Question about wages lost.

What is the name of your state? California/San Diego

I got hit 2 fridays ago from behind at a red light. An officer witnessed the accident. The other guy has Progressive Ins. and they told me that he was 100% to blame and that they will cover all expenses. My car was totled and I got paid on that already. I have to have surgery this coming Monday on my right hand (thumb with pins etc).

Heres the question: I had been working up to a week and a half ago doing a contract job. Now I'm unemployed lookikng for work. I'm a licensed Stationary Engineer and have to have the use of both hands to work but now thats on hold till I get through this surgery and therapy all the while not knowing how the results will turn out for future dexterity.
I sent the Ins. company my last 2 pay stubs showing that I was working and that I am, or was employable. My father says that they have to pay me what I was earning or at lest my potential until all is said and done.

Is there someone out there that can give me really great advice on this matter?

Thanks,

Walter

They will not "pay as you go". When your treatment is complete and you are back at work, then you submit a claim for all of your lost wages at once, along with all your medical bills and pain/suffering. I would suggest a lawyer for injuries serious enough to require surgery.

You are entitled to wage loss

You are entitled to receive all your wage loss until you can work again. Since you are technically unemployed, in California this is called lost earning capacity. Expect that Progressive will argue with you that you could not find work, or would spend time trying to find work, and therefore you are not entitled to all your lost wage. Despite their protestations, you are also entitled to all lost earning capacity while you cannot work, even if you did not have a job at the time of the accident.

However, most insurance companies refuse to pay you fully unless you document that you had work coming and could not fulfill it becasue of your injury. Start collecting documents and evidence of your ability to get work, from your past experiences and your future encounters. As an example, if you get an offer of a job, get it in writing and you can submit that to the carrier as proof of your earning capacity. If you routinely have to go from one employer or contractor to another, you can collect all your w-2's or 1099's and contracts for the last two years and show that when healthy, you can and do seek and obtain work promptly. If you have done the same type of work for many employers over the last several years, you can show all your earnings per year by your w-2's or 1099's and show that this year suffered as compared to the average of other years befcasue of the accident. Do not give tax returns, as they are privileged and you do not need to provide them. Just give 1099's or w-2's.

I do want to warn you though that you may want to seek an attorney to handle your case. If you need surgery and also have a significant wage loss, there may not be enough insurance coverage for you to recover all your claims and damages. Check your uninsured underinsured motorist coverage. If you have higher limits of say 100,000/300,000 you may be protected if the other party has small limits. If you do not have higher limits you may want to contact an attorney. Also if there is not enough insurance, there are things that can be done to maximize your recovery. Good luck in your surgery and I hope this helped answer your concerns.

You are entiteld to lost wages and lost earning capacity

You are entitled to receive all your wage loss until you can work again. Since you are technically unemployed, in California this is called lost earning capacity. Expect that Progressive will argue with you that you could not find work, or would spend time trying to find work, and therefore you are not entitled to all your lost wage. Despite their protestations, you are also entitled to all lost earning capacity while you cannot work, even if you did not have a job at the time of the accident.

However, most insurance companies refuse to pay you fully unless you document that you had work coming and could not fulfill it becasue of your injury. Start collecting documents and evidence of your ability to get work, from your past experiences and your future encounters. As an example, if you get an offer of a job, get it in writing and you can submit that to the carrier as proof of your earning capacity. If you routinely have to go from one employer or contractor to another, you can collect all your w-2's or 1099's and contracts for the last two years and show that when healthy, you can and do seek and obtain work promptly. If you have done the same type of work for many employers over the last several years, you can show all your earnings per year by your w-2's or 1099's and show that this year suffered as compared to the average of other years befcasue of the accident. Do not give tax returns, as they are privileged and you do not need to provide them. Just give 1099's or w-2's.

I do want to warn you though that you may want to seek an attorney to handle your case. If you need surgery and also have a significant wage loss, there may not be enough insurance coverage for you to recover all your claims and damages. There are a number of ways to gain additional recovery than the car owner’s accident insurance policy. Here are the most common:

FIRST: The driver’s insurance should be thoroughly investigated. For instance does the driver have an excess policy? Is the driver carrying other types of insurance? Does the owner of the vehicle have an excess rider that covers persons driving their car? Ask the correct questions early in the case.

SECOND: Was the other driver in the “Course and Scope of any employment”. This is a specific term of art and does not simply mean that the person was on the clock at the time of the accident. If the other driver uses his car to transport materials or go to outside appointments, even if he or she is not going to a specific appointment at the time of the accident, the employer may be responsible since the employer benefits from having the employee driving his or her own car. Transporting tools on a construction job, or salesman who have samples in their car are all successful examples of coverage established to be little insurance.

Third: Do you have underinsured motorist coverage? This is coverage that you purchased, (inexpensively by the way if you check your bill) that you might claim against if your claim exceeds the other driver’s coverage. As long as the accident is not your fault, you are entitled to make a claim without your rates being altered. California statutes require however that you collect the full amount of any other insurance from the other party before you are entitled to make an underinsured motorist claim and you must carry greater uninsured motorist coverage limits than the other driver’s insurance limits.

Check your uninsured underinsured motorist coverage. If you have higher limits of say 100,000/300,000 you may be protected if the other party has small limits. If you do not have higher limits you may want to contact an attorney.

I hope this helped answer your concerns.