Pedestrian Lane Accident

A colleague got side-swiped by a rushing car one bright Thursday morning as he was crossing the street via the pedestrian lane on his way to the shuttle bound for work. He had suffered concussions, lacerations, fractures, muscle/skin trauma, and is now confined with several operating procedures left scheduled towards the rest of the coming week. The photos taken of his injured left backside thigh shows exposed raw muscle tissues whose outer skin layer had gone missing, most were probably still lodged in the broken headlights of the car that hurled him to the windshield shortly after impact. A series of operations are going to be done on Tuesday where skin grafting is of a key task. After these procedures, the healing process would certainly include training his muscles to work normally which could take months.

The person driving the car is a college student rushing for school. Not drunk. Not under the influence of drugs. Sleepy, maybe, I really do not know. The good part is that the parents of the student and he himself are almost always by the bedside of the victim, checking on his progress. Assessing the extent of the damage. Showing support. A responsible kind, I thought.

Now how would I act were I on the parent's shoes, I thought, while I was on my way to the hospital to go visit. Would I press charges, settle with arbitration for settlement, or pardon the act? Definitely not the latter. The victim's mom had told us that they had not settled for anything yet and that she's still inclined to press charges. The family of the student on the other hand were pushing for settlement, saying they are willing to shoulder all related expenses due to the accident. Well, I could recall the victim's mom saying that it's too early to really see the extent of the damage. If they settle right now and complications arise during the healing process then they are bound by the settlement and get support on what was only agreed upon. I found that particular exchange enlightening on its entirety.

Right. Money is not a problem, really. As employees, we are after all covered by what might be the highest medical/hospitalization benefit there is. If we analyze the situation, his being unable to live normally until full recovery is the major pain in the arse. Couple that with his inability to carry out short-term plans due to under ability plus the void left on his function by not being able to work.

The fist thing I asked when I was over at his bedside was, "are you ever going to get back to the way you always were before this," to which a well meant, "I don't know," was the only reply I got. I just pray for his fast recovery for now.

posted by Fritz @ 5:21 PM