How many spinal cord injuries occur in the United States every year?
Spinal cord injuries are among the most catastrophic consequences of serious accidents, and they occur with troubling frequency in Pennsylvania and across the United States. Understanding the scope of the problem — and how Pennsylvania law provides remedies for those who suffer these injuries due to another’s negligence — is important context for injured individuals and their families.
The Scope of Spinal Cord Injuries Nationally
According to data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham — which maintains the most comprehensive ongoing database on traumatic spinal cord injuries in the United States — approximately 18,000 new spinal cord injury cases occur in the United States each year. The total number of people living with spinal cord injuries in the U.S. is estimated at between 294,000 and 400,000 individuals.
Leading Causes
The most common causes of traumatic spinal cord injuries, according to NSCISC data, include:
- Vehicle accidents — the leading cause, accounting for approximately 38-39% of all new spinal cord injuries each year
- Falls — the second most common cause, particularly among older adults, accounting for approximately 31%
- Violence — primarily gunshot wounds, accounting for approximately 14%
- Sports and recreational activities — including diving accidents, accounting for approximately 8%
- Medical and surgical complications — accounting for the remainder
Demographics and Long-Term Impact
The average age at time of injury has increased over recent decades and is now approximately 43 years. Approximately 78% of new spinal cord injury cases involve males. The lifetime costs associated with a spinal cord injury are staggering — depending on the severity and the age of the injured person, lifetime costs can range from approximately $1.2 million for incomplete motor function cases to more than $5 million for high cervical injuries requiring ventilator assistance.
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries Under Pennsylvania Law
Pennsylvania courts recognize two primary categories of spinal cord injury in personal injury cases:
- Complete injuries: Total loss of motor function and sensation below the level of injury. Injuries at the cervical level result in quadriplegia (also called tetraplegia); injuries at the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral levels result in paraplegia.
- Incomplete injuries: Partial preservation of motor or sensory function below the level of injury. The degree of preserved function varies widely and affects both prognosis and damages calculations.
Damages in Pennsylvania Spinal Cord Injury Cases
When a spinal cord injury is caused by another party’s negligence — as in a motor vehicle accident, a construction site fall, or a defective product — Pennsylvania law allows the injured person to seek compensation for the full range of resulting losses. Given the catastrophic nature of spinal cord injuries, these damages are typically substantial and include:
- Past and future medical expenses, including acute care, rehabilitation, long-term attendant care, and adaptive equipment
- Home and vehicle modifications to accommodate permanent disability
- Lost earnings and lost future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering, both past and future
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium for a spouse or partner
Expert testimony — including life care planners, vocational rehabilitation specialists, and economists — is typically required to fully document and present these damages in litigation. Cases involving spinal cord injuries are among the most complex and high-stakes personal injury matters in Pennsylvania courts, and the quality of the evidence presented can significantly affect the ultimate recovery.
