How much is a spinal cord injury claim worth in the US?
Spinal cord injuries causing paraplegia or quadriplegia produce some of the highest personal injury awards, often several million dollars. Lifetime medical and attendant-care costs alone can exceed $1-5 million depending on injury level and age. The largest component is future care, followed by lost earning capacity and pain and suffering.
What damages are recoverable for a spinal cord injury?
Past and future medical care, lifelong attendant/nursing care, assistive equipment (power wheelchairs, standing frames), home and vehicle modifications, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. A spouse may have a loss-of-consortium claim. Punitive damages are possible where conduct was egregious.
How is the future-care cost calculated?
A life-care planner itemizes every projected cost (care hours, equipment replacement cycles, therapies, medications, home retrofits) over the plaintiff's life expectancy. A forensic economist then reduces the future stream to present value using a discount rate. This life-care plan is the backbone of a catastrophic-injury damages case.
Do damage caps limit spinal cord injury awards?
Economic damages (medical care, lost income, future care) are essentially never capped. Non-economic caps usually apply only to medical malpractice; a minority of states cap non-economic damages more broadly. Because spinal injury cases are dominated by uncapped economic damages, caps rarely limit the bulk of the recovery.