I was injured in a PA car accident and can’t work. Can I recover my lost wages?

A: If you are not able to return to work because of injuries suffered in a Pennsylvania car or truck accident, then you may be entitled to reimbursement, regardless of fault, from an insurance company if the applicable policy offers “Income Loss Benefits.” Income Loss Benefits are not required by law in every Pennsylvania car insurance policy (although insurance companies are required to at least offer this coverage as an option). If Income Loss Benefits are included in the insurance policy that covers you, then you will be entitled to recover 80% of your actual gross income loss up to the limit of the coverage. If you are self-employed, then you can recover the cost of hiring substitute or special help.

If you don’t have Income Loss Benefits, or if your wage loss is greater than your coverage, then you’ll be entitled, under the law, to recover those lost wages from the person who caused the accident. But that money will come, if ever, only after a settlement or verdict and only if you can prove, through competent medical testimony, that you were disabled due to an injury that was “proximately caused” by the accident.