You have options for compensation after an accident at work, but depending on the injury you may have a long road of recovery ahead of you. When it comes to severe spinal cord injuries, there is a possibility that you have an entirely new normal to get used to. You might not be able to work if the SCI is bad enough.
Knowing how your SCI affects your financial future is an important detail when securing a workers’ compensation claim.
SCI cost based on severity
As the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center reports, SCIs have a variety of effects with increasing costs depending on the time of paralysis you suffer.
You may suffer numbness or tingling that results in motor function loss at any level. Averages for your first-year costs, including surgery and physical therapy, hover around $375,000. Subsequent yearly costs average around $45,000.
Catastrophic SCIs may leave you with tetraplegia, or the paralysis of your whole body. First-year costs average out around $1.14 million with subsequent year costs averaging around $200,000.
None of these costs take into account your loss of wages or other indirect costs.
Compensation for SCIs
Once you understand the potential hospital bills and other costs ahead of you, you have insurance and workers’ compensation to work with. This is a complicated process and many insurance companies try to avoid paying out those kinds of costs.
You do not need to shoulder this financial burden alone. With the right resources and directions, you have the tools to navigate through this difficult time and secure the compensation you to continue on with your life.
