If you are quite fortunate, your experience in a motor vehicle collision will only lead to cosmetic vehicle damage. However, for a small portion of those affected by a wreck, there will be significant injuries that result.
Whether you broke your arm or suffered internal bleeding in your abdomen, you may have a crash-related medical issue that will keep you out of work for several days, if not weeks or months. The longer you miss work, the more important it becomes to replace your wages so that you can pay your bills.
How do you cover your lost income when you are too hurt to do your job?
You rely on car insurance coverage
The driver who caused your crash should have a motor vehicle insurance policy protecting them against liability and you against financial hardship. Oklahoma state law requires that every driver carry $25,000 worth of bodily injury coverage in case they cause a crash that hurts one person.
The law increases that minimum coverage to $50,000 per collision when two or more people get hurt in a wreck. That coverage doesn’t just pay for hospital bills or a ride in the ambulance. It can also help replace lost wages related to a crash injury.
What if you have long-term symptoms or a high-income profession?
Maybe you suffered a catastrophic injury, like a spinal cord injury, that will lead to hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in medical bills in addition to a lifetime of lost wages. On the other hand, you may only face a six-month recovery period, but you may earn six figures and stand to lose far more than $25,000 in wages.
Some Oklahoma drivers carry extra coverage on their policies that will help cover their lost wages. Other times, people hurt in car crashes need to pursue a civil lawsuit related to the wreck. The driver who hit you may have liability for your losses. There could even be a third party, like their employer or a vehicle manufacturer, that has partial liability for the crash.
Making use of all the options for compensation after a serious car crash can help you fully cover your lost wages instead of needing to absorb those lost wages.