Spinal cord injuries leave some of the most devastating impacts after a catastrophic motor vehicle accident. An SCI can derail your life physically, financially and emotionally.
The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center details the average costs that you or your loved one may rack up from necessary surgery or repeat hospital stays resulting from an SCI.
Physical and financial costs
These average costs depend on the kind of injury in question. We will highlight motor function, paraplegia and tetraplegia:
- Motor function refers to any level of lost sensation or control due to nerve damage. First year costs average out to around $375,000, while subsequent years cost over $40,000.
- Paraplegia results from nerve damage that renders your lower half paralyzed. Recovery and therapy may run more than $550,000 on average and cost nearly $75,000 each year after.
- Tetraplegia is paralysis that affects all four of your limbs. Whether it is low or high can determine how wide-ranging the damage is. Costs rise up anywhere between $800,000 to over a million dollars. The yearly costs of living after the first average in the range of $120,000-$200,000.
Emotional costs
As we have discussed before on our website, SCIs may affect your emotions and mental state as well. Facing your future with such a debilitating injury, whether it is yours or a loved one’s, can be difficult to handle. People often suffer from depression as a result.
These costs can feel overwhelming to cope with, but knowing the potential costs can help you know where you stand when demanding proper compensation and justice out of a collision or accident claim.