Navigating An Injury Claim After An Accident On Someone Else's Property

Sustaining an injury on someone else’s property is bad enough. But being forced to take time off work while you recover just compounds the problem.

Your ability to earn wages is one of the most important aspects of your injury claim. It’s referred to as lost wages compensation and covers much more than simply your salary.

But here’s the thing…

The complicated claims process is difficult for most people to understand. They don’t know what qualifies for lost wages or how to document lost income. Insurance companies love that confusion.

The upside is that there’s a right way to pursue lost wages compensation. If you know what steps to take, you can recover every dollar you’ve lost. Let’s walk through everything.

What you’re going to learn:

What Lost Wages Compensation Actually Pays For
Negligence: Why It Matters Who Is At Fault
How To Build Your Injury Claim
Gathering Evidence: What You Need To Collect
The Biggest Mistakes That Destroy Claims

What Lost Wages Compensation Actually Pays For

When it comes to wage reimbursement there is no guessing. Lost wages compensation is simply the money you would have earned had you not been injured.

Salary, commission, bonuses, you name it. If you would have earned it, your claim can pay it.

But wait, there’s more.

A comprehensive lost wages claim can also include overtime income lost during recovery. Depending on the severity of your injuries, sick days used and even diminished earning capacity can be included as well.

Slip and fall injuries are the most common cause of workers missing an average of 65 days from work. During this time, thousands of dollars are lost that many families simply can’t afford to lose. Hiring a reputable slip and fall injury attorney right away can ensure that your lost wages compensation is properly calculated.

Think about that…

Imagine 65 days without pay while your medical bills start stacking up. That kind of financial stress can ruin lives which is exactly why this article is important.

Negligence: Why It Matters Who Is At Fault

Ah yes, negligence. The legal reason you can recover compensation from someone else’s insurance company.

See, not every accident on someone else’s property qualifies for compensation. In order to be eligible, the property owner must have been negligent. Meaning, they knew about the dangerous condition and intentionally ignored it.

Negligence can come in many forms such as:

Wet floor conditions with no warning signage
Broken staircases or railings
Improper lighting of walkways and parking lots
Cracked sidewalks or flooring
Uneven walking surfaces
Failure to shovel ice and snow

The plaintiff (that’s you) has the burden of proof in these cases. You must be able to prove that the property owner owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty and caused you harm.

Only about 39% of premises liability claims are successful according to the BJS. So why do so many fail?

Insurance companies typically reject claims where negligence can’t be proven.

How To Build Your Injury Claim

There are right and wrong ways to file a premises liability claim. While the process is fairly straightforward, trying to take shortcuts will end badly.

Start by getting medical treatment as soon as possible. The sooner you document your injury with a medical professional the better.

Then you’ll need to report the incident to the owner or manager of the property. Get this in writing as well.

Lastly, keep immaculate records of everything. Medical bills, prescriptions, therapy, etc. When it comes to lost wages specifically you’ll want to track every single day of work you miss.

You can have your employer write a statement confirming your regular wage amount as well as any time missed during recovery. All this information will be used to calculate the value of your claim.

The Key Evidence You Need To Collect

If you only remember one thing from this article let it be this…

Evidence is everything when it comes to injury claims. Without hard proof of negligence, your claim will never amount to what it’s worth.

So what evidence should you be gathering? Well, from the moment you know you have a claim you’ll want to start collecting as much info as possible.

Medical documentation: All paperwork that ties your injuries to the accident and eventual prognosis.

Photographs and video: Take pictures of the negligent property condition and the surrounding area. If you have visible injuries take photos of those as well.

Witnesses: If anyone saw the accident or was aware of the dangerous property condition beforehand make sure you get their contact info.

Employment records: Prior pay stubs and tax returns help establish what your regular wages are. A written statement from your employer can verify income and any missed time.

Incident reports: If the property owner or manager was notified of the incident there should be a copy of the report you’ll want this.

Gathering this evidence as soon as possible makes it difficult for insurance companies to argue your claim.

Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Claim

Here’s what most people don’t realize…

You can completely sabotage your own injury claim by making one of these common mistakes.

Accepting early settlement offers. Insurance companies want to settle claims as quickly and for the least amount of money possible. Beware of low-ball offers that come in the days following an accident.

Posting on social media. Believe it or not, insurance adjusters search social media profiles when processing claims. Don’t give them reasons to deny your case by posting pictures of yourself goofing off.

Waiting to file a claim. Every state has a statute of limitations on injury claims. Make sure you file within that time frame, or you could be forfeiting your opportunity to sue.

You don’t understand negligence. As stated above, you must be able to prove that the property owner was negligent in order to win your claim. If you can’t prove it, neither will the insurance company.

Pulling It All Together

Accidents happen, but being injured on someone else’s property is not your fault. If anything, the burden of proof lies with the property owner.

Recovering lost wages due to an injury can be a stressful and confusing process. That’s why this guide breaks down everything you need to know about filing an injury claim.

To quickly summarize…