Whether you cook at a restaurant or paint finished products on an assembly line, your job requires some amount of physical effort. Even people who sit in an office may need time off of work when they have serious injuries or severe pain.
If you suffer an injury that requires rehabilitation or rest, you might have to take time off of work to heal. After a car crash, it could be months before you can do the same tasks at work you have always performed.
If your employer isn’t able to give you alternate responsibilities or if your injury is so bad that you can’t work at all, you may have to forgo months of income. Who is responsible for reimbursing you for all of that lost money after a car crash?
The other driver’s policy should help cover your losses
The car insurance system in Louisiana focuses on fault and liability. The driver who caused the crash is the one whose policy should ultimately pay for the damages caused in the wreck. You should be able to depend on the other driver’s policy for medical expenses and property damage losses. Bodily injury coverage typically also reimburses people for wage losses.
Unfortunately, Louisiana does not require particularly robust coverage. If the other driver carries the state minimum insurance, they might only have $15,000 worth of bodily injury coverage. In a crash that leaves two or more people hurt, there could be just $30,000 of coverage. That much might not even cover your hospitalization costs, let alone weeks of missed work.
What other options might you have?
The situation that led to the crash will inform once other forms of compensation you can request. If you were driving for work, you might qualify for workers’ compensation disability benefits. If the other driver was on the job, that could open up other options for you as well.
Your insurance coverage can also play a role. If you have uninsured or underinsured driver coverage, your policy might reimburse you four losses that exceed the coverage carried by the other driver. It may also be possible for you to file a civil lawsuit against the driver who hurt you.
The more you understand about the car insurance and personal injury claims after crashes, the easier it will be for you to replace your lost wages after a car crash.
