5 Financial Challenges Families Face After a Personal Injury
Personal injuries can strain households’ financial wherewithal in ways few other circumstances can. When a serious injury occurs as a result of an accident on the road, a slip-and-fall, or another unforeseen circumstance, impacted families will have a lot more to contend with than the physical recovery — as essential as that part of the process is.
When families are already struggling to maintain a budget, the impact of such an injury will become much harder to handle. So, it’s helpful to know how to recognize and overcome some of the most common financial challenges and emerge from them better than ever.
Here are five common financial challenges families face after a personal injury, and how to tackle them.
1. Loss of Income Due to Time Off Work
One immediate financial concern a family might face is a loss of income. When a family’s breadwinner is injured, the household loses a source of income, and if the recovery period is prolonged, the loss is even greater. For self-employed workers, the challenge is even more trying, since many don’t have any disability insurance or paid leave benefits.
It’s important to learn how to deal with this. First of all, if an injury affects people’s ability to work, they should do the following:
- Check the employer’s benefits program.
- See what sort of short-term disability coverage is available.
- Speak to the employer.
- Prioritize the expenses in the household.
- Make a temporary budget for the essentials only.
It’s important to have a good emergency fund. Not everyone has an extensive one, but having some emergency funds makes it easier to manage finances after an injury.
2. Unexpected Medical Bills
When it comes to injuries, the costs associated with medical treatment can add up quickly.
Even when families have their own health insurance coverage, they may still have to pay for deductibles, physical therapy, and other services they need.
Some injuries take weeks to months to treat and recover from, so the final cost of the whole medical treatment can’t be predicted.
But families can organize on the financial front and better deal with medical bills by doing the following:
- Checking all healthcare-related costs.
- Going through insurance coverage thoroughly.
- Checking if the service provider offers any payment plan.
- Comparing the prices on prescription medications.
- Keeping an eye on bills to catch any errors.
It’s important to keep all paperwork organized. Keeping a special folder for everything related to medical treatment will help.
3. New Costs of Living
After a personal injury, most families focus on medical expenses but forget about living expenses.
The injured family member may need additional help in doing such chores as the following:
- Taking care of kids
- Housekeeping
- Grocery shopping
- Transportation needs
- Doing yardwork
- Doing property maintenance
It’s important for families to consider ways to cut down on costs. This can include the following:
- Relying on family for temporary help
- Coordinating the help between family members, friends, and neighbors
- Using various community programs
- Organizing meal planning
- Prioritizing the essential jobs and postponing others until after recovery
Sometimes, relying on outside help is the most efficient way of reducing financial stress during the recovery period.
4. Problems With Transportation
Personal injuries may affect a person’s ability to drive a car or get around. There are many families whose mobility depends completely on their personal car for things like the following:
- Going to work
- Taking the kids to school
- Visiting doctors
- Going grocery shopping
- Attending other family events
If there’s no possibility of operating a car for the time being, or it was damaged in an accident, families may have to spend additional money on the following:
- Taxi services
- Car rental services
- Public transportation
- Ride sharing
Families in this situation can help their own cause by considering ways to reduce transportation costs. Such measures may include combining errands into fewer trips, car-pooling with family members, opting for public transport whenever possible, organizing medical appointments efficiently, and ordering grocery delivery to save time and money.
5. Emotional Spending
Personal injuries affect not only physical health but also the emotional state. Stress, frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty may prompt a person to engage in emotional spending. Others tend to ignore managing their finances and checking their bills to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
However, such measures may actually worsen the financial situation. Also, the constant stress from financial difficulties may cause additional strain on the family and even tensions.
When it comes to handling this issue, it’s important to be aware of the state of family finances during the recovery period. Such measures may include doing the following:
- Regularly checking finances
- Making an effective short-term budget
- Talking to family members about financial matters
- Prioritizing the expenses
- Looking for financial help from relatives, friends, or a professional financial advisor
Taking these measures can help ward off the temptation to engage in emotional spending.
Personal injuries can affect family life in various ways. Issues such as loss of income, medical expenses, increased living costs, transportation difficulties, and emotional spending can lead to additional financial stress.
However, many measures can be taken to overcome these challenges.
