3 TYPES OF LOST WAGES IN UTAH CAR ACCIDENTS.
As blogged about earlier, there are 3 basic different types of lost wage damages in a Utah car accident.
(1). Past lost wages,
(2). Future lost wages, and
(3). Future impaired capacity to work.
HOW TO PROVE PURE BACK LOST WAGES.
This blog post is how to prove you past lost wages to the insurance adjuster or to a jury. Ultimately when building a past lost wages claim, you should build it like the claim will ultimately have to be presented to a jury. All proofs used should conform to the Utah evidence rules and be admissible in a court of law.
Back Lost Wages. Hourly Rate Worker.
Facts: You are rear-ended on Center Street, Orem UT 84057. You are unable to work for 3 months after the accident. You earn $25 per hour and generally worked a flat 40 hours per week.
Lost Wages Proofs: The jury may trust your trial testimony on what your hourly rate was, but the insurance adjuster will demand written proof. The insurance adjuster must “paper up” their file so they supervisor will approve their allotted payments. You will need to provide your Utah car accident lawyer about 1 years’ worth of paystubs and 2 years of tax returns.
A doctor’s note excusing you from work is presumed.
Back Lost Wages. Salary Worker.
Facts: You are rear-ended on University Parkway in Orem, Utah. You are paid $60,000 as an office manager at a local medical clinic. You are expected to work 40 hours per week, but sometimes more. It can fluctuate.
Lost Wages Proofs: Just like the hourly worker, you would provide 1 years’ paystubs and two years of tax returns. You would divide your hours worked into your base salary to determine an hourly rate for your work.
$60,000 per year salary. 52 weeks in a year equals $1,153 gross per salary per week. 40 hours divided by $1,153 gives you around $28 per hour. You then multiple $28 per hour times your missed work hours caused by the car accident.
A doctor’s note excusing you from work is presumed.
Pure Commission Salesman.
Facts: You are pure commissioned bases salesperson. You don’t get paid anything unless you sell. You have not base salary. You are involved in a one car rollover in Provo Canyon as a passenger. You can’t work for 3 months.
Lost Wages Proofs: Just like any salary or hourly worker, you would gather 2 years of tax returns or more since you are pure commission salesman. You would also gather 1 years paystubs, 1099s or other payment advices. With pure commission salesperson, one way to find a lost wage is to calculate a monthly average over the years working on pure commission. Pure commission sales work always has ups and downs as the leads are landed and paid out. Taking the average is one way to calculate low the lost back wages. If the injury occurs during a known peak season for sales, you can ask for more, you just have to prove it up with testimony about the peak season and historical documentation regarding past sales cycles.
A doctor’s note excusing you from work is presumed.
COMMON DOCUMENTATION IN PROVING LOST BACK WAGES IN UTAH CAR ACCIDENT CASES:
(1). Tax returns. Many time up to 5 years’ worth.
(2). Paystubs. Many times up to 2 years’ worth, especially if you are paid overtime or bonuses.
(3). Letters from human resource managers verifying your wage and hours.
(4). Hours listings. Print offs of hours works from the communal work calendar.
(5). Testimony from human resource managers about your wage, hours, bonus structures or peak sales seasons.
(6). Co-worker testimonies how these injuries have effect your ability to work and how you have missed work.
(7). Billing ledgers from medical providers giving the dates you attended medical visits where you had to miss work.
(8). A doctor’s note excusing your from work.
DOCTOR’S NOTES EXCUSING YOUR FROM WORK.
Just because you have your local chiropractor write a note excusing you from your office clerical duties doesn’t mean the insurance company will pay for it. The greater the injury, the more obvious the need for time off work. Recovering from back surgery is different than a neck and back strain. The type of doctor excusing you from work matters also.
Any medical provider can write you a letter excusing you from work, but some medical providers have more weight than others. The medical assistant, on orders from the family practice doctor could write the note, but it would have little effectiveness. Medical doctors tend to have more weight than physical therapists or chiropractic physicians. Nurse practitioners or physician’s assistants have more weight than regular nurses or the office medical assistant. The type of injury you are recovering from and who write the excusal notes matters.