What is an average weekly wage?
Your average weekly wage is how much income you can reasonably expect to earn within one week. This information is important for a personal injury claim because it can help determine how much you should ask for in a settlement with insurance.
To calculate your average weekly wage, you will need to multiply the hours you work per week by the wage at which you are paid. If you work 35 hours per week and earn $11 per hour, your average weekly wage will be $385.
If you are a salaried employee and are paid every week, your average weekly wage is clear. If you are paid bi-weekly, you will need to divide your paycheck by two.
This information is vitally important if you have to miss work due to your injuries. For example, if you typically work a 9-5 job Monday through Friday and need to miss a full week of work due to a car crash you were involved in, you can claim these lost wages in your personal injury claim settlement.
It is important to remember that even if you have vacation hours saved up, sick leave available, or paid time off, you can still claim your lost wages in your personal injury claim. It is an unjust burden to be forced to take off vacation time due to the negligence of another.
If you were not intending to work the week of your accident, you will likely not be able to claim for lost wages. For example, let’s say you are a blueberry picker and slip and fall on the sidewalk during the winter. No blueberries would be in season, so you would not have worked anyway. You cannot claim for lost wages, because you did not lose any paychecks.
If you need help with determining your settlement, it’s important to get in contact with a qualified personal injury attorney right away. He or she can help you determine how much to settle for and get you the income you deserve.
