Vehicles traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast and those going from Mexico into the United States often pass through Texas. The state has far more roads than any other state, with almost 700,000 lane miles of road. With so much traffic and so many streets, a relatively high rate of serious collisions is all but unavoidable. While many of those crashes only damage vehicles, some of them result in worse consequences for the parties involved. Collisions in Texas sometimes lead to catastrophic injuries.
Spinal cord injuries are among the most serious medical issues generated by Texas collisions. Frequently, those who experience a spinal cord injury after a Texas collision at least consider the possibility of civil litigation because of the costs inspired by those who have caused their harm.
The lifetime costs for care are astronomical
Spinal cord injuries are different in every case. Medical professionals evaluate injuries using two main factors. The first is whether the injury is complete or incomplete. An incomplete injury causes some motor function and sensation impairment but does not actually sever the spinal cord. A complete injury cuts through the spinal cord and creates lifetime symptoms.
The second factor that influences the severity of the injury will be its location on the spine. The higher on the spine the injury is, the more of the body it will affect and the greater the average medical costs. Even incomplete injuries usually cost more than a million dollars to treat. That is well over what a typical driver’s liability policy would cover and even exceeds what a semi-truck’s insurance would pay.
Medical care isn’t the only expense
A spinal cord injury doesn’t just generate medical expenses. It also creates a number of secondary costs and other financial losses. People often need accessible transportation, which requires buying a new, very expensive vehicle or retrofitting an existing one. They also often need to make major changes to their homes or possibly move to a new house because their current one cannot accommodate their injuries.
Someone with a spinal cord injury will likely also need accommodations when they return to work. Not all employers are able to rework their facilities or alter someone’s job responsibilities to help them return to full-time employment with a complete final cord injury. Sometimes, workers need to move into a different profession or may not be able to work full-time at all following a spinal cord injury.
The loss of income combined with all of the direct expenses can add up to economic hardship for the person with the injury and their immediate family members. Understanding why spinal cord injuries often necessitate litigation may empower people to seek legal guidance after they get hurt in a crash caused by a third party.