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.
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.
I’m glad you didn’t get hurt! I’m sure he was relieved, too.
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.
I have a feeling I’m going to be much sorer tomorrow, for sure. Thank you for the advice and well wishes!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
You seem like a really kind and thoughtful person. I hope you make a full recovery and go on to a wonderful life.
Awww…🥺 that honestly made me feel a little better. Thank you so much! 💜💜💜
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.
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).
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!
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.
God I would love to have your parents. Someone willing to go to the mattresses like that for me.
I’m definitely very lucky to have them in this particular situation.
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.
Thank you for sharing your experience… I’m so sorry it went down that way for you.
