Catastrophic car crash injuries can affect someone’s finances and quality of life forever. Spinal cord injuries typically cause permanent functional limitations and therefore quickly become very expensive for the injured person and their immediate family members.
Some of the costs generated by spinal cord injuries are perfectly obvious. Individuals will need emergency medical attention after damaging their spinal cords in a car crash. They may be in the hospital for weeks until their condition stabilizes. Even after they heal, they may require rehabilitation support and symptom management for the rest of their lives. Spinal cord injuries tend to have a negative impact on earning potential as well.
Yet, those filing an insurance claim or considering a personal injury lawsuit after a crash may overlook another major expense triggered by spinal cord injuries. Specifically, they may fail to request compensation for the cost of accommodating their injury in their daily life.
Disability accommodations are costly
Most homes are not accessible to those who use wheelchairs. Those who rent their homes can ask landlords to assist them in making a space more accommodating. Those who own their own homes will typically need to cover those costs themselves or obtain compensation from the party that caused their injuries.
Making a house wheelchair accessible can cost tens of thousands of dollars. People may need to move bedrooms, remodel bathrooms, change doorways and install ramps. Wheelchair-accessible vehicles are another major expense. Both purchasing new vehicles that can accommodate wheelchairs and updating an existing vehicle to make it wheelchair accessible can cost tens of thousands of dollars. People will need to cover those costs every time they need to obtain a new vehicle or move to a new home.
Accurately estimating the total costs an injury inspires with the help of an attorney can help people more effectively pursue a fairly-valued compensation claim after a car crash causes a spinal cord injury.