After an auto collision, those who have suffered traumatic injuries may have to go through surgeries or many months or years of rehabilitation. The truth is that any kind of traumatic injury can be devastating and change a person’s life forever.
Of the traumatic injuries you could suffer, one of the worst is a spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injuries may vary in severity, but they have the potential to change a person’s physical abilities, pain levels and more.
Spinal cord injuries are a life sentence
Although there have been amazing breakthroughs in science and medicine, most spinal cord injuries are permanent. Some recovery can happen within the first year or two, but after that, the potential for recovery does slow. This may be more prominent in people who have complete injuries, which are injuries where they have no sensation or function below the point of injury.
Others may have incomplete injuries, which could lead to weakness, pain, numbness and other issues. There could also be organ involvement. For instance, some people lose the ability to sense heat or cold. Others may have issues with bladder control or spasms of their muscles.
It’s costly to care for a spinal cord injury
According to the latest information from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the estimated lifetime costs for living with high tetraplegia is $4,724,181 for someone injured at the age of 25. For someone injured at 50, the average cost is $2,596,329. Living with incomplete motor function, like with an incomplete injury, costs an average of $1,578,274 for those injured at 25 and $1,113, 990 for those injured at 50.
Many of these injuries have high initial medical costs, but those may continue for years afterward. For incomplete injuries, the first year is expected to cost around $347,484, and each subsequent year is expected to cost $42,206.
As you can see, this kind of personal injury can be costly and have a lasting impact on your life. Remember that any at-fault driver can be held accountable for the injuries that they’ve caused in a serious collision.