Funding a Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal cord injuries come with a long list of devastating symptoms. Extreme pain, incoordination, and loss of bladder control are just three of their worst punishments. Paralysis is the worst they have to dole out, which adds a host of expenses to your medical budget. You’ll need to create a more accessible home with ramps, lifts, and accessible bathroom features. While taxpayers boost Canada’s robust healthcare system, the legal challenges remain complicated in areas that need specialized guidance. Every province has unique laws that are well-known to the attorneys in the area. If you are a resident of Edmonton and have suffered a spinal injury, consult Edmonton spinal injury lawyers who can help to assess your legal options.

Understanding Canada’s Public Healthcare System

Patients aren’t required to pay medical attention at a public clinic. No law requires public health coverage, but you can’t use governmental services in some provinces unless you have insurance. The waiting period for coverage varies from province to province, but you’ll have to wait an average of three months before it kicks in. Medicare only offers basic, “medically necessary” services. The system is in the top 10% of the world’s best nations on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index, but burnout and attrition have led to a shortage of medical staff. The average patient waits three months for a specialist appointment, but some patients wait as long as a year. That leads to stress, pain, and lost income. Your diagnosis will be delayed, and your condition may deteriorate. To make matters worse, you must schedule wait times between every specialist you see, so it can take years to dent your symptoms. That isn’t an option for many patients, particularly when dealing with severe pain and disability.

Private Healthcare Insurance

Canada is home to more than a hundred private clinics throughout the country. They’re independently run, usually by doctors, but their prices can be steep. Even so, most patients pay their bills primarily out of their pockets. Private healthcare insurance can make the load much lighter, but the average insurance holder spends about $2,000 a year on services their insurance doesn’t cover. Provincial health insurance doesn’t cover physiotherapy, prostheses, psychologists, or prescription medication—if you have a spinal cord injury, you’ll probably need all four of those services.

Private insurance is intended to cover expenses that the public system does not. Most plans cover medical equipment and nursing, so they fill an important gap. If an employer provides your insurance and you lose your job, you’re left at the mercy of a system riddled with gaps.

Given enough patience and sheer force of will, the Canadian healthcare industry can be a boon that can make a significant difference in your quality of life. All it takes is a comprehensive understanding of the red tape. It can certainly be done, but if another’s negligence or wilful maliciousness causes your injury, you shouldn’t have to struggle with the administrative nightmare.

Insurance

If you or the at-fault party in your accident has personal injury coverage, many of your healthcare bills will be covered by an insurer. The average settlement in Canada is between $10,000 and $30,000 for minor injuries, but the average accident benefits claim is $25,500. While that might seem like an exceptional payout, the net lifetime cost of a spinal cord injury is over $300,000. Most of those costs fall in the first year of the injury. To complicate the matter further, insurers often try to lowball their clients.

Personal Injury Compensation

Taking the legal route to personal injury care addresses many challenges that insurance and Medicare do not. Your lawyer will include future medical care in your desired compensation and household renovations to make your living space more accessible. They’ll also address your pain, suffering, and any psychological care you need for the rest of your life. They’re a boon for those with unethical insurers, too. A personal injury lawyer will push for a better settlement from your provider and the at-fault party. This kind of coverage will help you to adapt to the changes in your life and expose you to the best healthcare available.