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UsernameTaken93456 t1_ixhayhg wrote

STILL???

20 years ago, the drunk who hit me and took off only had $20k of insurance and I spent that before I woke up in tht hospital.

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il_biciclista OP t1_ixhdlff wrote

Yes. Still.

There is nothing in the law that indexes this for inflation. If the state house doesn't make any changes, then it will continue to be $20,000 indefinitely, regardless of how much medical costs increase.

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artificial_bluebird t1_ixi28vk wrote

Sorry that happened to you. I'm trying to understand the system better, could you maybe share what costs were and were not covered of this incident by your accident or medical insurances?

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UsernameTaken93456 t1_ixi980x wrote

Sure.

So this was 20 years ago and I didn't have medical insurance, because I had been laid off and was waitressing.

Now, I would have been on my parents insurance, as I was only 23.

I was hit by a car as a pedestrian and knocked out. I briefly woke up in the ambulance, and again as they were putting staples in my head. I don't remember the MRI, CT or anything like that. I woke up the next day with a bad concussion, a tore rotator cuff and various bruises and road rash. IIRC, it was like $22k before I left the hospital.

Then I had various aftercare appointments - I had to see a neurologist a few times, I needed PT for my shoulder and vestibular therapy for my TBI. One thing I needed but did not get was therapy for what became a pretty bad case of PTSD. 20 years later, and I still don't feel comfortable driving or being in a car.

I couldn't work, because I was a waitress and you can't waitress with one arm and vertigo. There was no "lost wages" coverage, but I was super lucky - my parents were able to help me cover my bills and ended up getting an office job within a few months.

I forget how much my total bills were, but I was staring down the edge of bankruptcy at the ripe age of 23. I ended up suing my mother's insurance company, because I was covered under her umbrella policy.

So, if my parents couldn't have helped me, I would have been homeless and if they didn't have an umbrella policy - or if I had registered to vote in MA or signed a lease- I couldn't have accessed that and I would have ended up bankrupt.

The guy who hit me was broke, btw. Totally judgement proof.

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Wtf_is_this1234 t1_ixi3qyl wrote

There's no amount of insurance that could fully cover claims like this where over 20 people are involved. It's literally a waste of time to even argue about how much insurance this guy could/should have.

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