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Is my paycheck stub enough to show the insurance company that I lost pay?

If you want the insurance company to pay you for missing work because you were hurt in an accident, you will need a doctor who will say you can’t do your job because of the accident.

If you are seeking permanent wage loss, you may need other experts.

In Ohio, proving – at trial – that you are entitled to even two days’ lost wages because of an accident requires proof that the doctor ordered you off work, or that in his opinion, you were unable to work. As a practical matter, you will also need a paycheck stub to prove that you were employed at the time of the accident. That is the minimum.

The more compensation you are seeking, the more vigorously the other side may dispute your claim, and the more proof you may require.

Who can testify for you?

If you won’t be able to work again because of your injuries – forever – or if you are going to have to take a job that doesn’t pay as well, it would be a very good idea for your lawyer to hire an “economist” to testify, who will not only calculate the value of your non-wage benefits such as health care insurance, vacation and paid sick days, but will project the value of these benefits over your working life, and account for such things as inflation, or maybe even a growing workforce demand for people with your skills.

Strictly speaking, “economist” may be the wrong word – but you need someone highly trained in making economic projections, usually with an accounting background.

Your lawyer may also want to hire a rehabilitation expert, or an occupational therapist, who can testify whether you are suited for the requirements of other occupations that the defense will say you can perform. (The defense can hire experts – and doctors – too, to testify about your prospects.)

Your lawyer may also want to hire a doctor to testify whether you are suitable for any particular job. Why can’t you just use your own doctor for this? Because the doctor who treated you may consider this beyond his field of expertise, which is making people better, not career evaluation.

You might also want someone to testify whether there is an actual need for whatever job the defense will say you can do, and whether it pays as well as the defense experts say it does. For a long time, insurance experts would say that immobilized victims could get jobs in “computer repair” with sufficient training; but not everyone can be trained for that type of job, and there may be more workers than jobs in your particular area.

If your back was hurt, and you lose the job you had for 20 years as an airlines luggage handler, your retraining options may be limited. You will need someone who can say this.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. This is an area where your lawyer may need to think creatively. If you have a personal injury case in Cincinnati, Ohio or if you want to know what your lawsuit is worth, talk with an experienced Cincinnati injury lawyer> about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

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