KEY FACTS ABOUT BANKRUPTCY AND SPINAL CORD INJURIES

You may have already assumed that the cost of a spinal cord injury or a brain injury was going to be fairly high, but did you know that you're actually statistically more likely to go bankrupt after one of these injuries than someone who isn't hurt? Below are a few key facts to know about this alarming phenomenon.

1. Severity does not seem to play a role. In fact, mild injuries technically led to bankruptcy more often than critical injuries. Don't assume you won't have problems just because the injury wasn't as major as it could have been.

2. The odds of going bankrupt went up by 33 percent in one study, when looking at the post-injury likelihood and comparing it to the likelihood of pre-injury bankruptcy.

3. Younger patients tended to go bankrupt more often. This could have been due to a lack of assets; for example, an older person with a significant nest-egg may have been able to cover the costs more easily than a recent college grad with no savings.

4. Those who used drugs or alcohol also tended to go bankrupt more often. Even blood alcohol concentration levels that were just barely higher showed a correlation.

5. Overall, 3.5 percent of those who suffered from these injuries—either to the brain or the spinal cord—would then go bankruptcy within the next five years. This came from a sample group of 6,345 people.

As you can see, knowing how to deal with the financial side of an injury is massively important, so be sure you look into your compensation options in Arizona if you've been injured.

Source: NCBI, "The risk of bankruptcy before and after brain or spinal cord injury: a glimpse of the iceberg's tip," W Hollingworth, accessed May 13, 2016