The lifetime financial costs of a spinal injury can be staggering. Depending on your age and the injury’s severity, it can reach millions of dollars. If another party’s negligence caused your spinal cord injury or a loved one’s, you might be able to recover these costs.
Paralysis Costs Can Equal Millions of Dollars
The average lifetime costs directly caused by a spinal cord injury vary greatly due to a person’s education, impairment, and employment history before the accident, according to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
They don’t include indirect costs such as lost wages, fringe benefits, and productivity, which can also be substantial. Since 2015, only about 17% of those with SCI are employed a year after their injury, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. That increases to 32% 30 years after the injury.
The foundation broke down the lifetime costs based on the type of injury. Tetraplegia is a term for paralysis. The higher the injury in the spinal cord, the more of your body is affected, the more help you’ll need, and the higher the costs. Paraplegia is lower-body paralysis that includes the loss of use of your legs.
| Severity of Injury | 25 Years Old | 50 Years Old |
| High Tetraplegia | $4,724,181 | $2,596,329 |
| Low Tetraplegia | $3,451,781 | $2,123,154 |
| Paraplegia | $2,310,104 | $1,516,052 |
| Any Incomplete Motor Function | $1,578,274 | $1,113,990 |
Reasons Why Costs Are so High
Flint Rehab states the long term costs of a spinal cord injury after initial medical treatment are affected by:
- Age: The younger you are, the longer you’ll live with expenses
- Severity of Injury: The more serious the injury, the less you’ll be able to do yourself, you’ll need more assistance
- Physical and Occupational Therapy: Physical therapy may improve your mobility, and occupational therapy might help you function. These costs add up quickly
- Complications: You may need to deal with many issues, including pain, respiratory problems, depression, bowel and bladder dysfunction, and muscle atrophy, which add more costs
- Orthotics: They can help with muscle tightness and stiffness and stabilize your neck, trunk, arms, and legs
- Hiring a Caregiver: You may need to hire someone to help you get around and help you with your activities of daily living
- Home Modifications: To safely stay in your home, you may need wheelchair ramps, grab bars, and walk-in or roll-in showers
- Vehicle Adaptations: You may need hand controls, wheelchair lifts, and seat adjusters so you can use and possibly drive a vehicle
Has a Spinal Injury Changed Your Life? Get Legal Help.
Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries, closely followed by falls, according to the NSCISC. Violence – mostly gunshot wounds – and accidents during sports or recreation activities are also common causes.
If your spinal cord injury was caused one of these ways, another party’s negligence or intentional acts might be a basis for a lawsuit. You could seek recovery of the costs you’ve incurred so far as well as those you expect in the future.
The neck, back and spinal cord injury lawyers at Kemmy Law Firm limits the number of cases we take to focus on those with severe injuries, and so all our clients get the individual attention they deserve.
Call us at (830) 264-6297 today for a free consultation.
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