Kansas City Townsend Law Firm

Living with a spinal cord injury

On Behalf of | Jun 9, 2017 | Catastrophic Injury

Spinal cord injuries can lead to very serious life effects. For a person who has to deal with the aftermath of such an injury, a difficult road lies ahead. The medical appointments alone can take up a lot of time.

The costs of personal care missed work and medical care are often considerable. All of these can add more stress to the victim than what is already present due to financial worries.

If you have suffered a spinal cord injury, or have a loved one who is dealing with a spinal cord injury, here are some important points to consider.

The injuries might seem worse at first than they are

Spinal shock is a common occurrence after a spinal cord injury. During the immediate period after the injury, the spinal cord can become inflamed and irritated, which could produce effects that seem much worse than what the victim will have to deal with later. This is why doctors are often cautious with how they handle the spinal cord injury in those first days to weeks.

Spinal cord injuries carry some serious risks

The risks of a spinal cord injury are great, especially with higher level ones. The areas of the body that are impacted are always lower than the level of the injury. For example, if your neck is where the injury occurs, you might have trouble breathing and require ventilator assistance. These higher level injuries can also lead to your not having any use of your limbs. Even lower level injuries can lead to loss of mobility of your legs.

Not everyone reacts the same way to a spinal cord injury

The effects you will have to deal with because of a spinal cord injury vary based on the actual injury and the way your body compensates for it. You can’t judge what you think will happen based off of what someone else in a similar situation experienced. Instead, focus on your own recovery and circumstances since a spinal cord injury is a personal experience.

The care for these injuries is costly

The costs of a spinal cord injury are great, even if you don’t count expenses like lost wages. A person with an incomplete motor function injury can expect expenses of around $347,484 in the first year and $42,206 each year after. This is usually the least expensive spinal cord injury. The costs skyrocket for a person with high tetraplegia, which is usually the most expensive injury. In the first year, the costs are around $1,064,716 and around $184,891 each year after.

If you or loved one injured in a car crash and getting some serious injuries please contact our personal injury lawyer by calling at 833-869-6529.