Spinal cord injuries are one of the most catastrophic of injuries a person can ever experience in their life. Even such an injury that is diagnosed as comparatively mild will likely cause permanent and debilitating effects. If you have suffered spine damage, in order to properly pursue compensation in the form of a personal injury claim, you will need to gain a full understanding of all the costs of your spinal cord injury, both financial and physical.
The financial costs of a spinal cord injury may include:
- Emergency care: Many spinal cord injuries are caused by violent accidents, such as a car accident or truck accident, and will require the injured parties to be taken into emergency care at once. High costs are often associated with any emergency surgery or procedure.
- Hospitalization: Recovering from spine damage may take weeks, months, or longer in the hospital and under intensive care. The costs for such an extended stay in nearly guaranteed to exhaust a person’s healthcare insurance coverage and could eventually range into the millions of dollars.
- Rehabilitation: After leaving the hospital, a patient with a spinal cord injury will rarely be entirely finished with recovery. Frequent rehabilitative therapy may be necessary to restore use of body parts and mobility. Some patients need rehabilitation for the rest of their lives, which can quickly pile up bills.
- Lost wages: Returning to work with a spinal cord injury can be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Even office jobs at a desk can cause unbearable pain in the damaged region. The wages lost while recovering and possibly after becoming unable to keep gainful employment should be considered in any resulting personal injury claims.
The physical costs of a spinal cord injury can vary, such as:
- Paralysis: It is not uncommon for a spinal cord injury to cause some sort of paralysis: temporary, permanent, partial, and/or total. Patients often describe the sudden loss of control of a body part emotionally devastating. Such nominal damages need to be calculated in your claim.
- Loss of independence: People living with serious spinal cord injuries may not be able to function well at all on their own. Relying on loved ones and caretakers can be uncomfortable, and the loss of independence an unpredicted physical cost of the injury.
- Lessened enjoyment of life: Understandably, many people who have suffered a permanent spinal cord injury will report that their overall enjoyment of life has been lessened, due to chronic pain, feelings of helplessness, or both.
At Law Office of Marshall Silberberg, we believe those who have suffered spinal cord injuries in accidents that were caused by another party should be given every last cent of compensation they need and deserve. When you come to our Orange County catastrophic injury attorneys for legal advocacy, we will want to start by fully evaluating your case and identifying any and all damages that could be pertinent to your claim. From there, we can build a case that protects your right to recovery and best interests.
Learn more about our services by contacting our team today.