Approximately 17,700 new spinal cord injury cases are diagnosed each year in the United States, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC). Of those 
17,700 spinal cord injury victims, 38.3 percent sustain their injury in a motor vehicle accident, making car and truck crashes the leading cause of spinal cord injuries.
These types of injuries can turn an accident victim's life upside down—both physically and financially. Victims may be paralyzed, unable to work, and requiring long-term or even lifelong medical care that can include:
- Surgical procedures
- Doctors visits
- Hospitalizations
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Mental health services
- Medications
- In-home health aides
- Mobility equipment, such as wheelchairs
While medical bills are the most obvious type of expense that accident victims with spinal cord injuries face, it's far from the only kind of cost that they incur. Other expenses can include:
- Travel to and from medical treatments, including transportation, dining, lodging and entertainment costs
- Modifications to make their home handicap and wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair-accessible vehicles
The exact cost of living with a spinal cord injury can vary depending on the type and severity of the injury, as well as the age at which the injury occurred. The more serious the injury and the earlier it happened—the higher the associated lifetime costs.
According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the estimated lifetime cost of living with the most serious form of spinal cord injury—High Tetraplegia (C1-C4) ASIS ABC—is $4,724,181 for someone injured at age 25 and $2,596,329 for someone injured at age 50. Even victims with the mildest form of spinal cord injury—incomplete motor function—can face lifetime expenses of $1,578,274 if injured at age 25 or $1,113,990 if injured at age 50.
Do You Need an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer?
If you sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident caused by another person or entity's negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for a wide range of damages. Contact the Inland Empire Law Group today at 888-694-3529 to schedule an appointment for a free initial case consultation.
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