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.

BananaTrifleViolin,

You got hit by a car and your parents and SO already found a lawyer? I support the idea but I seems pretty quick - I guess people deal with stress in different ways, and it was their way of helping “fix the problem”.

I hope you’re OK, the whole thing sounds traumatic. The flash backs should ease but if they don’t, do think about getting support in the coming days or weeks to help you process what you’ve been through. Hope you’re feeling better soon!

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

You got hit by a car and your parents and SO already found a lawyer? I support the idea but I seems pretty quick - I guess people deal with stress in different ways, and it was their way of helping “fix the problem”.

You’re exactly right about that. My parents are “fixers” for sure… that’s how they show their love, mostly. They already have a lawyer I guess, and that lawyer apparently knows someone who works with these kinds of cases. My SO was just encouraging me to accept their offer to pay for the attorney.

intensely_human,

God I would love to have your parents. Someone willing to go to the mattresses like that for me.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

I’m definitely very lucky to have them in this particular situation.

nokturne213,

I have had two work place injuries, one still affects (effects?) me today 20+ years later (I am slowly going blind because of an eye injury). I wish I had not blown it off when it happened. I was encouraged to sue, but it seemed like a lot of trouble for not a big deal back then. If I knew how bad my eye sight was going to be I would have sued for sure.

DingoBilly,

Sorry to hear.

Small consolation but you did use affects correctly. Something affects you, while something can cause an effect.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you for sharing your experience… I’m so sorry it went down that way for you.

DillyDaily,

I was struck by a truck in April last year when they turned into a bike path instead of turning into their lane.

I was completely fine at the time, just banged up, I went to a private GP clinic and they did a full assessment and billed it under the transport accident commission (a public fund in Victoria Australia for people injured in transport accidents)

Almost one year on, and what was just a bruise on my shin is still just a bruise on my shin. The blood vessels never healed, the discolouration never went away, the odema still causes pain and I can’t kneel or wear boots, and my shin pads for soccer cause pain (and when I take a tackle shin to shin, the pain is so bad it prevents me from weight bearing for an hour or so, and I walked around on a dislocated hip for 3 months, I have a congenital hip deformity, I’m not a stranger to leg pain)

It’s literally just a bruise, my regular GP has been keeping an eye on it because it’s baffling that it hasn’t healed, but it’s not dangerous and it’s not impacting my life enough that I wish I’d done more at the time of the accident.

But it is annoying, and because I was totally fine after the accident, my TAC claim was open-and-close just to cover the cost of the initial “all clear, just some bruising” private GP appointment. And now I have no way of getting reimbursed for the subsequent “it’s been 10 months doc, why is my leg still bruised like I banged it yesterday? Let’s get a CT to rule out issues” appointments.

Hindsight is 20-20, if you have any way of keeping your options open as a traffic accident victim to allow your body time to show the true long term impact, take action to leave that door open, just in case.

There’s a chance, like me, you will be 100% fine and at most just have a strange new body quirk. But there’s also a chance things don’t heal the way you expect and it becomes a lifelong issue.

DarkThoughts,

I truly have no ill-will toward that person because shit happens

They were reckless and didn't care to drive safely in an area where they should have even paid extra attention.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

You’re absolutely right. They’re 100% at fault, and should’ve taken their position as a driver more seriously and diligently. But still, I find it hard to be angry with them, at least currently. 🤷‍♀️

I doubt that they were intentionally reckless… probably just stupid and careless, which we all are at some point or another, in various ways. It just so happens that the consequences of that carelessness in this situation are a lot higher than they are in most other circumstances.

Now, if I found out that they were drunk or texting at the time, that would likely change. Or, perhaps, if I end up having chronic issues that cause me to become resentful.

Isoprenoid,

I doubt that they were intentionally reckless … probably just stupid and careless

Being stupid and careless while manning heavy machinery (car) is about at reckless as it gets.

If you don’t sue, you are teaching them that what happened is okay and to keep doing it.

What if they hit a child next? A puppy?

I_Clean_Here,

Americans in a nutshell

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

Oh, I plan on suing, to be clear. My mind is made up. I need to protect myself, especially because I have no idea if this will have long-term effects.

But I still feel the same way about them… just on a more personal level.

intensely_human,

You need to protect yourself and you need to protect all the other pedestrians in your city.

dingus, (edited )

You sound like a very sweet and understanding person. A lot of people could stand to learn from your views on other people. Hope you have a speedy recovery!

intensely_human,

OP sounds like a pushover, who’s in severe danger of having part of her life turn to hell as a result of insufficient funds for medical treatment.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

I didn’t make it clear in my post, but I do plan on suing now that I’ve thought it through; I certainly can’t afford the kinds of medical bills we get in the states.

