Returning to work is unlikely after many spinal cord injuries
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sets standards that employers must follow so that people who have disabilities are able to earn a living. While this is a positive factor for many individuals, there’s a chance that it won’t help those who suffer spinal cord injuries. A team of experts in the disability employment field looked at information from the past 30 years and made some interesting observations.
People who have a spinal cord injury can undergo therapy, but they might not get right into vocational therapy to try to find adaptions to do their job duties or to learn new skills that can help them find a new job. In some cases, this is because the impact of the injury is too great for them to return to work. In other cases, it might simply because they can’t go through the therapy because of geographical restrictions or monetary challenges.
In the 30 years since the ADA passed, there have been vast improvements in the therapies that are available to spinal cord injury patients. There have also been developments in the tools that are can assist them with work duties.
With the improvements that are available, there is an uptick in the number of spinal cord injury patients who are able to find employment. From June 2020 to September 2020, the rate of individuals employed at the one-year mark after being discharged following a traumatic spinal cord injury went from 34% to 43% in one specialty early intervention model that uses a vocational resource facilitation method. That’s a considerable increase from the national benchmarks that are as high as 21% and as low as 12%.
Individuals who suffer a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence may opt to pursue a claim for compensation. Our law firm can assist with this. Give us a call at 210-255-2231 to get your case started today.