Gun violence is an ongoing problem in Texas and throughout the United States. Some streets/neighborhoods prove more dangerous than others. Suffering a gunshot wound can lead to severe spinal cord injuries, as well as other serious bodily harm. Many times, a victim who survives gun violence needs medical care and living assistance for the rest of his or her life.
In a city in another state where gun violence is known to be the leading cause of spine injuries, those who survive often need help with every aspect of daily living. From eating to bathing to changing various medical tubes, the care necessitated by a gunshot wound near the spine can be tremendously expensive, sometimes costing more than $2 million over the span of one’s life. Those living with permanent spinal injuries are also susceptible to other medical ailments.
Many suffer from pneumonia or skin infections. This can result in multiple hospital stays that cost even more than the basic care needed for a spinal cord injury patient to function on a daily basis. One man, who was shot while attending a barbecue, said that he was admitted to the hospital 14 times in the past year due to extenuating circumstances and conditions caused by his permanent injury.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 3,000 people suffer spinal cord injuries from gun violence in the United States every year. Some of those incidents might have occurred in Texas. One means to obtain compensation that can help pay medical bills is to consider filing a personal injury claim in a civil court in order to seek restitution for damages sustained because of the incident.
Source: wbaltv.com, “Gun violence often leads to spinal cord injuries in Baltimore“, Lisa Robinson, Oct. 30, 2015