One of the most devastating aspects, when someone is in a car crash, is missing time from work. Many people live paycheck to paycheck and can’t even afford to miss a day or even a 1/2 day from work without their family suffering. One of the most painful things for someone to have to endure is to be helpless by not being able to provide for their family and pay necessary bills.
One of the ways in which someone who has been injured in a car crash, can get compensated for their lost wages is through their PIP carrier. (See also recovery and lost wages from bodily injury carrier and uninsured motorist carrier) This is generally the fastest way for an injured person to get their lost wages paid because it comes out of your PIP coverage and we have a form provided to every client to complete and return. Once completed it is forwarded to the PIP carrier. PIP will reimburse the client for 60% of their lost wages.
A client should know that an insurance carrier still has thirty (30) days in which to pay the client the lost wages, so time is of the essence to complete the paperwork, return it to your attorney, so the attorney can submit it to the insurance carrier. We do realize that people are suffering and doing without, which is why we fight hard to get that money back and into the client’s pocket as soon as possible.
Why Fast Action if Important in PIP Cases
It is very important to note when you are seeking lost wages from your PIP coverage that once the form is submitted to us, we immediately forward it over to the insurance company who then has thirty (30) days to pay your lost wages. Because of this delay, it is very important if you have a lost wage claim and need to have your lost wages paid, that you notify your attorney immediately.
The reason for this is the amount of PIP coverage is only $10,000.00. Which means PIP is “finite” insurance – it runs out. At the same time that you are seeking your lost wages, your medical providers will also be seeking to have their bills paid and will be submitting them to PIP. Thus, if you do not provide the form to your attorney’s office quickly, you may find that your PIP coverage has been completely used up by your medical providers.
Normally it takes your medical providers approximately 3 to 4 months to use up your PIP; however, every case is different. The cost of your ER bills, the type treatment you need, what type of diagnostic testing you require (MRI’s, CT scans, X-rays) will all determine how long your PIP benefits last.
Establishing Your PIP Coverage
One of the things that we do here at Christopher Ligori & Associates to assist our clients in claiming their lost wages is to call the PIP carrier and have the carrier set aside a certain amount of your PIP coverage to cover the lost wages. If that is not done timely, then all of your PIP benefits may go to paying your medical bills.
Some clients have asked if we can set aside the entire PIP amount for lost wages and that’s something we try to do however, it depends on the type of case and what are the outstanding medical bills and treatment. For example, an insurance company may decide they only want to put aside $3,000 or $4,000 for lost wages because they have to pay some of the medical bills in your case. It may not be realistic or reasonably likely that you will need to use all $10,000.00 for your lost wages. Thus, it’s a case by case analysis on how much the insurance company is willing to set aside and we certainly fight to set aside as much as possible for our clients.
If you or someone you know has been injured in an auto accident, call us at Christopher Ligori & Associates at 877-444-2929 and we will be happy to assist you with your lost wage claim, as well as your bodily injury claim, under insured motorist claim, property damage and/or any other type of claim that you are entitled to make.
