Summer is the Time for Disabling Injuries

by L.A.S.

More disabling injuries occur during the summer than any other time of the year, according to a study by The Hartford insurance company's research department.
Accident claims were lowest, in general, in the fall of the year. They climb slightly in the winter quarter and begin to soar in the spring. Summer is by far the busiest period for accident claims, and the most common type of injury was the fracture for both men and women.

The most common injuries for men were: open wounds, internal injuries, sprained joints (shoulder, leg, knee, arm), and fractures (skull, neck, back). The most common injuries for women were: Fractures of lower limb, sprained neck or back, and dislocated knees.

Taking a look at different regions of the country provided some puzzling results. One might expect that skiing accidents would be the main cause of accident claims out West, but winter and fall both had very low accident rates compared to a rising slope for spring and summer accident rates. The Northeast had this pattern of accident rates, going from highest to lowest accident rates: summer, winter, spring, fall. I suppose that people drove themselves too hard in summer sports, and fell on the ice in the winter.

But Midwesterners had virtually the same accident rate for winter as for spring. Fall had the fewest accidents, while summer again was significantly higher; in fact, Midwesterners had the highest rate of summer accidents of all the four regions. The South had the fewest accidents in the winter of all regions, but nearly tied with the West in high spring accident rates, and was second-highest in summer accident rates.

But the main question is: how many months could you go without having any income? How soon would you have to make lifestyle changes if you or your spouse lost their income? Almost all respondents said they would have to change their lifestyle if they or their spouses lost income for three to six months. Only 41 percent had short-term disability insurance, and only 36 percent had long-term disability insurance.

A caveat: disability insurances only pay about 60 percent of your pre-disability income, so plan accordingly. Also, that 60 percent is based on your BASE salary, not including whatever overtime or bonuses you have been earning. Have a reserve fund for emergencies, and/or a source of income that keeps coming in regardless of whether you can get out the door or not.