What Are Statistics About Spinal Cord Injuries?

• The most common causes for spinal cord injuries are motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports accidents, violence, alcohol and diseases.
• There are approximately a quarter of a million people in the U.S. with a spinal cord injury.
• Every year, almost 15,000 people develop a new spinal cord injury.
• Men represent almost 4 in 5 new cases of spinal cord injuries.
• The average length of stay in a hospital for a spinal cord injury is approximately 2 weeks.
• The average length of rehabilitation for a spinal cord injury is approximately 5 weeks.
• The average indirect cost of sustaining a spinal cord injury is about $70,000.
• Life expectancy for persons with spinal cord injuries is substantially lower than those without one.
• The most common races/ethnicities of people with spinal cord injuries are white (64%), black (23%), and Hispanic (10%).

Tons of websites and other sources endlessly list lawsuit statistics and information. It can be tempting to think that these facts and figures will easily carry over to your case. But you should resist that temptation. The circumstances of every accident that leads to litigation are different and the backgrounds of every person on the jury that decides litigation are different. You must approach your case on its own merits and craft a strategy that addresses its specific needs. However, this doesn’t mean that these statistics are meaningless. You just need to think of them as tools of a suit instead of the predictors of a suit. You and your attorney can meld them to make a winning argument but they should not be the argument itself.

The human spine is a complex and fragile structure composed of 33 bones: 7 cervical vertebrae; 12 thoracic vertebrae; 5 lumbar vertebrae; 5 sacral vertebrae; and 4 coccygeal vertebrae. Injuries to the spine are very common and very serious. An injury occurs when some force damages or disrupts the any region of the spine. The different kinds of spinal injuries are normally identified by the region of the spine that is affected including the following:

• CERVICAL SPINE INJURIES: These tend to be the most serious kinds of spinal injuries. Symptoms can include paralysis, speech problems, breathing troubles, and other life-altering conditions.
• THORACIC SPINE INJURIES: Injuries to the thoracic region of the spine affect a person’s muscular system as well as their hand, arm, foot, and leg abilities.
• LUMBAR SPINE INJURIES: Lumbar spinal injuries inhibit a person’s bladder and bowels. They also create significant pain in their hips and upper legs.
• SACRAL AND COCCYGEAL SPINE INJURIES: Sacral and coccygeal spinal injuries cause damage to a person’s lower body.