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February 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
Car accidents often result in victims sustaining injuries that are severe enough to keep them from working. Sometimes, a car accident victim only misses work temporarily. However, there are times when a car accident victim sustains moderate to severe injuries and is forced to miss a significant time away from work. Here, our team of car accident lawyers in Austin from Bonilla Injury Law want to discuss how car accident injury victims in Texas can recover lost wages in the aftermath of a crash.
Texas operates under a fault-based system when it comes to compensation recovered in the aftermath of car accidents. In general, this means that the at-fault party will be responsible for covering victims’ medical bills, lost wages, property damage, etc.
The vast majority of all car accident cases are resolved through a settlement with insurance carriers, including wages claims. If you or somebody you care about are injured due to the careless or negligent actions of another driver, your first route to recover lost wages should be in the from of a lost wages claim made against the at-fault driver’s primary insurance company. In general, this will mean a lost wages claim made against the other driver’s bodily injury liability coverage, which is required of all drivers operating in Texas.
If the other driver is uninsured or does not have enough coverage to pay for all of your lost wages after a crash, then you may be able to turn to your own insurance coverage for help. Particularly, you may need to rely on your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. However, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is not required in Texas, and not all drivers carry this coverage. Though this is a relatively inexpensive type of coverage to purchase, many drivers simply opt not to have it. We strongly encourage all drivers in Texas to consider purchasing this additional coverage to help pay for their lost wages if they are involved in a crash.
It may be possible to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver in order to recover compensation for your lost wages or if the earning capacity of an injured victim was impacted by the accident. A personal injury lawsuit may be necessary if the insurance carrier of the at-fault party refuses to offer adequate compensation for your lost wages or if they deny lost wage compensation altogether. Additionally, if the at-fault driver does not have any insurance and you do not have any uninsured motorist coverage, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. However, drivers who do not have insurance for their vehicle are statistically not likely to have the assets needed to cover your car accident losses, including your lost wages.
If you or somebody you care about has been injured in a car accident, the very first step to take is to seek medical assistance. All crash victims need to seek medical care in order to ensure their well being while also establishing a solid link between the crash and their injuries. It is very unlikely that an insurance carrier will offer any type of settlement to an injury claim unless they have proof, normally in the form of medical records, that there have been injuries sustained from a car crash.
For car accident victims seeking compensation for their lost income, they will need to show medical proof that their injuries kept them from working for a period of time after the incident occurred. It may also be necessary to show how the injuries have affected the victim’s ability to perform their daily work-related activities. In the event a victim is unable to return to work or has to change jobs because of their injuries, they will need medical documentation backing up these assertions.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident and are in need of personal injury lawyers, Bonilla Law Firm can help. Our injury lawyers offer free consultations to help victims understand their options.