I got hit by a car today!

I was crossing a crosswalk early this morning on my way to the bus stop for work, while the walk sign was on, and the driver turned left onto a main road from a stop light and smashed into my left side. I was later told that I “flew up into the air”.

It was all very much a blur and I was pretty dizzy and out of it at first, but no head trauma. Some kind lady who said she was a nurse ran to help me up and to the side of the road, and the cops and ambulance came pretty fast (I think, at least).

I was taken to the hospital and was told that I fractured my humerus head (left shoulder). They told me I may not need surgery, but we’ll see what the orthopedic surgeon says during my follow-up appointment in a few days. Other than that, I just have a bunch of scrapes and bruises.

Overall, while I’m in quite a bit of pain, I’m grateful because it could’ve been way worse. My SO and parents are pushing to sue for pain/suffering, which I was hesitant to do until I read (online) that I wouldn’t be suing the person who hit me, but their insurance company), so I guess that’ll probably happen. They already found me a lawyer.

I truly have no ill-will toward that person because shit happens, it was dark, and they got out of the car immediately to call 911, so it’s not like they didn’t do what was right when it came down to it. I’m sure they’re traumatized, and that their insurance payment will go way up… which I feel a little bad about given the state of the US rn. But I guess I don’t have any control over that.

Honestly, while the whole thing was obviously pretty traumatic for me, too—and I keep replaying that moment in my head—I think I’d rather get hit by a car than hit someone with my car.

StephenTallentyre,
@StephenTallentyre@lemmy.today avatar

How are you doing now, OP?

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks for asking! Right now I’m still just waiting around; I need surgery because of the nature of the break and its interference with my rotator cuff, but I need an MRI/follow-up before it can be scheduled. So it won’t be until at least the 23rd.

I had some deep-tissue bruises that hurt even more than my shoulder for a while, which made it hard to walk, but they finally mostly healed.

My shoulder isn’t too bad if I don’t move it, but it actually hurts a lot more than usual this morning. The doctor only gave me a few of the weakest non-OTC painkillers you can get, so I’ve had to ration them for when the pain is at its worst. So I’m relying on acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which doesn’t really cut it tbh.

StephenTallentyre, (edited )
@StephenTallentyre@lemmy.today avatar

Well, I’m sorry about the travesty called the United States “‘healthcare’ ‘system’” and waiting around, and I’m actually not being at all sarcastic when I say that, sadly. I do a lot of waiting around myself, for the same reason. I have chronic pain and I already rely on acetaminophen and ibuprofen because of that, and if I’d ended up with the exact same injury, I would’ve needed something stronger than Tylenol III and more than a few of them. I’m really sorry they did that to you; that’s literally cruel, I think. You don’t have chronic pain; you have acute pain because you got hit by a car. I’d think they’d understand that and/or care.

EDIT: let me rephrase something, sorry. I don’t know if you have chronic pain or not, and I’m not trying to speculate. The point I was trying to make is that you got hit by a car, and that they should treating you with compassion instead of functionally punishing you for everything the driver did wrong. I already know I’m gonna get downvoted for saying that and I already don’t care. I’m really sorry this is happening to you.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you! I appreciate it. I don’t really have particularly severe chronic pain, but my SO does, so I’m familiar with how hard it can be to get serious pain relief and how horribly frustrating that can be.

imo, it’s cruel whether the pain is chronic or acute. I guess I get why they’re so stingy, but there needs to be a lot more grace for pain patients. It’s not just about pain, but mental health, too. :/

I was definitely a little surprised and annoyed about it. Clearly there’s no questioning the fact that I’ll be in significant pain for (at minimum) a month, so why are you giving me only 6 days’ worth? Are decent scripts reserved for only the people who are literally on their death bed???

JimVanDeventer,

“But you’re still coming to work, right?”

MadBob,

I got knocked off my bike by a driver in 2016 and it was simultaneously among the worst and best things to ever happen to me. It was very stark how little influence I could exercise over the car. I mean, it weighs a lot, so of course, but I was quite suddenly confronted with it.

Very gruesome description so stop reading if you’ve not got the stomach:

I landed face-first and the brunt was taken by my front teeth. Imagine the bit where the gum ends as a fulcrum, and my bodyweight against the road surface pushing the bits of the tooth you normally see inwards, so the roots of my teeth tore through the bone and gum holding them in place and through my upper lip. I got whisked to A&E, stayed the night in hospital, couldn’t work for a few months, had to see a psychiatrist and a solicitor and all the rest, then I ended up getting a tidy sum for the trouble, wrenching me out of poverty with the same kind of alacrity my teeth had wrenched themselves out with, which felt indescribable.

Like you, I wasn’t at all spiteful towards the driver, because it was after all an accident, one that could’ve been prevented but fine, c’est la vie. The driver was a woman but the insurance policy was under a man’s name, and the story of what happened had changed between the accident itself and the insurance, so he’s a massive cunt anyway. Then someone from the insurance company was getting paid to make sure I’d be paid as little as possible, so whoever’s decided that’s a good job for someone to have is a massive cunt. Then the detective who was investigating laughed at me when I told him the road where a witness lived. “Do you expect me to go knocking on doors or something?” I said something like “isn’t that detective work?” I don’t have enough middle fingers for that cunt.

So I hope you get a little bit of solidarity from my anecdote and a nice windfall down the line.

SecretSauces,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

Obligatory /c/fuckcars

Glad you’re OK, but definitely get as much as you can from the insurance. Drivers are REQUIRED to pay them hundreds each month for this reason. So make them pay up now that they are needed.

