If you suffer from a spinal cord injury, it can be life-changing. For one thing, spinal cord injuries do not always heal, even with medical care. If the SCI leads to paralysis below the injury site, that may last for the rest of your life.
Because of this long-term nature, these injuries often lead to extensive lifetime costs. Exactly what this will look like differs from case to case, but some estimates have been provided by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
The injury type
The first thing to consider is the type of injury.
For instance, high tetraplegia could lead to over $1 million in costs for the first year. Every subsequent year, it could lead to over $184,000 in additional costs.
High tetraplegia is between the C1 and the C4 vertebrae. By contrast, low tetraplegia is between the C5 and the C8 vertebrae. The costs are slightly lower, estimated at just over $769,000 for the first year and over $113,000 for every subsequent year.
In either case, it is easy to see how these extremely high medical costs could be unaffordable for an injured party.
Age at the time of injury
Your age when you get injured also makes a difference in the long-term costs. Low tetraplegia suffered at 50 years old is estimated to lead to lifetime costs of $2.1 million. At 25 years old, however, it is estimated to lead to costs of $3.4 million.
As you may expect, high tetraplegia is even more expensive. At 50 years old, the estimated costs are over $2.5 million, but they soar to over $4.7 million if you are 25 years old when you suffer the injury.
Seeking appropriate compensation
By looking at these lifetime costs, you can see what a financial burden an SCI can create. If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, be sure you know how to seek appropriate financial compensation.