In this episode of the 805 Law Group Podcast, we dive into the important topic of getting compensation for lost wages or time away from work on a personal injury claim. Whether you have a W-2 job or are self-employed, we discuss how to assess and calculate lost wages, estimate future loss earnings for long-term disabilities, and navigate the unique challenges faced by self-employed individuals. We also touch on the role of expert testimony and vocational rehabilitation in determining the impact of an injury on a client's ability to work. 

Join us as we provide valuable insights and strategies to maximize your recovery of lost wages. 

[00:00:04] Bill Ausman: And I'm Attorney Bill Ausman.

[00:00:26] Bill Ausman: Lost wages can vary, Dean. Certainly the time you take away from work, you should keep track of that if you have a W-2 job, it makes it easier. Your pay stub can track that time that you've taken away, whether that's sick time or usually vacation days, or if you have to separate from your company we can calculate that time.

[00:01:02] Show what opportunities you've lost if you had to miss a project because of that, save the documentation so we can show the insurance company exactly what you've lost.

[00:01:28] Bill Ausman: Right. So oftentimes we'll do is we'll look at the age of the person, we'll look at whether that injury is going to resolve. If it's going to resolve, when is that going to resolve? Well, we can either calculate that out or quite often during the process, we'll check with medical providers to see how that healing process is coming together.

[00:02:14] So being able to calculate this is something very important. We've worked with several economists as well as vocational assessment professionals to determine what the value of someone's services is, should they continue to be able to participate in the workforce.

[00:02:44] Bill Ausman: Right. Those are important especially the longer someone is out of the workforce, the more we can determine whether, hey, is there a diminution in value of a person's services? If they're out of the workforce for a year or two years or even six months. [00:03:00] Does that mean they're missing out on some opportunities to get advanced, to get promotions to be able to be a senior member?

[00:03:26] So being able to properly assess that and properly show that value is really important in having an Attorney that really goes to bat for you and get you full value in your case.

[00:04:01] Bill Ausman: Yes, having a hometown legal team, this is something that we really excel in, Dean. We really get to know the person, we get to know their job, we get to know what they do and how they make their income. And by getting to know these facts and demonstrate them to the adjuster, or even the jury, we can maximize recovery for someone.

[00:04:33] Dean Mignola: Okay. I'm sure some people are curious if, you know, there are cases where like non-monetary aspects of a client's job, their job satisfaction, career trajectory. Is that ever considered in the mix or is that a non-issue?

[00:05:07] Adjusters quite often are very focused. What are the actual out-of-pocket expenses, whereas, fellow people in the community would be more interested in these non-economic damages that really affect the individual who's been injured.

[00:05:31] Bill Ausman: Absolutely, we're able to call out those non-economic factors. We quite often look at values and things that the jury values, things the community thinks important and those things, like you say, quality of life, the ability to go to your son's game, your ability to travel and see your grandchildren on the other side of the state with the other side of the country.

[00:06:04] Dean Mignola: All right. This might be a tricky one, but how do you navigate situations where the injured party is unemployed at the time of the accident? And what kind of factors do you consider to determine loss earning capability when they're unemployed?

[00:06:49] So we show whether you're unemployed or raising kids, whatever that is. What the value of someone's services are and that value can be, hey, [00:07:00] now you have to hire a nanny and have them come in and take care of your kids. Now you need to hire a housekeeper or gardener, so these values are something that we're very adept at showing and getting great value for our client.

[00:07:23] Bill Ausman: One of the things we do is we really get into the facts and the figures. We get the pay information, we look at the historical data, we look at the trending data, we do the research to show where wages are going, where that employment class is going.

[00:08:08] Dean Mignola: Okay. And how do you handle cases where the injured parties ability to work maybe impacted in the future? You know, because of ongoing medical treatments or rehabilitation.

[00:08:20] Bill Ausman: Right. So there's two things we look at is past medical expenses and then future medical expenses. We look at past wage loss, and then we look at future wage loss and even diminution of earning capacity. And so all these things really need to be taken into consideration in putting a valuation. And our legal team really pulls this apart and puts it back together again so that we thoroughly understand it and can present that in a real way that's attractive to both the adjusters and the courts.

[00:09:07] Bill Ausman: No, quite often things are negotiated. We have a great team of negotiators here at the 805 Law Group, we bounce great ideas off of one another so that we can work as a team. Not just one sole individual, but this team gets together and negotiates it.

[00:09:37] Dean Mignola: Excellent. All right. Well, thank you Bill. That's going to wrap up this episode of the 805 Law Group podcast. If you liked what you heard and saw please click the like button and we'd love it If you subscribe, click the follow and also look for that notification bell so you can be alerted for future podcast episodes.

[00:09:56] Bill Ausman: Yes, if you've got more questions, we'd love to hear them. [00:10:00] Please give us a call 805-466-4800. We're here to answer your calls and answer all your questions.

[00:10:12] We'll see you on the next episode.Title: Maximizing Compensation for Lost Wages in Your Personal Injury Claim