There is more than one way a society could handle supporting people who are severely injured and need help with a mountain of medical bills and ongoing support.
~ Roedy (born: 1948-02-04 age: 64)
- There is the American way. The victim sues some random person who has a tenuous relationship to the accident. The assumption is somebody must have maliciously caused the trouble. The belief derives from witchcraft. If such a person can’t be found, then the victim is up the creek. The person sued pays out of pocket or with insurance. The “victim’s” lawyer keeps half the award. The victim receives a lump sum which may be more than enough or not enough. It is up to the victimto manage that money to cover the expenses for the rest of their lives. They don’t know how long they will live, or what complications lie down the road. The lump sum is often a temptation to spend lavishly and they are left with nothing for support.
- You could insist that everyone gets insurance (public or private) to handle such contingencies. The money is handed out on a per-month basis to cover the actual expenses of the month. That way the burden of an accident is shared. The burden is not dumped on some individual who probably did nothing much out of the ordinary in the way of fault.