AI tools typically produce a “ballpark” range based on form-like inputs (injury severity, age, treatment, and similar factors). The problem is that spinal cord injuries don’t behave like generic categories.
In real cases, insurers often focus on whether the medical record supports:
- Causation (that the crash, fall, or impact caused the neurological damage)
- Functional impact (mobility, transfers, self-care, bowel/bladder function)
- Durability of impairment (what changes—or doesn’t—over time)
An AI calculator can’t review MRIs, neurological exams, pressure injury risk, or the day-to-day reality of what paralysis requires at home. For Union residents, that matters because many families first experience the “future cost problem” after discharge—when home safety issues, equipment needs, and caregiver realities become immediate.


