The costs of living with a spinal cord injury can be immense. The exact costs depend on the injury itself, whether it’s complete or incomplete and if recovery is a possibility. The age at which the injury takes place also impacts the overall cost of the injury over a person’s lifetime. Here are some of the facts about spinal cord injuries of various types.
The most common spinal cord injury is incomplete tetraplegia followed closely by incomplete paraplegia. As of 2010, incomplete tetraplegia made up 45 percent of all spinal cord injuries. Less than 1 percent of the people hospitalized with these conditions made a complete neurological recovery before discharge. That means they’re going to need additional care outside the hospital along with rehabilitation services.
As of 2014, the indirect costs associated with a spinal cord injury were estimated to be $71,961 per year. Direct costs were reported as $1,064,716 for high tetraplegia, $769,351 for low tetraplegia, $518,904 for paraplegia and $347,484 for incomplete motor function. These costs were just for the first year. Subsequent years of recover ranged in cost from $42,206 for incomplete motor function to $184,891 for high tetraplegia.
If you suffer high tetraplegia at age 25, it’s estimated that it will cost around $4,724,181 over the course of your lifetime. The same injury suffered at 50 would cost around $2,596,329.
When your injury is a result of a truck accident or motor vehicle crash, you deserve to receive compensation from the person responsible, so you can get the best care. Our website has more information on the steps to take next.