Graham and Kate Brown
Background
Graham Brown, Kate Brown’s son, was 27 at the time of his crash. He is an athlete who played basketball throughout his childhood, has always had an interest in computers; and he is currently working in network administration.
Crash Description
On May 2nd, 2005, Graham was hit head on by an impaired and fatigued driver who was heading from one job to another. The truck driver fell asleep and swerved into the oncoming lane, hitting Graham’s car. Graham’s car became airborne and flipped into a field which was where the EMS helicopter landed to transport Graham to the hospital. After the crash, the truck driver was witnessed saying he had been “partying all night” with a crack pipe found in his truck.
Consequences
Graham underwent 22 different surgeries, and three full years of physical and occupational therapy. He is now permanently, partially disabled. Kate’s family had to split the available amount with the insurance company to cover the property damage of the truck. This meant that Kate’s family had a net $350,000 to cover Graham’s significant medical costs.
The medical bills weren’t the only costs incurred by the crash. Kate and her ex-husband had to take 6 months unpaid leave and Kate had to take a loan out of her 401K retirement plan. There were also incidental costs, such as gas from visiting a hospital 65 miles away from their home, food costs from eating at the hospital and surrounding restaurants, and equipment costs from outfitting their home to accommodate Graham’s wheelchair and physical therapy.
The minimum insurance amount wasn’t nearly enough to cover Graham's initial care, which Kate estimated at $5,000,000, not to mention ongoing and future care. Kate's goal is to help prevent the devastating financial burdens placed on families due to insufficient insurance limits.