One of the most life-changing injuries a person can suffer is to the spinal cord. The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center provides some interesting, and sometimes troubling statistics on the rates of spinal cord injuries, and the cost to treat them. They estimate that 17,000 people suffer a spinal cord injury every year. The cost to treat them depends a lot on the seriousness of the injury, and the age of the person who is injured, but here are some general figures:
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A 25 year old who suffers High Quadriplegia can expect expenses of over $1 Million in the first year, and nearly $5 Million throughout their expected lifespan.
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That same 25 year old person, who suffers Low Quadriplegia can expect first year expenses of over $750,000 and lifetime expenses of approximately $3.5 Million.
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A person who becomes paraplegic at age 25 can expect over $500,000 in expenses in the first year, and over $2 Million through the expected lifespan.
These figures highlight why it is so important to hire an experienced Massachusetts spinal cord injury attorney if you or a loved one suffers a spinal cord injury. Often times, a spinal cord injury victim has one chance to recover money that needs to last a lifetime; a case against the person or company who injured them.
To be clear, not all spinal cord injuries result in death or paralysis. At first, a person may experience symptoms like tingling or numbness in arms and legs, difficulty walking, weakness, and shock if they have suffered a spinal cord injury. It is important to immediately talk to a doctor if any of these symptoms arise.
At Mirick O’Connell, we have decades of experience in representing spinal cord injury victims. In the past, we have represented people who have injured their spinal cords in a number of different ways, including:
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Car accidents;
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Trucking accidents;
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Construction site accidents;
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Falls from height;
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Product liability, or defective product cases;
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Premises liability or slip and fall, trip and fall cases.
While spinal cord injuries can be life changing, there is some good news for people who suffer these injuries. Modern medicine is progressing quickly, and is moving toward gaining mobility for spinal cord injury sufferers. The treatment and equipment needed to move or walk again, however, is very expensive. The spinal cord injury lawyers at Mirick O’Connell keep up to date on these scientific advances, and if it is possible for our clients to walk again, we do not want money to stand in the way. Quite simply, if the wonderful advances in modern medicine allow walking, we look to hold the person or company who injured our client responsible to pay for those things.
Massachusetts spinal cord injuries cases can be very expensive for attorneys to work, and at Mirick O’Connell, we are well positioned to take on these financial challenges. We have been around for over 100 years, and we are a much larger firm than most personal injury firms, meaning we have the resources to dedicate to experts that some firms may not. For example, in a construction site accident with a spinal cord injury, we may need a liability expert, a medical expert, an economist, and a vocational rehabilitation expert. These experts may cost tens of thousands of dollars, but their services are critical to get clients the money they deserve. At Mirick O’Connell, we take no shortcuts, and no case is too big for us.
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