2009- Susan Lopez's Testimony

By Susan Lopez
May 10, 2009

Attention:

This is my cry for help. Please read my story and point me in the right direction, help me to meet the people that will not only help me resolve my issue but also make a difference in other peoples lives.

I woke up one morning and got ready for work. I wore my brand new running shoes. I ate some breakfast and made it out to my car, “Lola”. I had been proud of myself because I had moved out on my own and not only managed to save enough money to buy a car but also work and go to school full time. My family situation and past traumatic events were experiences that I was trying to overcome and frankly doing a pretty good job of it. I felt like people were kicking me down and I just kept getting back up. Well, for people like me it does not stop there. As I was on my way to work, taking my usual route down coldwater canyon, I would have never imagined that I would be hit so badly I wouldn’t even be awake to experience the whole thing. I was hit, head-on and knocked unconscious. I was rushed to the nearest hospital by ambulance, where I finally woke up. Then, the nurse asked me if I had insurance and I said no. That same night I was taken by ambulance to County hospital, where I was hospitalized for about a week. It was there where I had learned what was wrong with me. I had broken my ankle severely, broke my collar bone, I had lacerations all over my body, including my face. The left side of my face was yellow and purple and transformed into this very ugly disfigured thing. Luckily though, I was still alive and I am grateful.

The most devastating turn of events were still to come. Although, I had been the victim of a close to fatal car accident, our health care system in addition to our legal system had and continues to fail me and others like me. I had been thrown into this nightmare experience and went from victim to criminal. I’m going to walk you through the money hungry part of the personal injury drill. You get into a car accident, it’s not your fault and you get a lawyer. Approximately a week or two out of the hospital and I am confined to a wheel chair and could barely move. I find a lawyer, some guy from Beverly Hills. The actual lawyer never comes out to see me. Instead he sends his assistant. She takes pictures of me and then has me sign all kinds of papers. A few days later, the assistant brings me settlement papers for the woman’s policy limits, which were set at $30,000.00. She said to me, we are actually representing the woman’s sister in another case and she says that she does not have anything and I will never be able to get anything out of her, so I should just take the settlement and apply for MediCal. The problem is that I did not qualify for MediCal. I had already applied. It didn’t make sense to me. I did not even know if I was going to walk soon.

I got another attorney. He pumped me up and said he would help me out. He had been working on my case for about 6 months or so and then says “I’m just trying to relieve your debt.” My debt? What the hell! My medical bills between those two hospitals, the ambulance rides, and Doctors that my lawyers asked me to go see, all add up to about $60,000. My first lawyer wanted me to settle for the lady's policy limit, $30,000 (of which he would get a third) and I was still in a wheel chair, my second lawyer said this lady has no assets so the best I can do is try to reduce your liens and maybe get you $1,000, and my third lawyer has said she is working with the second lawyer and the best they can do is $1,800.
 
Really? I have debt because of this woman. He finally said he could get me about a thousand dollars. I just felt so bad, especially since I learned that I need to have another surgery on my ankle. I became very depressed. I didn’t know what to do. I began to look for another attorney. Everyone I spoke to said no, that it was not a good case to take. After I got off the phone with one attorney who sounded like they might want to help me, they would call me back and tell me I needed to speak with my previous attorney. I don’t understand why he would want to help me if he had sent me an email saying that he no longer wanted to represent me. I finally found another attorney. A woman in Los Angeles that said my case did not look well but she would try and help me. Last week she told me that she had been working with my previous attorney and that I there was nothing else she could do. I should just take the settlement and take it immediately.

A week has passed and I have not signed the settlement papers. I am really scared and I don’t know what to do. I am afraid of the implications. I am afraid that I won’t be able to get my surgery. If I settle for the $1,000.00, my case will be over I will not be able to fight it in any other way. I will continue to struggle with my leg and blame it on bad luck. I am lost and feel like I don’t have an advocate with personal injury lawyers. I feel like they are not really seeing the big picture.

 Many of the lawyers I have spoken to say that this is not the first time they see a case like this. Apparently this happens often. What are people supposed to do? Who is responsible? The city does not care about health care issues and those that prey on victims of car accidents for their own financial benefit. It is devastating to become jaded, not know what to do and feel like no one cares about those that don’t have a voice. I am asking for anyone out there to help me figure out a solution to this problem. Not only my personal problem but also for those that are going through the same thing.

For those that do not have health care and struggle day in and day out with illness and health problems and are denied the proper medical assistance. Why am I so afraid to go to the Doctor? I know I will have to pay a lot of money for it. When I ask others what I should do, the solution is to go out of the country to get my operation. Why does the country that I was born in, the country that I am supposed to be proud of choose to leave middle class minorities not only underrepresented but also systemically discriminate against them and psychologically destroy their moral and perpetuate failure amongst those communities? I am pleading for someone to help me find platforms where I can further develop this issue and find a solution. My trial starts in July of this year and I have nobody to help me make a clear decision.

I need yet another surgery on my ankle in order to try and get it back to normal, but even then their is only a 15% chance it will work. I do not have any way of paying for that surgery. I also have pressure to settle my case for the 30,000, of which I will receive 1,800 after my debt has been paid off. This does not add up. I was a victim of a severe car accident. My car that I worked hard for is gone, my leg ruined for the rest of my life, and I am being told I cannot be compensated. Is it my fault that our health care system is far from adequate? It certainly was not my fault this woman hit my car. Another interesting point is that this woman has had inconsistencies in her story and I believe she is hiding something.

I am stressing out and cannot even enjoy the coming of my graduation from the University of California Santa Cruz this June because of this problem. I realize I have been long-winded, but I need help to get my case heard. For people to realize how inadequate, non-functional, and sad our health care system is. The fact that there is no protection for victims of car accidents and no liability for the person that caused it. Why can’t she be charged my medical bills? Why can’t she pay for my surgery, even if it takes years? Fine I will settle for the policy limit but 1,800 that is a slap in my face. I cannot afford my surgery or recover my car. I am left worse than I have started out. Luckily, I did not die in the accident but at this point I am beginning to question whether I was lucky or not. The point is I am tired of being cheated. There are definite inequalities within our legal system as well as our public benefits, such as health care. The system pretty much says, "Too bad so sad this happened to you, deal with it!"

Please let me know who if anyone I can speak to, to get my story out. I am a young Mexican American woman that is desperate to make changes and to take a stand against those that take advantage of poor underprivileged, under-represented minorities. Please help me as I am working against deadlines and trial court dates.

If there is anything that is unclear and that may very well be possible since I am passionate about what I am writing and often lose sight of some details/facts, please let me know. Anything, anything that you would like to learn more about, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Sincerely,

Susan I. Lopez
silopez@ucsc.edu