Life Lessons from a Guy Who Can’t Move Anything but His Face
unstoppable.me
unstoppable.me
He says "Bill had crappy insurance, paying out a maximum of $20,000 for the accident". He says the total bill was $130,000, so is he implying that he himself had to come up with the other $110,000? If that's the case, then why did Bill have insurance at all? I mean, if Bill's insurance would pay $20,000 then Bill himself would have to come up with the $110,000 right? I guess I'm missing something here...
Bill probably had insurance in order to legally drive since states require you to have car insurance.
The minimum coverage varies by state but can be around $20,000: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/car-insurance/
I think the reasoning is that although he would be on the hook for the $110K, since Bill was a teenager who worked at Wendy's, he likely didn't have the $110K to pay. Sure he could rightfully sue Bill for the full amount, but he can't get what the kid doesn't have.
Bill may or may not be liable to cover the rest of the bill - and even then, they might have to go through court. If bill is low income, which is likely true considering the fast food job and minimum liablity insurance - he might not have to pay it back very quickly. Even if they dock his pay at 25%, it'll take some time to recoup the money. By then, the hospital will have already put this into collections. Sometimes normal health insurance won't cover such things, but it is somewhat possible Medicaid would pay for it.
So, basically, Jon is screwed. The only real prize here is that if Jon's insurances covered any of his hospital bills, they are likely to take legal action themselves.
How do you have accidents that often if you're in a wheelchair? Once or twice I can see, but 50 bones is a lot
And then outside of this: It takes some practice to maneuver a wheelchair. You wind up hitting your foot and hands and things (or others can easily do this). I'm guessing there are times when things just go badly (wheel stuck in a rut) and he winds up on the ground, wheelchair over part of him. He probably has some bones that are more brittle than we'd expect because they don't regularly bear weight (legs).
And don't forget, this is over 34 years with what seems like high risk factors and some unfortunate accidents over the time - and sometimes multiple breakings at once due to the accidents.
He's active, he gets around, he travels -- and he has literally has no ability to catch himself, readjust himself, move quickly to avoid danger, and he's doing it all on a device looks safer, but is far more precarious, in some ways, than two legs. I can hike up a dirt trail or navigate an icy sidewalk -- even step up onto a curb -- without worrying. Try being in a wheelchair under similar circumstances.