Some car crash injuries are minor and lead to a full recovery. People with broken arms or whiplash can usually get back to work within a few weeks. They may only experience a few thousand dollars in losses.
Other car crash injuries are catastrophic. They never fully heal, and people have long-term consequences to address in addition to the short-term difficulties the injuries may produce. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and spinal cord injuries producing paralysis are among the worst injuries people can sustain in a car crash scenario.
What long-term consequences may follow a catastrophic injury sustained in a car wreck?
Long-term medical expenses
Even though catastrophic injuries don’t usually heal, they do produce significant lifetime medical expenses. For example, it can cost anywhere from $85,000 to $3 million to provide lifetime medical support to someone with a TBI.
Spinal cord injuries typically cost over a million dollars in increased lifetime care costs even with incomplete injuries. People usually need more medical support with catastrophic injuries, especially as they age.
Decreased earning potential
People with major injuries typically have functional limitations. Those limitations can force them out of lucrative white-collar jobs or physically demanding blue-collar professions.
In some cases, they may not be able to work at all. People have to consider the wages they could have earned and the advancement opportunities they may miss out on because of their injuries.
Accommodation requirements
Everyday tasks such as showering or going to the grocery store are more difficult when people have spinal cord injury paralysis or brain injury symptoms. They may require wheelchair-accessible vehicles and homes.
Purchasing a wheelchair van or modifying an existing vehicle to accommodate mobility devices can be incredibly expensive. Families may also incur tens of thousands of dollars in costs when making a home more accommodating to someone with functional limitations. Every time the injured person or their family moves or buys a new vehicle, they may have to cover those costs again.
Securing appropriate compensation for catastrophic car crash injuries requires an understanding of long-term injury consequences. People often need to file lawsuits, as insurance coverage isn’t enough to defray lifetime injury costs.
