Spinal Cord Injury Claims in Pennsylvania: The Cost of a Life Changed

Level and completeness drive everything

The neurological level determines what function remains, and whether the injury is complete or incomplete determines the range of possible recovery. Both drive the care requirement, and therefore the cost, more than any other factor.

An incomplete injury with some preserved function may need less attendant care but more therapy over a longer period. A complete cervical injury requires care arrangements that dominate the entire valuation.

The costs people miss

• Attendant care, which is usually the largest single item and is frequently understated by assuming family will provide it indefinitely without cost.
• Equipment replacement cycles. A power chair is not bought once. Cushions, mattresses, lifts, transfer equipment and vehicle hand controls all have service lives.
• Home modification, and again on relocation.
• Accessible vehicle, and its replacement.
• Secondary complications: pressure sores, urinary infections, respiratory problems, autonomic dysreflexia, spasticity management, shoulder degeneration from years of transfers.
• Lost earning capacity across the working life that will not happen.

Secondary complications are the most commonly omitted and among the most expensive. They are foreseeable, not speculative.

Family caregiving is not free

Defendants routinely value these claims on the assumption that a spouse or parent will provide care. That assumption should be tested rather than accepted. The care has a market cost whoever provides it, the family member frequently gives up their own earnings to do it, and caregiver capacity changes as everyone ages.

Benefits preservation

A direct payment can end eligibility for Medicaid and other needs based programmes that a person with a spinal cord injury may rely on for life. A special needs trust can preserve that eligibility while the recovery is used for their benefit.

This must be structured before settlement. It is one of the most consequential technical steps in the case.

Timing

Neurological recovery continues for a period after injury and the eventual picture is not clear immediately. Valuing the claim before the plateau means valuing an unknown, and the pressure to settle early is usually financial rather than medical. Those two things should not be confused.