The empathetic feelings I’ve expressed regarding the driver are just on a personal level, and unrelated to my decision to sue. It sucks, but they made their bed and now must lie in it.

DarkThoughts,

Stop making excuses please.
If you drive a several ton heavy vehicle that goes ridiculous speeds, then you're in a special position of responsibility towards others, especially weaker road users such as bike riders (both motorcycles as well as bicycles) and pedestrians.

This internalized fetishism towards cars needs to stop.

awwwyissss,

If you have a case you should sue. Someone totally fucked you up due to their own carelessness whole driving a dangerous vehicle. Sue them if you have a case and let the court decide what’s fair.

weeeeum,

This terrifies me lol. My work is only a mile away, basically down the street but I hate walking there. I have to cross multiple busy roads that are like 40mph, but people frequently speed around 60mph. The pedestrian stop signals are super slow and the one time I used them it took 15 minutes, no shit, I timed it.

So I would have to jay walk, three 4 lane roads, all 40mph everyday, just to walk a mile to work.

There is a faster route but there’s no sidewalk, and there’s A bridge that forces you onto the road. Safe to say I don’t walk that either.

The walkability is so bad, you have to drive somewhere to walk and exercise.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

I’ve had similarly unsafe commutes; it can definitely be scary. I expect to be even more afraid to cross the road now, even at crosswalks. Ugh, I hate how stupidly hostile streets can be for pedestrians.

Also a 15-minute wait for a walk signal is absurd!!! Wtf, it seems like the people who design cities/roadways hate pedestrians.

ShadowRam, (edited )

driver turned left

A-Pillar Blindness.

It's a common thing and more people need to be made aware of it. Glad you're ok.

Definitely sue. You don't know how this will affect you long term. Years from now, a pinched nerve can render your arm un-useable.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

Huh. I didn’t know about a-pillar blindness. Definitely an important thing to know.

You’re right, I need to look out for future me even if I feel mostly ok now.

PunnyName, (edited )

Get a lawyer. Don’t mention how “fine” or “okay” you might think you are. Suing the driver is going to potentially care for any future medical issues. And ideally their insurance will take the bigger hit. This is specifically the kind of time you need to sue.

lemann,

I’m a bicycle rider who’s also learning to drive - the one thing I’ve found is that it’s very easy to end up hidden behind a driver’s A pillar.

In driving lessons I try to move around in the seat more to see around them, and when I’m riding my bicycle I try and position myself in areas where I can be easily seen, using lights whenever possible to additionally provide a reflection off the road in dark conditions.

Being hidden behind the pillar is really scary because you’re literally not seen at all

kautau,

Also if the walk sign was on and the driver turned left, they drove through a red light, so they’re absolutely at fault. I mean sue either way, as this commenter said, but they broke traffic rules and could have killed OP

ShadowRam,

No, walk signs are on in the same direction of travel.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

The walk sign was on, but they also had a green light; that’s how most intersections work where I live, at least. I fucking WISH pedestrians got a light cycle to ourselves. Or at least a few seconds. 😫

But the driver still should have yielded to any pedestrians according to right-of-way laws.

Land_Strider,

As someone who has been with their family day and night for about a month due to health stuff, I definitely have emphaty with the indecision about the situation.

On the one hand, some types of accidents can happen to anyone due to common variables aligning together and it is natural to chalk it up to “shit happens”. Especially more so if the one causing the incident is as surprised about the incident and as cordial as possible afterwards.

On the other hand, even if you feel comparatively fine and seem to be on your way to rather quick and full recovery, you don’t know if this will cause later harm, sometimes statistically known to be low as doctors would say a couple percent chance or something like that, sometimes not even considered.

You should sue for compensation without waiting for the “if things gets worse” to come to pass. It will be too late if you wait. Most people would also argue that you should take this as a “never talk to cops” thing so it would be advisable against cordially letting the driver know that you intend to take precautions about future risks by aiming for compensation, considering that it will not impact the driver’s life nearly as it may impact yours on the worst case scenario. On this matter, you will have to trust your own judgement and the specific experience of lawyers, I’d say. Not fears of the bystanders that didn’t see the incident, attitude of the driver, or don’t have experience about how similar things turned out later.

Thorny_Insight,

I’ve had few occasions where the timing was just right and a car/pedestrian was perfectly hidden behind the a-pillar and then just appeared out of nowhere. There’s even a famous junction in the UK that’s known for being dangerous for this exact reason.

mPony,

Thanks for posting that: I hadn’t seen that video before. I’m glad they changed that junction to make it safer.

intensely_human,

As a driver you should lean left and right to check around the A pillar.

