FINALLY FEELING FREE

3 years ago I was in the crosswalk with my dog, Sweetsie.  A full sized city bus ran the stop sign and smashed into me.  I've had 2 major surgeries and 2 stays in nursing homes as a result of my injuries.

IF THAT WASN'T BAD ENOUGH!  Instead of just going ahead and doing the right thing, the bus company (Trimet) fought with me when I tried to get compensation for my injuries.  I had to file a lawsuit against them.  My lawyer advised me that everything that I wrote online- on any platform - was open to Trimet.  Three years ago I wrote on my blog that I painted my whole house pink.  Even though I was still dependent on a walker to move around she told me that Trimet would interpret that against me.  They'd say that if I was well enough to paint my house then I wasn't really injured.  Of course,  I didn't do the painting myself!  What would I have done - climbed a ladder with my walker?  In order not to have my blog used against me I stopped writing it and closed access to it.

I stopped using Facebook for the same reason.  Anything I said would be used against me.  I stopped emailing friends because they would ask me how I was doing. If I said I was working hard to get better, then Trimet would claim I was just fine.  For goodness' sake, I wasn't fine.  Their damned bus crashed into me.  There was even a video of the accident to prove it.

Not being able to communicate with my friends back in Houston was crushing to me.  I could telephone them.  But,  I had so many people that I used to communicate with online.  I fear that I have lost those friends.  It's been over 3 years since I've chatted with many of them.

Trimet made me a low ball offer after a year and a half.  If I had accepted that,  I would have received zero compensation.  If you win a lawsuit after an injury,  the first ones to get compensated are the insurance companies.  Anything insurance paid for as a result of the accident would have to be reimbursed to the company.  Then the lawyer gets a third of the settlement if any monies are left.

Therefore,  I had to continue my fight with Trimet so I'd at least get some compensation for my pain - physical and emotional.  There is an Oregon tort law protecting Trimet.  There is a cap on compensation that they have to pay in a lawsuit.  It is not nearly enough.  The more they fought with me the more I wanted them to have to pay the cap.

Besides not having freedom of written speech, I didn't have freedom of movement.  At times there were private detectives watching me.  That didn't bother me so much.  The injuries had already taken away my freedom of movement.  I still have to use my walker when I take my dog on walks.  The rest of the time I use a cane.

On August 13, 2019 I had a deposition with Trimet.  I had to sit at the same table with the bus driver who didn't bother to look both ways and not stop at the stop sign.  He didn't look at me during the deposition.  No apology from him.  He had had an accident the week before he hit me.  He rear ended a truck and one of his passengers was taken away in an ambulance.  But, he was allowed to continue driving.  After he hit me Trimet didn't fire him.  They let him quit so he would have a clean employment record.

Finally in November 2019 I was awarded the cap of compensation.  I ended up with a bit more than a third of the total after reimbursing the insurance companies and paying my lawyer.