Sadly, you may incur an injury or get diagnosed with a disability that temporarily prevents you from returning to work. You may rest easier knowing that the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) affords you job-protected time off while you heal. However, you may have to go through this period unpaid, as Florida does not have a state-level paid family leave program. So, if your injury or disability originated from a personal injury accident caused by another party’s negligence, you may consider suing them for your lost wages. For this, please follow along to find out how to calculate lost wages and how a proficient Pasco County personal injury lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can work to ensure you seek to recover a fair, accurate, and just amount.
How do I calculate lost wages for my personal injury claim?
Your calculations for lost wages may first depend on whether you are paid at an hourly rate or by an annual salary. For the former, you may multiply your hourly wage by the number of hours you missed from work due to your injury or disability. For the latter, you may divide your annual salary by the number of days in your work year and then multiply that by the number of missed days.
Unfortunately, your calculations may not be as simple as this. You may also have to consider the other employment benefits you missed during this involuntary time off. For example, if you are paid hourly, you may have missed out on overtime pay. As a salaried worker, you may have lost part or all of your annual bonus. If your job is sales-forward, you may not have gotten commissions on deals you would have anticipated closing.
This is not to mention the importance of calculating and claiming a lost earning capacity, as well. This is if you predict your incurred injury or disability will inhibit you from returning to your job post at the same capacity or at all. Further, it will prevent you from earning a competitive wage rate or annual salary indefinitely. For these reasons, we recommend adding a financial expert to the legal team for your personal injury case.
What if my lost wages were due to a work-related injury?
Of note, if you incurred a work-related injury or disability due to your employer’s negligence, you may have to pursue a workers’ compensation claim instead. This is like handling a whole other beast, so to speak.
In short, this program’s lost wages benefits usually calculate your average weekly wages first. From here, you may receive a percentage, usually two-thirds worth, of this average rate. But this may also depend on the extent of your injury or disability and the statutory maximums.
No matter what, you do not need to feel alone in this process. A talented Tampa work injury lawyer is ready to be in your corner and support you throughout. So please reach out to Merricks Law Group, P.A. whenever you are ready.
