Sarah

If you ask her about the accident, she’s still likely to describe it as, “Nothing, really.” But those few seconds have changed everything.

“I kept thinking, if it happened that quickly, I can undo it quickly. I’m strong, I’m healthy, I’m fit. I do yoga, I do everything.”

During sailing season, Sarah just tried to put her head down and push through the pain. Then ski season started and she realized, “‘Oh, my gosh, something is really wrong. I’m having this crazy, excruciating pain.”

My insurance company is calling and saying, ‘Are you better yet?’ and I’m saying, “Yeah, I don’t think so.'”

Sarah’ own insurance covered some of her care through Personal Injury Protection (PIP), but they wouldn’t help her recover from the other insurance company.

“I forced them to meet with me twice. I wanted them to tell me what to do next. Just to give me some guidelines. And they said, ‘You can do whatever you want to do. You have X amount of dollars left in your PIP and you’re on your own after that.'”

To Sarah, that was crazy. “‘I’ve been with you guys for fifteen years. Don’t you take care of me?’ And the answer is, ‘No.'”

People don’t understand that insurance is defensive. Your insurance company defends you if you cause the accident. If someone else hurts you, they don’t have much to do with it.

Unsure of what to do next, Sarah continued medical treatment, exhausting her PIP and paying out of pocket for the rest. She kept hoping things would get better, but, “a year goes by, two years goes by, and I realize, ‘Oh, my gosh, part of me is broken.'”

As she continued to struggle with the pain and nerve damage, one of her friends told her there might be a three year deadline for getting compensation. With just two weeks to go before the three year mark, Sarah sat down to talk to Tom. “I had every right to get scolded. I should have come sooner,” she says.

“But Tom and Heidi (his paralegal) said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of you. We’ll help you. We care and we want to try to make this right.'”

Sarah wishes she had talked to a lawyer sooner.

“If I’d had help sooner, I would have had more confidence to use my financial resources to help myself get better. I would have tried things earlier.”

But like most people, she was a little intimidated.

“I didn’t know a lawyer. I barely had a doctor!” she says.

“I wondered how much it would cost just to go talk to somebody. Now I adore Tom and Heidi. I’ve realized that not all lawyers are awful. Tom is a wonderful, caring human being. And Heidi is my anchor of calm.”

Though Sarah continues to struggle with health issues, her settlement gives her the resources she needs to continue getting better.

“It’s expensive to be hurt! And I’m really concerned about my next fifty years. I went for a walk at Mt. Baker the other day and passed an 80 year old woman. I hope someday that’s me. Right now, I’m struggling and I’m forty. She has forty years on me. I don’t want to lose that.”