This recession has impacted people’s lives in many unexpected ways.  The USA Today reported this week that many cash-strapped homeowners are trying to save some money by doing things that normally would be hired out, like repairing the roof, fixing the pipe or doing kitchen renovations.  The unintended consequence of this attempt to deal with tough economic times is that more people are ending up in the emergency room.

In the article Time is Money we discussed the fact that doing things yourself doesn’t always make economic sense.  But in that article we didn’t even consider the fact that you may end up doing a significant amount of harm to your health and consequently to your finances by following a do-it-yourself strategy.

According to Nick Jouriles, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, there has been an increase in the last year in the number of injuries from do-it-yourself projects, and he says this is probably due to the current economic environment and that people are trying to save money.

A poll of members of Angie’s List, a web site that that provides reviews of contractors, found that 83% of respondents decided to do project themselves instead of using contractors in order to save money.  The problem is that the savings can be easily wiped out, and the total cost can end up being much higher than if it had been contracted out when homeowners have to pay someone to redo the work that they did poorly, or worse yet, it they end up paying a ton of money to pay for healthcare as a result of their decision.

Health problems from do-it-yourself projects can range from back injuries to cuts to much more serious problems.  Arlo Weltge, an emergency physician who is also a spokesman for the emergencies-physicians association, says he sees injuries from do-it-yourself projects in the emergency room all the time:

“A lot of these things are well-intentioned and not necessarily difficult, but unfortunately we see a lot of these.” 

Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List says that homeowners should evaluate their skill level when considering a do-it-yourself project:

“You have to be really honest with yourself about what kind of experience you have for the project.  You should really start with something small and feel your comfort level and to get a success under your belt.”

If you have done your math and still think the risk-reward equation of doing a project yourself is still in your favor, at least wear the proper protection such as gloves, dust mask and eye and ear projection to reduce the risk of injuries.