Spinal Cord Injuries in Auto Accidents in West Virginia

Every year, motor vehicle accidents account for the majority of spinal cord injuries. When you sustain a spinal cord injury, the costs of care can be astronomical. You need to determine who was responsible for the accident that led to the spinal cord damage. If another driver was at fault, if the crash happened due to a vehicle defect, or if any other third party was to blame, you should pursue a case for compensation to cover your losses.  An attorney should be consulted for help pursuing a spinal cord accident case due to the severity of spinal cord injuries and the high costs of treatment which could last for the rest of your life.

Any car accident injuries can be expensive to treat, and those who cause auto collisions to occur are the ones who should be responsible for paying for losses resulting from injuries. Spinal cord injuries are among the most high cost injuries of all to handle because of the difficulty in treating this type of injury and because of the permanence of most types of spinal damage. If your vertebrae are broken, you will not be able to recover from the injury and you will need a lifetime of care.

Christopher Reeve Foundation explains the costs of living with a spinal cord injury. Costs vary depending upon the part of the spine affected. According to the Foundation:

• High tetraplegia results in first year costs of $1,065,716. Each subsequent year, costs are $184,891.
• Low tetraplegia results in first year costs of $769,351 and annually yearly costs of $113,423.
• Paraplegia results in first year costs of $68,739 and annually yearly costs of $68,739.
• Incomplete motor function of any type resulting from a spinal cord injury can cost $347,484 to treat in the first year and $42,206 in treatment costs for each year thereafter.

The results of these annual expenditures are lifetime costs of between $1,578,274 and $4,724,181 for someone who suffers some type of spinal cord damage at the age of 25.

When you have impaired motor function because of an injury to your spinal cord, it may be impossible to perform any sort of work or to earn a living. You will have to pay for rehabilitation costs; nursing care; physical therapy; medications; surgery; and a host of other treatments depending upon the nature of your injury and you may need to pay for all of these costs when you have no job.

Almost no one can afford to bear this financial burden, which is why the law provides protection for those who are hurt as a result of the negligent actions of others. Whether it is a negligent motorist, the manufacturer of a defective car, or those who should have designed or maintained roads in a safer way, someone can often be held accountable for accidents leading to spinal cord damage. Reach out to an attorney as soon as possible to get help determining who is at fault and making a claim for compensation from that person.