I’ve been trying to figure this out on my own for weeks and I’m getting nowhere fast, so I’m hoping someone here has been through something similar. I work at a car dealership in Highland as a service technician—I’ve been there about seven years and I make pretty good money, especially with all the overtime and commission on top of my base hourly rate. About five months ago I was underneath a car on a lift when a bolt I was torquing snapped and my hand slipped, slamming into the frame and breaking my wrist in two places. I’ve been out of work since then, but when my workers comp checks started coming I noticed they were way lower than they should be. I called and asked about it and they said they were calculating my benefits based on my base hourly rate only, not including any of the overtime or bonuses that make up a huge chunk of my actual paycheck. I tried explaining that to the adjuster and she just kept saying that those things don’t count for workers comp calculations. That can’t be right, can it? My regular paycheck is almost double what they’re sending me and I can’t keep up with my mortgage and bills on what they’re giving me. My dad worked in a factory for thirty years and he said that workers comp is supposed to be based on your average weekly wage including everything you normally earn, not just the base rate. He told me I should talk to a lost wages attorney Highland NY because it sounds like the insurance company is trying to lowball me on purpose hoping I won’t notice or won’t fight it. I’m not trying to be greedy, I just want what I’m actually entitled to so I can keep my family afloat while I’m healing. Has anyone else had this issue where they tried to leave out overtime or bonuses when calculating your benefits? Did you have to fight them on it and how did it turn out? I’m already stressed about being out of work and now I have to worry about whether I’m going to lose my house over this.
