#2 How is my wage loss paid if I’ve been injured in a car accident?

QUESTION: How is my wage loss paid if I’ve been injured in a car accident?

ANSWER: In Oregon, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) within your auto insurance covers 70% of lost wages up to $3,000 a month if you’re unable to work for at least 14 days due to a car accident injury. This benefit applies regardless of who is at fault for the auto accident, and for both employed and self-employed individuals, ensuring you receive compensation for income lost while recovering from your accident.

How is my wage loss paid if I’ve been injured in a car accident?

We have a statute in the State of Oregon that requires that all car insurance policies include a benefit called, ‘Personal Injury Protection’, also known as PIP.

You can think of your PIP coverage as a mini policy within your auto insurance policy.

There are actually two parts to your PIP Benefit. If you’re involved in a car accident, one part of your PIP policy pays for your medical bills and the other part pays a portion of your wage loss. You can learn more about how your medical bills are paid through your PIP coverage in this blog post.

To qualify to receive the wage loss benefit included in your PIP coverage, there are two requirements you must meet.

Number one, you have to be regularly employed — hourly, salary, or commission. Second, you have to be taken off of work by your doctor (MD or DC) for at least 14 calendar days.

Once the PIP carrier has verified your employment and they receive confirmation that you’ve been out of work for a minimum of 14 days due to injuries from the car accident, PIP is required to pay your wage loss.

Your PIP wage loss benefit is seventy percent of your lost wages up to a maximum of $3,000 a month.

So, for example, If you make $1,000 a month, PIP will pay seven hundred dollars of your wage loss. If you make ten thousand dollars a month, PIP is only going to pay the maximum benefit amount of $3,000 of your lost wages.

Remember, PIP coverage has nothing to do with who’s at fault for causing the collision. Even if you were driving your own car and you went off the road because you fell asleep — PIP is going to pay your wage loss and medical bills.

If you are self-employed, you are still entitled to receive wage loss benefit, it’s just a little trickier to establish the amount of benefit you’ll receive.

If you’ve been injured in a collision and your doctor takes you off of work, know that you’re entitled to receive wage loss benefit through your PIP carrier once your employer verifies you’re off work for a minimum of fourteen days and provides information about your lost wages.

Whether you’re our client or not, we want to be a bridge of support for you.

We’ve developed a robust library of articles and videos organized into four topics which include our responses to the personal injury claim-related questions we’re asked most often.

• Top 10 Personal Injury Claim Mistakes to Avoid
• What You Need to Know About Your Claim
• How Are My Medical Bills & Wage Loss Paid
• How to Prepare for Your Independent Medical Exam

The articles provide advice and guidelines to help you navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent you or not, we are passionate about helping you protect your rights, you receiving the medical care you need to recover from your injuries, and having the information you need to avoid mistakes that can harm your personal injury claim.