Thorny_Insight,

And even if you do these things are still bound to happen every now and then. Not a single human alive is capable of paying 100% attention to their surroundings 100% of the time.

ltxrtquq,

And yet we trust almost all of them to operate a 2-ton machine on a daily basis here in the US.

Thorny_Insight,

Yeah. And also hate the people trying to solve this by introducing self driving vehicles. Go figure.

gamermanh,
@gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

You can, but with how close the a-pillar is to your face relative to where other things are you can quite often have to move LARGE amounts to actually see shit

Luckily my current car has really good A-pillar visibility with where I normally put my head, but when I had to drive rentals for about a year when this car was in the shop I FEEQUENTLY had issues with shit being near impossible to see behind the massive bar they though was smart to put there.

Never had an issue because I was aware and careful, but if even someone who’s actively aware of it can have an issue then there’s a problem at the design level

AA5B,

I have this on my very own street - there’s what I always think of as a T intersection at the end but in reality there is a small private road just a bit offset. There’s little enough traffic that I just never really noticed for years …. Until one day when I found myself turning into the intersection and another car magically appeared. Effing A pillar. No accident and we both handled it well, but it’s a shock when you realize you’ve had that kind of blindness on a road you drive every day

Today, (edited )

My car is really bad for that. I’ve almost missed seeing pedestrians several times. I agree with this post - you’ll likely have medical bills well beyond what they find immediately.

Edit to clarify and to say I’m really glad you’re okay.

mPony,

my old car was bad for it too. I got into a habit of doing a “bob and weave” to look around the A Pillar while driving it.

I’m glad OP is okay.

GrymEdm, (edited )

When it comes to deciding what to do, try to think about what advice you’d give a best friend in your situation and consider following that yourself. You can work with your lawyer to figure what’s reasonable to expect, but don’t feel bad about making sure any future treatment is covered. Be kind to yourself while you recover, and take medical advice seriously. As someone with a few traumatic head injuries, I’m glad to hear you won’t have to deal with that at least. Best wishes for your recovery.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

You’re right; I can’t know how this will actually affect me in the future, so I should protect myself. Thank you for your advice!

zeppo,
@zeppo@lemmy.world avatar

Glad you’re alright! I’m lucky to have driven for years and never done harmed anyone in a collision. If the person’s insurance goes up, well, there’s a reason they do that.

I was lightly struck by a guy at a crosswalk in a busy commercial district… walking on the sidewalk, saw this car apparently coming to a stop and walked out into the crosswalk, but he went a little far. He barely tapped me and I sort of fell o to his hood. It was this old black dude. Not much to say so I just waved and kept going.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

I’m glad you didn’t get hurt! I’m sure he was relieved, too.

person,

I don’t know if i’d rather be hit than hit someone, but not wanting to find out is definitely one of the reasons I don’t want a license.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

I have a license, but my sense of direction is absolutely horrible and I tend do stupid things when I’m really stressed while driving, so I rely on public transport as much as possible.

itchick2014,

As someone who knows someone who was killed as a pedestrian crossing the road…it is not your fault. Don’t forget that fact. Trauma does weird things to our brains even without head injury. Don’t feel guilty about pursuing a lawsuit either. It was the other person’s responsibility to be watchful and follow traffic laws…and they failed. Repercussions are normal in such circumstances even if it is an honest mistake. Hope that you don’t feel any more pain or have more unseen issues. Sometimes these things take time to surface. If you feel unexplainably sleepy at any point, don’t hesitate to see a doctor. Sometimes head trauma isn’t obvious. Wish you the best and hope you recover quickly and thoroughly.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

I have a feeling I’m going to be much sorer tomorrow, for sure. Thank you for the advice and well wishes!

BarrelAgedBoredom,

If you weren’t prescribed pain meds, ibuprofen and Tylenol taken together have synergistic effects comparable to a moderate dose of codeine. Make sure you stay on top of the swelling too, humeral fractures are no joke. I hope your recovery goes well!

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you! Thankfully, they gave me something a little stronger, but I’ll definitely need that advice when my script runs out, which’ll be in just a few days unless the orthopedic surgeon gives me a refill.

intensely_human,

Do you need someone to come advocate for you? Is there anyone in your life who’s going to push you to sue even when you feel like stopping?

I’m an uber driver and make my own schedule. I could come to where you are an act as patient advocate if you want.

lady_maria,
@lady_maria@lemmy.world avatar

That’s such a sweet offer. Thank you so much! But no. My parents and SO will definitely pushing me to continue if I start having doubts. Both parents are retired, so they can invest as much time as they want into helping me.

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