Spinal cord injuries represent a small portion of annual injuries across the nation. To the people suffering them though, they are no small problem. SCIs pose a devastating risk to a person’s financial, physical, and mental security.
Because medical science has yet to produce a cure for these injuries, it often falls to insurance claims and compensation cases to help people suffering SCIs adjust to a new normal.
The causes of SCIs
According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, over 70% of SCIs occur from vehicular crashes and falls. Other causes include violence such as gunshots or medical malpractice.
The financial and physical costs of SCIs
In the same datasheet, the average yearly costs of an SCI align with how severe the physical paralysis is. Motor functional loss averages the first-year expense of around $375,196. High tetraplegia, meaning partial or complete paralysis of the body, averages over $1.14 million.
These costs do not include subsequent yearly averages, nor do they take into account indirect costs like loss of wages from the inability to work.
The emotional costs of SCIs
Physical paralysis is not the only effect an SCI may have on a person. As reported by Michigan Medicine, studies find that adults with SCI have a higher risk of developing mental health disorders. Some estimates claim a 5% increase in the incidences of anxiety disorders as well as a 14% increase in adults having more than one mental health condition at once.
Once a person sustains an SCI, a lot may change in his or her life. Understanding the costs is the first step to knowing how to seek compensation for them.