The Road to Resilience: Life After a Car Accident

KN was 79 years old and as active and fit as could be. She went to the gym five times a week, working out for two hours at a time. She volunteered at a housing complex, where she distributed food to needy residents several times a week, carrying, packing, and moving boxes of food. The head of resident services at the housing complex loved her calm and cheerful demeanor when she was helping others.

She was actually headed home from the gym when a 23-year-old driver ran a red light and caused a T-bone collision that sent her to the hospital.

X-rays showed a comminuted fracture of her leg – the bone was broken into many small pieces, or fragments. She was prepped for surgery so the trauma surgeon could insert a rod and hardware into her leg to stabilize the bone.

After being in the hospital for about a week, her family reached out to a lawyer through a friend. That lawyer represents insurance companies and we had several cases against her over the years. She told KN’s family to call us.

We convinced the insurance company to take responsibility, but no one knew how KN would do, at that age and with a serious orthopedic injury.

But KN was in shape and resilient. She worked hard in her rehab and physical therapy, getting everything she could out of it. But she still had trouble going up and down steps and a greater risk of falling, especially since one of her legs was a little bit longer now after the surgery.

Through it all, KN was tough. We worked with her and her family to really learn about the full life of this humble, hard-working mother and grandmother. She never complained about her circumstances – not once. She just worked hard to get back to the best shape she could be in.

And she did it.

Yes, helping her get a sizable settlement from the other driver’s insurance company gives her peace of mind and control, it didn’t change the humble, hardworking person she has been all of her life.