One of the more frustrating ways a car accident can impact your life is by hurting your ability to work. Due to no fault of your own, you must take weeks or months off work while recovering from an injury. Depending on the severity of the accident, you may no longer be able to perform the job you once did.
If you’ve lost income during your recovery from an accident, lawsuit funding companies in New York may be able to help. Learn the benefits of lawsuit funding for lost wages after car accidents and when this route may be right for you.
How a Car Accident Can Affect Your Income
Serious car accidents can upend virtually every aspect of your life. Your injuries may prevent you from participating in your normal daily activities, hinder your professional goals, and make earning the same income as before nearly impossible.
Here are a few specific ways a car accident can affect your income:
- You need to take time off work while you recover: If you are recovering from serious injuries, you may need to take at least a few weeks off work. Depending on your job benefits, you may not earn any income during this period.
- Your injuries prevent you from performing the same type of work: Even after your initial recovery period, the effects of a car accident injury can linger for some time. If you previously worked a labor-intensive job, you may not have the strength or stamina to perform the same type of work.
- Your car accident required you to use up your PTO: You may have used PTO during your initial accident recovery, but now you need to take more time off to attend hearings or negotiations for your court case, and you no longer have enough PTO days.
- Your recovery cost you income opportunities: Even if you did not miss much work during your initial recovery, your time off may have caused you to miss scheduled overtime, commissions, or anticipated bonuses.
- Your time off work impacted your career advancement: Maybe you had to take weeks or months off to recover, which set you back on your projected career trajectory.
Car accidents can be expensive; a 2019 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that one year of U.S. crashes cost American society $340 billion, or an equivalent of $1,035 for each of the 328 million people in the U.S. While many of these costs are covered by insurance premiums and taxes, taxpayers pay approximately 9% of all motor vehicle crash costs, or $30 billion in 2019.
The actual costs incurred from your accident can vary, but you are likely facing increased expenses during this time. Pairing this financial hardship with your loss of income can make it difficult to stay afloat.
What Is Car Accident Pre-Settlement Lawsuit Funding?
Pursuing legal action against the at-fault driver in a car accident does not immediately relieve your financial hardship. Lawsuits often take months or even years to finalize. During this time, you may face significant expenses while also no longer earning your normal income.
Seeking lawsuit funding for lost wages after a car accident can help bridge the gap between now and when your case eventually settles. This is a type of cash advance on the settlement or financial award from your case.
A pre-settlement funding company will review your legal case and speak with your attorney to determine the likelihood of your case ending in a financial award. If it believes your case is strong enough, it will offer you a percentage of your expected settlement in advance.
When your case settles, your attorney will help you repay the funding amount, plus a fee, out of your financial award. But if your case were to end without a settlement, you would not be responsible for repaying the funding amount.
How Lawsuit Funding Helps Replace Income After a Car Accident
Through your personal injury lawsuit, your attorney may advise you to seek lost wages as part of your financial damages. They will help you calculate the total amount of lost income from the crash and factor this into your case value.
When you apply for pre-settlement funding, the funding company will estimate your expected case value and use this to determine how much to loan you in advance.
Recovering lost wages through pre-settlement funding can allow you to start rebuilding your finances faster after your car accident. In many cases, you can receive your funding amount within just a few days of being approved. Many plaintiffs use pre-settlement funding for:
- Paying medical bills before they are sent to collections
- Affording normal expenses, like rent or mortgage payments, utilities, insurance, and groceries, during this financially difficult time
- Rebuilding emergency funds that were depleted after the accident
Pre-settlement funding can also give you leverage in your lawsuit. You may not feel tempted to accept an inadequate settlement or settle early because you are running low on funds.
Other Opportunities for Temporary Income Replacement After Car Accident Injuries
You may also have other options for temporarily making up lost income during your recovery period. New York’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance usually provides drivers with a wage benefit when they are involved in accidents and their injuries require them to miss work, regardless of who was at fault.
Under Insurance Law §5102(b), this benefit can pay up to 80% of your gross weekly wages or up to $2,000 per month for the first three years following your accident. While it won’t replace your full wages, it may be another financial support option for lost income during your car accident claim.
Apply for Pre-Settlement Funding Today
Using lawsuit funding to replace lost wages after a car accident can give you more breathing room and peace of mind during a financially difficult time. If you need help understanding the pre-settlement funding approval process or are ready to apply for a lawsuit cash advance, Apex Legal Funding, LLC, is here to help. Call us today at 1-800-377-4934 with questions, or apply now through our online form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need good credit to qualify for pre-settlement funding?
You do not need good credit to qualify for lawsuit funding, and your credit report will not be pulled. Your eligibility is based purely on the strength of your personal injury case, not your financial history.
What if you lose your case and you have already accepted pre-settlement funding?
If you lose your case after having already accepted pre-settlement funding, you will not need to repay the advance. These loans are non-recourse, meaning the funding company assumes the risk of you losing your case, not you.
Can you use lawsuit funding for lost wages after a car accident?
Yes, many people use lawsuit funding in place of lost wages from their car accident. Funding companies typically do not limit how you use your cash advance once you receive it, so that you can use these funds however is necessary to relieve your financial hardship. This flexibility makes pre-settlement lawsuit funding a sound option for those in need of breathing room during an already difficult time.