Risks & Costs of a Spinal Cord Injury
People who have suffered a spinal cord injury are faced with extremely high medical expenses, and may even be at risk of further serious health complications.
Spinal cord injury problems are most often caused by car accidents, followed by falling, violence, and sports. A secondary factor is alcohol, which contributes to around a quarter of all spinal cord injury problems.
Spinal Cord Injury Risks
Those who have already suffered a spinal cord injury are placed at risk of further serious health complications. A report from Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, written by neurologists Rochelle Sweis and José Biller from Loyola Medicine, offers information about these spinal cord injury risks.
The elevated risks associated with spinal cord injury include cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, blood clotting, bodily dysfunction, gastrointestinal problems, and more, Drs. Sweis and Biller report. While some of these risks are less common, others can affect huge portions of spinal cord injury patients.
Ninety-four percent of all spinal cord injury patients suffer from chronic pain. According to the report, the onset of chronic pain from a spinal cord injury “typically occurs within the first year after injury but decreases in intensity and frequency with time.”
Chronic pain after a spinal cord injury can have serious consequences.
“It affects patients emotionally and interferes with activities of daily living,” Drs. Sweis and Biller wrote. Spinal cord injury patients also commonly suffer pneumonia and other pulmonary problems.
Spinal cord injury patients are also seriously at risk of death, most often by way of a cardiovascular disease. Life expectancy for these patients has not significantly improved.
Spinal Cord Injury Costs
While the spinal cord injury health risks are certainly a serious issue, they are not the only problem that patients must face. A typical spinal cord injury patient faces between $320,000 and $985,000 in medical and treatment costs in the first year of injury alone.
Of course, costs do not stop after initial treatment in that first year. In fact, a spinal cord injury patient may expect to pay as much as $5 million for treatment over the course of their life.
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury caused by another person’s or company’s negligence, you may be entitled to some compensation. While compensation from a spinal cord injury lawsuit cannot reverse the effects of the injury or bring a loved one back to life, it can help offset costs from medical expenses and lost wages. Contact the attorneys at Bradley/Grombacher LLP for more information.
