Nearly a year and a half ago, an Indiana man was hit by a car in a different state. Along with other serious injuries, he suffered a traumatic brain injury. The injury delayed the final steps of his master’s degree for 17 months.
The car accident occurred late in 2012 as the man crossed the street. After suffering abrain injury, skull fractures and major colon damage, he had a long road of recovery ahead of him. Although he has experienced vision problems and has had to learn how to walk all over again, earlier this month he returned to school to defend his master’s thesis.
It is truly an uplifting story when someone who suffers a serious brain injury is able to recover and find success. However, that does not mean that either came easy or without substantial time, effort and money. As many people in Indiana know, medical expenses have skyrocketed in recent years. Today, in fact, medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy.
When a car accident is the cause of a person’s suffering and expenses, who should have to pay? While it depends on the specific circumstances of a situation, in some cases, one driver may have been negligent. Even if it seems unlikely in your situation — even, for example, if a pedestrian crosses outside of a crosswalk and is hit by a car — the driver’s negligence may have played a role.
If the driver was speeding, intoxicated or otherwise violating traffic laws when the accident occurred, it may be possible to seek compensation from him or her for your medical expenses. To make sure you have a case, it is important to talk to a personal injury attorney.
Source: Herald Review, “Master’s student returns to ISU after brain injury to defend thesis,” Lenore Sobota, April 19, 2014