Spinal Cord Injury: Can Your Settlement Cover Lifetime Care?

A spinal cord injury is one of the most serious orthopedic injuries a person can sustain in a car accident. This injury is mostly permanent and may even lead to lower body paralysis. The main reason behind these serious medical conditions is that the spinal cord can’t regenerate itself.

These injuries often leave victims handicapped, unlike common injuries that result from car accidents (broken bones, whiplash, or even herniated discs), where the body’s healing capacity plays a significant role in your overall prognosis.

But as if that’s not enough, the disability can also leave you dealing with financial stress. Therefore, Utah courts allow victims to file a spinal cord injury settlement claim.

It is very common for you to think that your settlement can cover lifetime care, as spinal injuries often need lifelong support in terms of medical needs and lifestyle changes.

So let’s discuss everything you should know before a settlement offer lands on your table.

Why Spinal Cord Injuries Require Lifetime Care?

Spinal cord injuries need lifetime care, especially if you have sustained a permanent disability. This disability can further lead you to face lifelong health complications and functional disabilities in your life.

Similarly, these SCI settlements are among the highest-paying, and lifetime care eventually brings the total to seven figures. The key reasons why lifelong care is necessary in SCI claims are discussed here.

Permanent Nerve Damage

The central nervous system in our body has a very limited ability to regenerate that directly means that your injury’s recovery chances decrease once the initial healing window is passed.

Medical Complications

You may also suffer from other medical conditions like bowel and bladder dysfunction, bedsores, or even kidney problems, making it essential to ask for future treatment costs in your settlement claim.

Changing Functional Needs

After getting a spinal cord injury, victims’ physical strength decreases, making it necessary to seek manual support to specialized equipment like power wheelchairs. Additionally, home and vehicle modifications also become inevitable.

What Should a Spinal Cord Injury Settlement Cover?

A comprehensive traumatic spinal injury settlement covers both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

These are the out-of-pocket expenses that cover both past and future financial losses.

Medical Care: Your spinal injury settlement covers funds invested in your medical care, including emergency treatments, surgeries, hospital/ICU stays, physical therapy, and management of secondary medical conditions.
Lost Wages: A fair settlement also covers compensation for your reduced earning capacity and even inability to return to your previous occupation.

Non-Economic Damages

These compensate for intangible harms, like

Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Anxiety, depression
PTSD

These damages don’t directly pay for care, but they can increase your total recovery fund, especially in your lifetime care plan.

What Happens If Your Spinal Cord Injury Needs Change After a Settlement?

A spinal injury settlement claim mostly gets final once you accept an offer. When you sign a release form, it officially closes your settlement case against the at-fault driver. So generally, you cannot go to court or ask for more money later if any complications arise in the future.

Therefore, you must always seek legal guidance from a car accident attorney before even talking to the insurance company.

Exceptions & Rare Cases

If your settlement isn’t approved yet by a Utah court and the amount hasn’t been finalized, only then can changes be addressed.
If you have agreed to structured settlements, the payment schedule can be changed as per your convenience, but the final amount will stay fixed.
If the defendant or any insurance adjuster intentionally holds some vital information from you, only then might a Utah court reopen a case and reconsider your claim.

How Are Lifetime Care Costs Calculated?

The SCI settlements must be calculated thoroughly to ensure they cover costs for lifetime care rather than accepting a fixed amount upfront on a rough estimate.

A life care plan should be developed by a medical specialist who can add year-by-year medical expenses for the rest of your life.
Vocational and economic analysis is important to determine your lost earning capacity as per your age rather than just including lost wages.
You need strong medical evidence to strengthen your claim, including medical records, durable equipment (wheelchairs), and wage records.
Home and vehicle modification costs should also be included in your final settlement payout.
Don’t forget to add costs for non-economic damages to cover your pain and suffering as well.

Lump Sum Vs Structured Settlements: Which Is Better?

You also need to understand whether you will receive the full amount upfront or receive it over time.

Lump Sum	Structured Settlements
You get the full amount upfront and get control immediately.	You receive the compensation over time.
Lump sum can be more useful for doing immediate home modifications.	Every installment helps you cover ongoing medical care efficiently.
You may run out of money sooner than expected and face financial challenges in the long run.	Reduces the risk of money running out sooner.
Offers more flexibility if unexpected expenses arise.	Less flexibility to cover immediate expenses.

Seeing the differences between both ways to get settlements, many Utah families prefer a hybrid approach. In which they ask for enough lump sum to cover immediate needs and home modifications costs, and the remainder amount to be paid via structured settlements.

Wrapping Up

Spinal injuries aren’t short-term expenses, so if you or any of your loved ones have a spinal injury, you should wisely calculate your final spinal cord injury settlement payout and ensure it covers the cost of lifetime care as well.

A personal injury attorney can always help you out in these circumstances. He can explain the legal terms to you, help you understand your legal rights, and ultimately secure a fair settlement.

If you are looking for a law firm to represent your spinal injury claim in Utah, you can contact Cockayne Law to get a free legal consultation.

FAQs

How much is a spinal cord injury settlement worth?

There’s no fixed amount because the amount can vary in every case, depending on the injury severity, the victim’s age, and earning potential. But mainly, spinal injury settlement claims range from millions to even seven-figure amounts.

Does a settlement cover future medical expenses?

A fair settlement definitely covers costs for future medical expenses and lifetime care. However, insurance adjusters may try to settle quickly at cheap rates with an amount that just covers current medical expenses. So always seek legal consultation before talking to your insurance company.

Can I receive compensation for future lost wages?

Yes, you can receive fair compensation for your future lost wages. But it is typically calculated separately and is termed as “loss of future earning capacity.”

How are future spinal cord injury costs calculated?

The standard approach is a life care plan that can be calculated by working with physicians and vocational experts. It includes ongoing medical care, wheelchairs and their replacement schedule throughout life, home and vehicle modification, and lost wages as per the victim’s earning potential.

For more practical guides on health, money and everyday life, explore the rest of Internet Chicks.