You can incur several types of economic losses after a car accident in Lafayette, LA. You may have bills for medical treatment, physical therapy, and medication. You might also incur out-of-pocket expenses to pay ambulance fees, wheelchair ramps, and other costs not covered by your health insurance.
One of your largest losses will include the income you cannot earn. As a result, many accident victims wonder, “Can I be reimbursed for lost wages after a car accident?” In most cases, the answer is yes. When you hire Kenny Habetz Injury Law, our lawyer will fight for fair compensation for your expenses and income losses.
Contact our law offices today at (337) 399-9000 to schedule a free initial consultation and learn about your legal options.
How Kenny Habetz Injury Law Can Help You File a Claim for Lost Wages After a Car Accident in Lafayette
Kenny Habetz Injury Law was founded in 2010 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Since then, our founding attorney has recovered millions of dollars in injury compensation for our clients. Our Lafayette car accident lawyer has well over a decade of experience dealing with insurers and litigating injury cases.
When someone else’s negligent or wrongful actions injure you, our attorney provides the following services:
- Assessing your case and outlining your legal options
- Gathering evidence to support your claims
- Negotiating with the claims adjuster to settle your injury claim
- Litigating against the at-fault driver and their insurer if they refuse to settle
Your injuries might interfere with your ability to work, resulting in significant financial hardships. Contact Kenny Habetz Injury Law for a free consultation to discuss your injuries and what we can do to help you recover fair compensation.
How Many Injuries Happen In Louisiana Car Accidents?
According to the Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety (CARTS), Louisiana traffic accidents caused 60,354 non-fatal injuries in 2023. Of these, 4,186 injuries occurred in Lafayette Parish. The people injured included:
- 4,048 vehicle occupants
- 67 bicyclists
- 64 pedestrians
- Two train operators
The remaining injuries happened to people who do not fall into other categories, such as road workers and occupants of parked RVs.
Pursuing Lost Wages From a Lafayette Car Accident
Accident victims often cannot work due to their injuries. These disabilities placed them in a difficult position because many must earn money to pay for medical treatment or insurance deductibles. These difficulties often motivate car crash victims to pursue injury claims against the drivers who injured them.
After a crash caused by someone else’s actions, you will often have the right to pursue compensation for your economic losses (as well as your non-economic losses, such as pain and suffering). These losses encompass all the past and future financial impacts of your injuries. For example, they cover the costs associated with medical treatments you received previously and may receive in the future.
Claims for income losses usually fall into two categories: lost wages and diminished earning capacity.
Lost Wages
Past income losses cover the wages, salary, commissions, self-employment income, and other revenue you missed earning due to your injuries. Reimbursement for lost wages is a part of every injury claim.
When you submit an injury claim, you include documents to prove your losses. This proof encompasses your wage records showing the wages you lost due to:
- Medical and therapy appointments
- Doctor-imposed restrictions on your activities
- Pain from your injuries
You will also include your medical records to support your claims. If your case goes to trial, you will likely testify about your work limitations.
Diminished Earning Capacity
You can also seek reimbursement for wages you will lose in the future. You usually file this type of claim when you have long-term disabilities from your car crash.
For example, suppose that you herniated a disc in a rear-end collision. Discs do not heal. Instead, you either live with pain or have a discectomy and spinal fusion surgery. In either case, you will likely experience ongoing pain and mobility limitations that will affect your ability to work for the rest of your life.
Proving future income losses will often require expert testimony. First, you will need medical testimony explaining your long-term prognosis. Your doctor or an expert witness will explain how much you can expect to heal and the long-term limitations you will experience.
Second, you may need an accountant or financial professional to explain how your long-term limitations will affect your earning capacity. Whether you are totally or partially disabled, your expert must describe the difference between your prior earnings and the income you will have in your current state, such as lower-paying jobs or Social Security benefits.
The claims adjuster or jury will then calculate the diminishment in earnings over the duration of the limitation. For example, if you will fully recover in a few years, you can get compensated for a few years’ worth of future income losses. Conversely, if you have permanent disabilities, you will pursue lost income from the day of your injury until your expected retirement.
An experienced attorney can advocate for you and maximize the amount of compensation you recover.
Contact Kenny Habetz Injury Law For a Free Consultation With an Experienced Auto Accident Lawyer in Lafayette
Income losses could account for a large percentage of the losses you experience after getting injured in a crash. Contact Kenny Habetz Injury Law at (337) 399-9000 for a free consultation with our experienced Lafayette car accident lawyer to learn about your right to pursue injury compensation under state law.
