One of the most devastating injuries a person in Alabama could suffer in a car crash is a spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injuries can turn your world upside down, especially if it leads to partial or full paralysis. Simply recovering from a spinal cord can be a tremendous feat that is only made more difficult when one considers the financial costs of living with a spinal cord injury.
The costs of medical care for spinal cord injuries
The medical expenses a person with a spinal cord injury will incur in the first year alone are astronomical. Those with a high tetraplegia injury may incur approximately $1 million in medical expenses the first year of their injury. Those with a low tetraplegia injury may incur approximately $769,000 in medical expenses the first year of their injury. Those with paraplegia may incur approximately $518,000 in medical expenses the first year of their injury. Finally, a person who has an incomplete motor function at any level may incur approximately $347,000 in medical expenses the first year of their injury.
Lost wages and earning potential following a spinal cord injury
Those with a spinal cord injury may find that they cannot return to work for years, if ever. Only 11.7% of those who suffer a spinal cord injury are working one year after their injury. Even 20 years following a spinal cord injury only 35.2% of spinal cord injury victims are working. If a person was earning $26,000 annually and suffered a spinal cord injury at age 25, assuming but for the injury they would work until age 65, their lost earning potential would total approximately $1 million.
Learn more about your options following a spinal cord injury
If you suffered a spinal cord injury after a car crash or other act of negligence you will want to learn more about your rights and options. You can explore our firm’s website to learn more about personal injury cases.