Normally, it’s the things you don’t prepare for that hit you from behind and cause all sorts of financial trauma. You can plan all you like for things like mortgage repayments, increases in energy bills, and so on – but that won’t help you in a situation where something comes out of nowhere.
Multiple things may seem relevant, but injuries often end up being the biggest cause of financial distress. The nature of most injuries means you don’t see them coming; there’s an accident, and you’re suddenly swaddled in medical bills, lost wages, etc. It depends on how and where you’ve been injured, but studies show the average injury can cost up to $43,000 to deal with.
That takes us to the big question: how do you stop injuries from tearing through your finances?
You’ll find some solutions below, which combine a bit of proactivity with reactivity. Before we talk more about that, let’s analyze what makes the average injury so costly and why it can wreak havoc on your bank account.
The Financial Consequences Of An Injury
It doesn’t matter what type of injury you’ve got; it will yield some level of financial consequences. Hopefully, your injury doesn’t cost that much to deal with – but some are astronomically expensive. What makes an injury such a financial burden?
- Medical Expenses
- Loss of Wages
- Property or Car Repairs
Medical Expenses
As you’re well aware, being injured usually means you have to seek medical attention. In serious instances, this will involve going to the emergency room. Already this racks up the costs – though consider if you also need to call an ambulance to transport you there.
Without insurance, visiting the ER alone will cost between $1500 and $3000.
But what if you have to stay overnight? According to NCHStats, it costs an average of $3,025 per day to stay in a hospital room. That’s already crazy, and it doesn’t take into account the cost of surgery or any specific medical treatment you need.
Plus, you must think about the long-term medical expenses that arise following an injury. Maybe you need to go back to a specialist every few weeks as part of the rehabilitation process. Or, in serious cases, you may end up checking back every few months for the rest of your life.
Of all the financial issues that arise when you have an injury, medical expenses are by far the biggest – and the hardest to deal with.
Loss of Wages
What happens if your injury means you can’t work? A good business will give you all the time you need to recover, and they may even cover your wages. Unfortunately, that’s really unlikely to go on for a long time. Most businesses will only pay you for a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months, before eventually cutting you off.
The good news is that you can use workers’ compensation to recover lost wages while you’re injured, so that’s a massive help in this situation.
In fact, the majority of companies will pay your full wages for a few weeks, then rely on workers’ compensation to help you get by until you’re fully recovered.
Property or Car Repairs
This expense relates to how your injury happened, and it’s mainly to do with car accidents or injuries that happen in and around your home. For example, a car crashes into your car and you get hurt. In this scenario you’ve got the usual expenses to worry about, plus the cost of repairing your car. If the damage is too bad, then you have to pay for a new car!
Or, what if you’re injured because part of your home broke or something damaged a window and struck you on the inside? It’s another case of having to deal with repairs, only this time they’re to your property.
How To Stop An Injury From Being So Costly
You can’t wave a magic wand and make all of these expenses disappear, but you can ensure that they don’t hurt your finances too badly.
- Hire A Personal Injury Lawyer: This should always be your first action after getting injured and seeking medical attention. Hiring a personal injury law firm will help you gather as much financial compensation as you need from the accident. Lawyers can file a case and sue whoever was responsible for the injury. After all, most serious injuries don’t happen out of nowhere. It could be a technical fault in your car, unsafe working conditions, and so on. A law firm ensures you don’t bite the financial bullet and can afford all of the expenses, and then some.
- Always Have An Emergency Fund: Setting up an emergency fund should always be one of the main tasks to get your finances in order. It’s a metaphorical safety net designed for times like this. When an injury happens out of nowhere, you’ve got money stored away to help manage the costs; an especially good idea in case you had a freak accident that wasn’t anyone’s fault, so there’s no way to claim compensation.
- Make Sure You Have The Right Insurance: In a perfect society, healthcare would be free, and you could go to the ER and stay in the hospital without paying anything. That’s not the reality for our country, so be sure you have medical insurance to reduce any medical expenses.
Likewise, you need auto insurance and home insurance to protect your assets if things get damaged following your injury. Think of insurance as an investment; you pay the premiums, but save a fortune if you get injured.
Those three tips are genuinely all you need to stop an injury from ripping its way through your finances. You’ll never be able to guarantee that you won’t get injured; it’s simply not possible. You can be as careful as you like in life, but something could happen from out of nowhere to cause an injury. You’re better off preparing for this with an emergency fund and insurance, then reacting to the situation via legal counsel.