No one expects to be involved in a car accident. Those who are don’t expect for their lives to be completely upended on account of the injuries they have suffered. Yet, the sad reality for many individuals is that a devastating car accident leaves them with catastrophic injuries that reshape how they live for the rest of their lives. This can be a scary prospect to the newly disabled, and understandably so. After all, a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury can restrict one’s physical and mental capabilities, which can have a ripple-effect across nearly every aspect of his or her life.
Making matters worse is the fact that these injuries are extraordinarily expensive to treat. Let’s look at spinal cord injuries as an example. Those individuals who suffer from some sort of incomplete motor function on account of their injuries, which is on the lesser end of the severity spectrum, can wind up costing an individual more than $340,000 in the first year after their accident, with another $40,000 or so in medical and rehabilitative costs each subsequent year.
Those who suffer more severe spinal cord injuries have an even more dire financial outlook. Those with paraplegia can wind up with more than $500,000 in costs in their first year, while those with high tetraplegia can see more than $1 million in expenses that first year. These injuries, with ongoing costs that can easily surpass $100,000 per year, can cause lifetime damages in the millions of dollars just in medical expenses and rehabilitation alone. This doesn’t even take into account other financial damages, such as lost wages.
Spinal cord injury victims can attempt to recover these losses through a personal injury lawsuit, but there’s no guarantee of success at any level. However, this shouldn’t dissuade individuals form aggressively pursuing their claim. In fact, by surrounding themselves with aggressive legal advocates, these individuals might be able to increase their chances of succeeding and recovering the compensation they need to secure the treatment they deserve.