Spinal cord injuries are some of the most serious injuries you may suffer in a car accident. Your spine contains a vertebral column with 33 vertebrae, numerous ligaments, and the spinal cord. If your spinal cord is damaged, you could experience an array of serious symptoms, including paralysis, numbness, tingling, loss of mobility, and more. The costs of a spinal cord injury can be tremendous, making it important for spinal cord injury victims to consult with a Texas automobile accident attorney as soon possible after the crash to protect their legal rights.
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can be either complete or incomplete. Complete injuries result when all communications below the injury site and the rest of the body are severed. A complete spinal cord injury causes paralysis to the body below the location of the injury, but it could be possible to regain some functioning with innovative treatments. Incomplete spinal cord injuries will leave the patient with some degree of communication at or below the injury site, but could still inflict the accident victim with numbness, tingling, and other physical deficits.
Costs of a Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injuries will involve considerable financial, as well as emotional and mental, costs. Financial expenses linked to spinal cord injuries often include:
- Emergency room costs
- Hospital bills
- Surgery
- Physical rehabilitation
- Costs of medical equipment
- Caregiver expenses
- Loss of ability to work
- Long term disability
- Loss of work related benefits
These expenses can quickly add up in the months and years following a car accident. For many car accident victims, a spinal cord injury or brain injury will cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in care and loss of income each year. Spinal cord injuries are generally permanent, so lifetime costs will multiply and could potentially climb into millions of dollars over the course of the accident victim’s life. To mitigate these losses, spinal cord injury sufferers in Texas should consult with an automobile accident attorney to uncover their right to pursue compensation against the driver that caused their injuries.