The powerful impact involved in a car crash can cause severe injury to the human body. The higher the speed of the vehicles involved and the bigger their size, the greater the likely consequences of a crash. Spinal cord injuries sometimes occur in major motor vehicle collisions, and while they are rare, they can be devastating.
People may experience, pinching or severing of the spinal cord during the crash, which can lead to permanent changes in motor function and physical sensation. Spinal cord injuries also carry a very high price tag. Anyone with a spinal cord injury will typically require emergency transportation to medical facilities, intensive trauma care and extensive rehabilitation support. Frequently, spinal cord injuries caused by car crashes will force the people involved to go to court.
CIVIL COURT COULD BE NECESSARY WHEN INSURANCE ISN’T ENOUGH
Every driver in Ohio should have liability coverage in their name that can cover the costs people suffer in a crash. Unfortunately, Ohio’s car insurance laws only require $25,000 and bodily injury coverage if one person gets hurt or $50,000 when two or more people report injuries from the same crash.
The initial trauma care costs for even incomplete spinal cord injuries will probably be more than that after just one year. Someone’s lifetime medical expenses will likely amount to six or seven figures, and they will need support for the rest of their lives. Those costs are before one considers the lost wages someone can no longer earn because of their injury and other secondary consequences, like the cost to make a home wheelchair accessible and provide someone with safe transportation.
If there isn’t enough insurance to fully cover the costs, then the individual with the spinal cord injury may need to consider pursuing a lawsuit against the driver who caused the crash. A civil claim can potentially reimburse someone for the full extent of their losses, while insurance is subject to policy limits that may not come anywhere close to covering someone’s actual losses.
Having a realistic understanding of what insurance can do and what an injury will cost can benefit those who are preparing to make a claim after an Ohio car wreck.