Federal Way Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

What are the potential costs of a spinal cord injury?

A range of expenses is associated with the care of individuals with spinal cord injuries. In many cases, these are significant and cause extra stress for victims and their families. Even ‘minor’ spinal cord injuries (if any injury of the spine can be described as ‘minor’) can incur total lifetime costs of over one million dollars. The most significant economic costs can be broken down into four areas:

• Medical Care

Medical costs are a major expense, especially in the treatment stages of the injury. Depending on the injury and whether secondary conditions develop, ongoing medical care and management of the condition may be required for life. Typically, ongoing physical, occupational, and psychological therapy are required.

As a general example, the NSCIC estimates that the average yearly expenses for high tetraplegia victims (C1-C4) are over one million dollars for the first year and almost $200,000 for each subsequent year. Paraplegia victims incur average costs of half a million dollars in the first year and over $70,000 for each following year.

• Home Modifications

Depending on the extent of the injury, spinal cord injury victims may require modifications to their home to be able to manage day-to-day activities, such as:

• Installing ramps
• Retrofitting bathrooms
• Other modifications to aid mobility in the home

In extreme cases where modifications are not possible, the victim will need to move to a new residence, incurring extra costs.

• Mobility devices and assistance

Spinal injury victims may require wheelchairs and other mobility devices. They may also need their car retrofitted or replaced to make wheelchair access more practical.

• Household services

A victim may require assistance with daily living, shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc. If he or she has children, childcare services may also be required.

As well as the practical costs of caring for and living with a spinal cord injury, any settlement should also take into account lost earnings from the inability to work and the emotional pain and suffering involved for the victim.