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Vacation and Sick Time

Claiming Lost Wages in Durham: Vacation & Sick Time

Fighting for the Compensation You Deserve

Being in an accident can put a major strain on a person’s life, especially when you are unable to work. Fortunately, North Carolina allows for an individual to be reimbursed for their lost wages from a car accident caused by another driver through a bodily injury claim. One common misconception is that lost wages cannot be claimed if paid sick or vacation time has been used. In North Carolina, however, this is not always the case. If you’ve been injured in an accident and need to claim your lost wages, call our Durham attorneys today. At Wallace Pierce Law, our personal injury lawyers are committed to protecting the injured and their rights to a full recovery.

Contact us online for a free consultation, or call (919) 887-7892 after your accident. We can provide you with options and help you file your personal injury claim.

The Collateral Source Rule

Being able to claim lost wages even when you have been paid through sick or vacation time is permitted by a rule of evidence commonly known as the collateral source rule. Essentially, this rule provides you with an avenue by which you can be reimbursed for lost wages regardless of whether you were paid through vacation or sick leave. The rule prevents an at-fault party’s insurance company from denying lost wages when they are paid from other sources (for example, sick and vacation pay).

The rule works in a way to protect an injured party’s interests from the at-fault party. For example, if you were unable to claim lost wages for taken sick or vacation leave, then you would be left worse off than before the accident. Think about it: but for the negligence of the at-fault driver, you would not have had to use your sick days or vacation time. Those days are earned by you and are there for you to use at a time of your choosing. Now, instead of taking your vacation time to go to the beach or on a yearly family vacation, you must use all your time available to recover from an accident that was caused by the negligent acts of another.

The collateral source rule is a rule of evidence and not a state law. This means that it only applies when in court; however, insurance companies will likely consider the rule in negotiating a settlement, as failing to do so may result in more parties filing their bodily injury claims in court.

You still must support your missed time from work with the necessary evidence. Typically, this is done through doctor’s notes and letters from your employer. It is pivotal that whenever you miss work due to an accident that you have seen a doctor and received a written opinion stating how much time you should be out of work. Insurance companies typically will not accept lost wages if missed time is not supported by a licensed physician.

Call (919) 887-7892 to communicate with our Durham team in Spanish or English.

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