick days or PTO you used while recovering from your accident.

Can I Recover Lost Income if I’m Self-Employed?

If you’re self-employed, you can still recover lost income because of the injuries you sustained in a car accident. While you won’t be able to submit documents like pay stubs or a lost wage verification form, you can still use other types of proof, including banking records showing loss of revenue and letters from your doctors explaining you were not well enough to work.

Seek Medical and Legal Help at HURT911 Injury Centers in Georgia

At HURT911 we’re committed to helping accident victims recover from their injuries. If you’re in need of legal expertise, we will gladly refer you to an experienced attorney who can help you file a personal injury claim.

To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call 1-800-HURT-911.