A work accident can have a tremendous impact on you and your family’s financial well-being. Recovering from your injury should be your main concern. However, after a work accident, many employees are forced to focus on the financial impact of not being able to work.

The Financial Impact of a Work Accident Injury – Short Term

Following a workplace accident, you will most likely see a loss of wages immediately. Most workers injured on the job cannot return to work the following day but workers comp does not kick in immediately. Because of this many people who experience a work injury will lose at least a day or more of pay. New York State workers comp law states that a worker cannot receive wage replacement for the first 7 days of their disability. Benefits typically start the day after their waiting period is completed.

So, if you have a work injury that keeps you out of work for a few days, it could be over a week’s time before you see payments of any kind. During a time like this, many families are forced to dip in to their savings or use credit to bridge the gap between the time of their work accident and when they begin receiving workers compensation benefits.

The Financial Impact of a Work Injury – Long Terms

Most short term work injuries will have an impact on a person’s financial health. However, once the person heals and returns to work, they are usually able to recover. The problem with worker’s compensation and your financial health really occurs when you a long term injury that prevents you from returning to work for a long period of time.When you are on NYS workers comp, you will receive roughly 67% of your pre-injury, pre-tax wages. You are essentially given a pay cut. What happens when most people are given a pay cut? They start struggling financially! Injured workers are forced to start looking at their budgets and cutting expenses. The problem is, when you have a work injury expenses are typically rising due to Doctor’s bills, co-pays and the expenses of getting to and from medical appointments. In addition to these expenses, many people are forced to suspend payments in to their retirement accounts and use their savings to make ends meet.  A workplace accident that prevents you from returning to work quickly has the potential to negatively impact your current financial situation as well as your future plans for retirement. It’s a vicious cycle that can quickly put you in financial distress.