Dealing With Spinal Cord Injuries After a South Carolina Accident

A spinal cord injury can change your life in an instant. One moment you were driving home from work, and now you’re facing a future filled with medical appointments, rehabilitation, and questions about whether you’ll walk again. The financial implications alone feel overwhelming, but you’re unsure where to turn for help. Sound familiar?

At the Law Office of Sean M. Wilson, our South Carolina personal injury lawyers understand that spinal cord injuries represent more than medical challenges—they reshape entire families’ lives. When another party’s negligence causes these life-altering injuries, pursuing fair compensation becomes essential for accessing the care and resources needed for the best recovery.

Here’s what you should know about accident-related spinal cord injuries, their wide-ranging impacts, and how we help Lowcountry and Midlands clients fight for the compensation they deserve. 

Understanding What Makes Spinal Cord Injuries Different From Other Common Accident Injuries 

Spinal cord injuries affect the body’s central nervous system. Unlike broken bones or cuts that heal predictably, spinal cord damage can create permanent changes that ripple through every aspect of your daily life. 

Complete Versus Incomplete Injuries  

Complete injuries mean no sensation or voluntary movement below the injury site, while incomplete injuries allow some function to remain. However, even incomplete injuries can significantly impact mobility, sensation, and independence. A person with an incomplete injury might retain some leg movement but lose fine motor control in their hands. 

Level of Injury Determines Impact  

Cervical injuries affect the neck and can impact all four limbs, while thoracic injuries typically affect the trunk and legs. Lumbar injuries usually impact the legs and lower body functions. Higher injuries generally create more extensive challenges. For example, a C4 injury might require ventilator assistance, while an L1 injury might allow independent wheelchair use. 

Secondary Complications Develop Over Time  

Beyond the initial paralysis, spinal cord injuries can lead to blood clots, pressure sores, bladder issues, and autonomic dysreflexia, a dangerous condition that causes sudden blood pressure spikes. These ongoing medical concerns require constant vigilance and specialized care. 

Examining Spinal Cord Injury-Related Medical Costs  

Many families are shocked by the scope and duration of the expenses involved in caring for loved ones with spinal cord injuries. Understanding these costs helps explain why legal action often becomes necessary. 

• Acute care. These costs begin accruing immediately. Emergency surgery, intensive care, and initial stabilization can easily reach $200,000 to $400,000 in the first few weeks alone. Specialized spinal units, multiple surgeries, and round-the-clock monitoring create substantial hospital bills before rehabilitation even begins. 

• Extended rehabilitation. Inpatient rehabilitation typically lasts three to six months, costing $3,000 to $5,000 daily. Outpatient therapy continues indefinitely, with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychological counseling costing hundreds of dollars per session. Many patients need hundreds of therapy sessions over several years. 

• Home and vehicle modifications. Wheelchair accessibility requires ramps, widened doorways, accessible bathrooms, and modified kitchens. These renovations can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the home’s layout and the injury’s severity. Vehicle modifications add another $15,000 to $80,000 for hand controls, wheelchair lifts, or specially adapted vans. 

• Ongoing care. Spinal cord injuries bring a lifetime of expenses for things like personal care assistants, specialized equipment, medical supplies, medications, and mobility aids, such as wheelchairs, which require replacement every five to seven years. 

Making It Through the First Few Months  

The immediate period after an accident and spinal cord injury can feel particularly overwhelming. Focusing on the following priorities can help create stability and lay the foundation for a financial recovery. 

Prioritize Medical Care 

Follow all medical recommendations, attend every appointment, and communicate openly with health care providers about your symptoms and concerns. Document all treatments, medications, and therapy sessions, as this information becomes crucial for your physical recovery and legal proceedings. 

Protect Your Financial Interests  

Understand insurance coverage limits and requirements. Save all medical bills, receipts, and documentation related to your spinal cord injury. Avoid discussing the accident details with insurance adjusters until speaking with a South Carolina personal injury lawyer who can protect your interests. 

After spinal cord injuries, the path forward involves many decisions about medical care, financial planning, and legal action. Families who work with a skilled personal injury lawyer often achieve better outcomes than those who try to navigate these challenges alone. 

Getting Help From a Skilled South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer 

When someone else’s negligence causes an accident that results in a spinal cord injury, legal action becomes a necessity, as the costs associated with care typically exceed what families can manage.  

The Law Office of Sean M. Wilson helps clients: 

• Calculate lifetime costs. We work with South Carolina life care planners, economists, and medical professionals to project future expenses for medical care, equipment replacement, home health assistance, and lost earning capacity over your expected lifetime. Without this comprehensive approach, settlements often fall short of actual needs. 

• Understand insurance company tactics. Insurers understand that spinal cord injuries create the highest-value claims, so they deploy their most experienced adjusters and legal teams to limit payouts. They might dispute the need for certain treatments or pressure your family to accept an inadequate settlement before the full extent of damages becomes clear. 

• Preserve critical evidence. Accident scenes change quickly, witnesses forget details, and crucial evidence disappears. We can secure surveillance footage, obtain police reports, and document the scene while the evidence remains fresh. We also ensure that medical records accurately reflect the injury’s cause and extent. 

• Identify liable parties. Car accidents involving spinal cord injuries frequently involve several potentially liable parties, such as the at-fault driver, their employer if driving for work, vehicle manufacturers if defects contributed, or government entities if road conditions played a role. Identifying all liable parties maximizes available compensation sources.