How does short term disability work?

If injured outside of the work place, how or where can a person apply for short term disability?

• A friend of mine injured his knee. And because his job requires constant standing and walking, which he can only do for short periods of time, they asked him not 2 come back until he gets surgery and his healed enough to walk better. Because the incident happened outside of work, he wont qualify for work disability and therefore wont get paid. What should he go about doing in order to receive some kind of money or paycheck while being out on leave? Is there some type of short term disability that he can apply for? If so, can someone please let me know asap how to go about getting it. Thanks

• Answer:

  Just like car insurance, you have to buy it BEFORE the accident, not after. Yes, there is private disability coverage. If you live in NY, NJ, or CA, you probably have it. But if he didn't buy a private policy, it's too late now to buy it. Just like, you can't buy car insurance AFTER the accident. There is ALSO disability insurance provided through an employer, sometimes. But it sounds like he doesn't have it. Bottom line. If he doesn't have it before the accident, it's too late now. He'll have to rely on his savings.