Does The Person Who Caused My Injury Have To Pay for My Lost Wages?
July 28, 2021 | Personal Injury
Under Missouri law, individuals responsible for injuring another are required to pay for all of the injured party’s harms and losses. This includes a victim’s lost wages. Following an accident, an injured individual will often be required to miss a substantial amount of work while they seek medical treatment. Under certain circumstances, victims may be unable to return to their previous line of work altogether. This is usually seen in serious injury and wrongful death cases where injuries prevent someone from the physical requirements a job demands. In addition, employers in today’s economic environment will find various ways to terminate injured individuals whose productivity decreases after a St. Louis accident. While the injury is never the stated reason for termination, it is often the actual cause. An injured party who has lost wages or lost their job as a result of an injury is entitled to seek reimbursement for their wage loss from the person responsible for their injury.
A lost wage claim can be difficult to properly document and present to an insurance company or trial. It is in an injured party’s interest to keep a detailed journal of all hours missed from work as a result of their injury. An injured party who anticipates missing work should immediately notify their employer of their accident and injury in writing. As an injured party, you should inform your employer of all doctor’s appointments as far in advance as possible. All correspondence with your employer should be in written form to the extent feasible. This will provide a written record for future reference. This will also provide documentation in the event your employer fires you for a reason they say is not related to your injury. If you lose your job as a result of your injury, the person responsible for your injury is required to reimburse you for your lost wages until you find comparable employment. It should also be noted that as an injured party you are responsible for minimizing your wage loss. Once you have recovered from your injuries, you must immediately begin to pursue gainful employment.
The complexities present in documenting a lost wage claim are made much more simple with the services of a Missouri personal injury lawyer. A Missouri personal injury attorney will begin from the outset of your case working towards gathering all necessary documents to properly evidence your lost wage claim. Delegating this responsibility to a St. Louis accident attorney will allow an injured party to focus on healing. If you are in need of a St. Louis or Missouri accident attorney or have questions about your lost wage claim under Missouri law, please contact Missouri accident lawyer Christopher R. Dixon at 314.409.7060, or toll-free at (314) 208-2808