One of the most serious injuries a person in Santa Ana can suffer in a car crash or fall is a spinal cord injury. Not only are these injuries physically devastating but they are incredibly expensive to live with. The following is a brief overview of the costs of living with a spinal cord injury.
Medical expenses
A person with high tetraplegia may owe as much as $1 million on average in medical expenses the first year of their injury. A person with low tetraplegia may owe as much as $769,000 on average in medical expenses the first year of their injury. A person with paraplegia may owe as much as $518,000 on average in medical expenses the first year of their injury. Finally, a person with incomplete motor function at any level may owe as much as $347,000 on average in medical expenses the first year of their injury.
Lost wages and lost earning potential
These medical expenses are steep to the point of being overwhelming, especially considering many spinal cord injury victims cannot work, leading to lost wages and lost earning potential. For example, only 11.7% of spinal cord injury victims are working one year after their injury. In addition, only 35.2% of spinal cord injury victims are working 20 years after their injury. This makes lost wages and lost earning potential another major financial setback associated with a spinal cord injury.
Seek help if your spinal cord injury was caused by negligence
If your spinal cord injury was caused by the negligence of another, the financial and emotional aftermath may be devastating. It is at this point that you may want to consider your legal options. This may include the possibility of pursuing compensation through a legal filing. Personal injury attorneys in Santa Ana understand these issues and may be of assistance to those who want to learn more about their legal rights and options.