LOST WAGES--I NEED MONEY NOW!
Lost wages after an injury can be financially devastating to the injury victim and his or her family. What do you do when you can't work but you have to pay the bills?
If the injury occured while driving a vehicle on the job, a workers compensation claim should be filed immediately. The injury victim will not be eligible for Temporary Income Benefits unless and until he is medically restricted from work for at least seven (7) days. After that time he will begin receiving TIBs going back to the day after the injury and continuing until he has been released to return to work. If injury did not occur while on the job, there may be a few options.
First, Texas auto insurance policies are required to include Personal Injury Protection ("PIP") coverage unless the policy owner specifically rejected that coverage in writing when the policy was purchased. PIP coverage is additional coverage and it costs a little extra to have it. But if your own auto insurance policy and/or the policy of the vehicle owner has PIP coverage, then you can claim up to 70% of your lost wages under PIP beginning immediately (there is no minimum time limit as in Workers Compensation). PIP coverage can also be used to pay medical bills if you do not have health insurance, medicare or medicaid coverage. The injury victim should always seek advice from an injury lawyer before deciding how best to use PIP benefits.
Second, many people have short-term disability ("STD") insurance. That coverage may have been purchased privately or received as an employment benefit. STD policies generally pay a portion of income (50% - 70%) beginning after 14 days of medical work restriction. So the first two weeks come out of your pocket.
Third, the injured person should look to borrow from friends, relatives or possibly even his or her employer. Friendly loans, when available,are perhaps the best option because the terms of the loan are likely to be very favorable (such as0% interest).
Finally, in serious injury cases, and only as a last resort, it may be possible to obtain a litigation loan through various lenders. The funds can be used for medical care, lost wages or any other necessity. However, such loans carry a very high interest rate. On the bright side, the loans typically do not have to be paid until the case is resolved. Most lenders of Litigation Loans will require the borrower to be represented by a lawyer in order to endure the underlying claim is protected so that repayment is more likely to occur.
