If I Miss Work Due to a Car Accident Can I Still Get Paid in Dallas?
Car accidents are prevalent in Dallas roadways and across the United States. In 2018, in Texas alone, more than 249,000 people were injured in car crashes, according to data obtained by the Texas Motor Vehicle Crash Facts. With significant car wrecks often comes serious injuries that leave victims debilitated and with potentially lifelong consequences. One of those consequences in the immediate future is time off from work, which can result in the loss of significant income. However, injured people can work toward compensation for this missed income with help from a skilled Dallas car accident attorney.
In most car crashes, you can pursue compensation from the at-fault driver for a host of different harms that you experience as a result of the car accident, including lost wages. While you do not get paid by your employer during periods of missed work, you may be able to get the equivalent of those potential earnings from the party who is responsible for your crash. Dallas Car Accident Lawyers has worked on many such cases in the past, and our attorneys have experience to help you seek compensation.
Recovering Compensation for My Damages
Lost wages falls into a category of damages called economic damages. These harms are joined by non-economic harms to make up your complete compensable damages, or damages for which you and your attorney can sue.
Understanding Economic Harm
Like lost wages, economic harms are those damages that have clear monetary values. They often have bills or receipts attached to them, as is the case with medical expenses or car repair costs. In short, economic harms come with ready-made money values. Other examples of your economic damages can include lost earning potential if you are left unable to work at the same capacity as before your accident, the cost of replacing a totaled vehicle, and similar effects of your car crash.
My Non-Economic Harms
While economic harms may be easier to understand, they do not encompass all the ways that your crash can negatively affect you. Other forms of damage are called non-economic because they do not represent direct impacts on your finances. They can include issues like your physical pain, mental anguish, the emotional toll of becoming disfigured, loss of consortium with your spouse, loss of enjoyment in life, and other subjective matters. While these may not be as clear-cut as your lost wages from missing work, they are still negative effects of a car accident that was not your fault, so they should be compensated by the at-fault driver.
Extra Compensation
A few rare cases may involve a third category of compensation known as exemplary damages. Rather than representing actual damages you suffered, this is an additional payment that is meted out by a judge or jury as punishment to the at-fault party for, especially egregious behavior. For example, exemplary damages have been awarded in cases of drunk driving or highly negligent distracted driving, such as texting while operating a vehicle. Your attorney does not argue directly for this extra compensation, but the picture they paint of the opposing party’s actions may move a jury to award them.
How Fault Plays a Role in My Case
One important factor to remember when considering suing for compensation is that the distribution of fault in your claim will affect the amount of compensation you may recover. If you miss work due to a car accident for which you are mostly responsible, for instance, you may not be able to recover any compensation because your injuries are the result of your own actions or negligence.
Proportionate Responsibility
Unlike some other states, Texas does not bar you from recovering compensation if you have some of the blame for an accident. By using a system of proportionate responsibility, the state allows you to recover from the other party in a car accident as long as you are no more than 50% responsible for the crash.
Importantly, the compensation you are able to recover will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you by the court. For example, if you are found to be 10% responsible for your car crash, the court will reduce your total compensation by 10% as well. Therefore, you may only be able to recover a portion of the wages you lost as a result of becoming injured if the court believes that you are partially to blame for the wreck.
Due to the way proportionate responsibility, also known as modified comparative negligence, works, it is crucial to ensure that fault is attributed to the opposing driver. With help from a skilled Dallas car crash attorney, you can prove the other party’s fault and increase the amount of compensation you are awarded.
I Can Get a FREE Consultation With an Attorney
Dallas Car Accident Lawyers can help you get back your lost wages and additional compensation for your injuries. We offer a FREE consultation to get to know your case and do not collect a fee until we win you a compensation package. Call (469) 998-4069 today to schedule your appointment or fill out the form on our contact page.
