Spinal cord injuries generate enormous medical expenses over a lifetime. Understanding these costs is essential for ensuring your settlement or verdict covers actual needs.

First-Year Medical Costs

The first year after spinal cord injury is the most expensive:

High Quadriplegia (C1-C4)

Average first-year costs: $1.1-1.5 million

  • Prolonged ICU care—often weeks on ventilator
  • Multiple surgeries—spinal stabilization, tracheostomy
  • Extended acute hospitalization
  • 3-6+ months inpatient rehabilitation
  • Initial equipment—power wheelchair, hospital bed, ventilator

Low Quadriplegia (C5-C8)

Average first-year costs: $800,000-1 million

  • Spinal surgery and hospitalization
  • 3-4 months inpatient rehabilitation
  • Power wheelchair and seating
  • Home modifications begun

Paraplegia

Average first-year costs: $500,000-750,000

  • Surgery and hospitalization
  • 2-3 months inpatient rehabilitation
  • Manual wheelchair and equipment
  • Outpatient therapy transition

Ongoing Annual Costs

High Quadriplegia

Average annual costs: $200,000-300,000+

  • 24-hour attendant or nursing care
  • Respiratory therapy and equipment
  • Frequent physician visits
  • Medications for multiple conditions
  • Complication treatment (infections, pressure sores)

Low Quadriplegia

Average annual costs: $100,000-200,000

  • Part-time to full-time attendant care
  • Regular physician monitoring
  • Medications
  • Therapy maintenance
  • Equipment maintenance and replacement

Paraplegia

Average annual costs: $70,000-100,000

  • Limited attendant care (or none)
  • Physician visits and monitoring
  • Medications and supplies
  • Equipment costs
  • Ongoing therapy

Specific Medical Expense Categories

Physician Services

  • Primary care—regular checkups and acute illness
  • Physiatry—spinal cord injury specialist care
  • Urology—bladder management, common complications
  • Pulmonology—respiratory care for higher injuries
  • Pain management—neuropathic pain treatment
  • Psychiatry—mental health treatment

Medications

Ongoing medication needs include:

  • Pain medications
  • Antispasticity drugs
  • Bladder medications
  • Bowel management drugs
  • Medications for autonomic dysreflexia
  • Antibiotics for recurring infections

Supplies and Consumables

  • Catheter supplies—$200-500/month
  • Bowel supplies—$100-300/month
  • Wound care supplies—as needed
  • Respiratory supplies—for ventilator users

Therapy Services

  • Physical therapy—strength, mobility, transfers
  • Occupational therapy—activities of daily living
  • Respiratory therapy—for higher-level injuries
  • Psychological counseling—adjustment and mental health

Equipment Costs

Wheelchairs

  • Power wheelchair with seating—$25,000-60,000 (replace every 5-7 years)
  • Manual wheelchair—$3,000-8,000 (replace every 3-5 years)
  • Standing wheelchair—$30,000-50,000 (if needed)

Beds and Support Surfaces

  • Hospital bed—$5,000-15,000
  • Pressure-relieving mattress—$3,000-10,000
  • Patient lifts—$5,000-15,000

Respiratory Equipment

  • Ventilator—$15,000-30,000
  • Suction machine—$500-2,000
  • BiPAP/CPAP—$1,000-3,000

Complication Costs

Spinal cord injury survivors face ongoing complications:

  • Pressure sores—hospitalization and surgery can cost $50,000-100,000+
  • Urinary tract infections—frequent ER visits and antibiotics
  • Respiratory infections—pneumonia requiring hospitalization
  • Autonomic dysreflexia—emergency treatment for blood pressure crises
  • Deep vein thrombosis—blood clots requiring treatment

Lifetime Cost Projections

Lifetime medical costs depend on injury level, age at injury, and life expectancy:

  • 25-year-old with C2 injury: $5-10+ million lifetime medical costs
  • 40-year-old with C6 injury: $2-4 million lifetime medical costs
  • 35-year-old with T6 paraplegia: $1-2.5 million lifetime medical costs

Conclusion

Medical costs for spinal cord injuries are staggering. Accurate documentation through life care planning is essential to ensure compensation covers actual lifetime needs. Never accept a settlement without professional medical cost analysis.