TIMMAY,

sue that fucker for my friend rosalie who got hit in a crosswalk by an old rich guy in maryland and the cops refused to do anything about it

graeghos_714,

I was T-boned on my motorcycle. Like you, the driver had no malicious intent and I felt kind of bad for her as well because hitting someone is traumatic too. I tumbled about 60’ down the road and spent half a day in the trauma unit in the hospital getting tests and images. Her insurance was not enough to cover all my medical. After about 6 months of care which hit around $200k her insurance was tapped out. I did sue her insurance company but there wasn’t a lot there to get due to Michigan insurance laws. I didn’t sue her but I did get what I could from insurance. She may be screwed trying to get car insurance in the future but I’ll never walk normal again and may never be able to work in my field again. Don’t leave yourself short. The future issues may be worse than expected.
My son had a similar accident to yours. His shoulder and elbow were pretty mashed up and he is pretty much back to normal now. Hopefully your recovery is as good as his was. Being young helps healing a lot.

JustZ,

Lawyer here. Bud, your shoulder will never recover fully from this. Shoulders are terrible joints. The bones are just sort of there, not really attached to the rest of your skeleto. Talk with your Ortho about the probability that you will need a total shoulder replacement at some point in your life because of not just the broken bone and the healing processes to come, but also the damage to the surrounding soft tissue.

Plus the ambulance ride, hospital visit, and ensuing treatment, is going to take up time and money and it should not be yours. As you noted, it’s really just insurance paperwork, at the end of the day. Call a good lawyer.

SoleInvictus,
@SoleInvictus@lemmy.world avatar

Not a lawyer but a guy with shoulder problems from teenage antics. I just want to add that you really need to aggressively pursue treatment for that shoulder. The better you handle it now, the more you’ll thank yourself.

MadBob,

Chef here. The original post says they’re already getting a lawyer.

JustZ, (edited )

Yes, chef. When I read it, the post said that some family suggested contacting an attorney and was considering it.

Hey, how come I can’t seem to cook eggs even in non-stick cookware without having a mess of egg stuck to pan?

zalgo,

Also a chef here! What material is the pan made of? If it’s stainless steel you’re gonna have a hard time. The usual culprit is not having your fat/oil hot enough before cracking in your eggs. You may also find keeping things moving in the pan helpful,depending on how you plan on cooking the eggs. If you own a cast iron pan this will work better than stainless as with a good seasoning coat they can be fairly non-stick. Hope this helps.

MadBob,

Fair enough. I don’t cook eggs though because they come from animals so I can’t help you there I’m afraid.

BonesOfTheMoon,

Omigod I’m sorry! Hope you recover. That’s super traumatic. Please be gentle with yourself!

ClockworkOtter,

It’s the responsibility of driving a car to make sure the space the car is going into is empty. They didn’t do that and caused you bodily harm. I got hit by a careless driver last year, and have successfully filed a personal injury claim and have pressed for a criminal case. Don’t give them the benefit of the doubt.

I_Clean_Here,

So you trying to ruin someone over this or what?

ClockworkOtter,

People need to learn that there are consequences to dangerous and irresponsible driving.

intensely_human,

It’s not okay to hit someone with your car.

Suburbanl3g3nd,

To be fair, hitting someone with your car can ruin them for life, too…

Tier1BuildABear,
@Tier1BuildABear@lemmy.world avatar

And the alternative is what, the dude gets away with it and kills someone next time? You used to justifying hitting people with your car or something? Let me guess, the way he was dressed meant he was “asking for it”

therealjcdenton,

Did you survive?

13esq,

Reddit tier joke

therealjcdenton,

https://lemmy.zip/pictrs/image/afd570dc-a5cc-4b7d-a632-ff332d69e7cb.webp

Dvixen, (edited )
@Dvixen@lemmy.world avatar

Glad to hear the driver stopped. I hope your recovery is smooth and there are no long lasting problems.

My daughter was struck by a car last week, while on a pedestrian crossing. The driver (after being chased down by another teenager) stopped, talked to my daughter, and then drove off. She collapsed once the adrenaline wore off, and we spent the evening in the hospital while they checked her over.

Driver deserves a few slaps for stopping after being chased down, and then making the decision a second time to drive off instead of calling emergency services.

corsicanguppy,

I was run over at 6 years old.

We didn’t sue.

Canada.

DillyDaily,

Yeah but you probably weren’t looking at a few thousand dollars for shoulder surgery after the accident.

I feel for people in the US, getting hit by an unobservant driver could send you bankrupt if your medical expenses are bad enough.

MeanEYE,
@MeanEYE@lemmy.world avatar

Also back then you didn’t have SUV with size and weight of a freight truck and a flat surface in front. These days I think it’s less traumatic if someone just walks out of car and shoots you. You have higher chances of surviving.

TheMightyCanuck, (edited )
@TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works avatar

This is wholesome af. Get your bag and don’t sweat the insurance company.

Sotuanduso,

I think I’d rather get hit by a car than hit someone with my car.

Banger.

MadBob,

Hardly know her!

Okokimup,
@Okokimup@lemmy.world avatar

You seem like a really kind and thoughtful person. I hope you make a full recovery and go on to a wonderful life.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

Awww…🥺 that honestly made me feel a little better. Thank you so much! 💜💜💜

intensely_human,

Honestly you seem like you’re too nice. I hope you find it in your heart to sue this person. Someone hitting you with their car is not okay. They don’t deserve forgiveness. They deserve to pay your hospital bills, and they need to do whatever it takes to not hit another pedestrian with their car.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

I do plan on suing now, but more out of protecting myself than anger or resentment.

It’ll really suck for them, but it’s an important lesson and a natural consequence of that kind of carelessness. It’s not my fault that most US residents are financially struggling (including myself, which is why I should sue).

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