Compensation after an accident takes in a lot of factors, from medical costs to lost wages. Some accidents may leave you injured and out of work for a few days. Other injuries like spinal cord injuries start with high costs and get worse from there.
The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center compiles the average costs of SCIs by the initial year and subsequent years.
Injury severity and cost
SCIs have no cure yet and so a severe accident may leave you with lasting damage and even paralysis. Injuries to the spine threaten your motor control and any loss may run an initial average cost of over $350,000 with subsequent years costing over $45,000.
More severe injuries include paraplegia, which refers to partial or full paralysis of your lower half. Average costs of surgery and recovery are over $550,000 for first-year expenses and over $70,000 subsequently.
Tetraplegia refers to the partial or full paralysis of all four limbs and body. Injuries along the C1-C8 vertebrae have initial year costs ranging from $800,000 to $1.1 million and subsequent years costing from $120,000 to nearly $200,000, depending on the severity.
Other costs
SCIs affect your physical capabilities and so too impact you in the form of indirect costs. While you endure surgeries and physical therapy to hold onto what function remains, you are not working or being productive. Estimated costs of this loss average around $70,000 more on top of medical bills. Working through the necessary investigation to determine how an SCI impacts you is key to understanding the future of your compensation.