I missed time from work because of my car accident. Could the PTO I used be part of my accident recovery?

How Is PTO Is Handled in Virginia Car Accident Case?

After the crash, you have a legal right to pursue compensation for your damages through insurance or a personal injury lawsuit, and part of those damages are lost wages. Your overall income isn’t just the amount you take home with each paycheck, however. It also includes those sick days, vacation time, or paid time off (PTO) hours included as part of your employment that you had to use up while recovering.

You wouldn’t have needed to go through those benefits if you hadn’t been hurt in a car wreck, which makes the negligent party liable for their loss. That means you can potentially recover compensation for PTO used after the crash if you had to:

Stay in the hospital

Recover at home

Take days off to deal with insurance or talk to your attorney

Travel to seek medical treatment or rehabilitative therapy at a different location

Unfortunately, those PTO days will no longer be available as a backup if you get sick or have to take additional time off in the future for some other emergency. While an insurance settlement or court judgement won’t return used hours to your PTO bank at work, they can include a dollar amount reflecting the lost PTO. That amount is calculated at the same rate as whatever you would have earned if you had worked those days.

Depending on the severity of your injuries, it’s unlikely all of your available PTO will even cover the actual timeframe necessary to physically recover. It’s entirely possible you may have to simply take off unpaid days or even lose your job entirely while dealing with the accident’s physical toll. That’s why full and fair calculations of your lost income should include:

Any employment benefits you couldn’t utilize or perks you lost out on while recovering

Hourly wages from missed days

Overtime you would have typically worked

Salaried pay

Scheduled raises you missed out on

Self-employment income

Vacation days, paid sick leave, PTO, etc.

If You Used PTO After a Car Wreck, You Need a Car Accident Attorney

Securing the assistance of a legal professional is crucial to recovering the full cost of all your damages, including paid time off. After getting a medical checkup at the emergency room, your next step after any car crash is to call a lawyer with experience in Virginia car accident cases.

The simple act of having an attorney handle communication with your insurance provider makes it more likely they will provide the full amount you deserve. That amount needs to factor in all of the ways the accident impacted your life, including using vacation days or other benefits.

A Virginia car accident lawyer’s job is to investigate the accident and prove negligence from the at-fault party, as well as showing the specific economic damages you sustained. Evidence showcasing that your PTO had to be used due to the injury and should be included in your compensation can include:

Employment documents and handbooks
Eyewitness statements
Medical records
Pay stubs
Photo and video evidence
Union contracts
W-2s and other tax paperwork

Related Links:

I missed time from work because of my car accident. Could the PTO I used be part of my accident recovery?

How Is PTO Is Handled in Virginia Car Accident Case?

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If You Used PTO After a Car Wreck, You Need a Car Accident Attorney

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