After a truck accident, injured parties may face numerous immediate costs. They may need to be rushed to a local hospital, and just the transportation in an ambulance or a helicopter can be expensive. They may need emergency surgery for serious issues, such as a spinal cord injury (SCI). As long as they are recovering and cannot work, they are actively losing wages every day.
It is important to consider all of these short-term costs when seeking financial compensation. But it is also wise to remember that serious injuries, like a spinal cord injury, can lead to annual and long-term expenses.
What will these costs look like?
Every situation is unique, depending on the type of SCI that was suffered and the patient’s prognosis for recovery. But the costs can be high. For instance, an injury between the C1 and C4 vertebrae is known as high tetraplegia. The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation estimates that this will cost a person more than $184,000 annually, even after paying more than $1 million during the first year.
The injured person’s age is also a significant factor when looking at long-term costs. A 50-year-old who has high tetraplegia may have more than $2.5 million in lifetime costs. But a 25-year-old who suffers the same injury could be looking at more than $4.7 million in lifetime costs.
Seeking full compensation
These are just estimates, so everyone’s specific financial details will be unique. But this still helps show why it is important to consider the long-term costs when seeking financial compensation from the truck driver who caused the initial accident.