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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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).
I think I’d rather get hit by a car than hit someone with my car.
Banger.
