Last fall, as thousands of Ohio State students prepared for their first day of class, one young woman who had planned to start her freshman year instead lay in a hospital bed. The young woman was involved in a serious pedestrian and car accident days before classes were scheduled to start when she was hit by a car while walking.

Today, doctors marvel at the progress and recovery Rachel Stump has made. Upon first arriving at the hospital, doctors were initially unsure as to whether the young woman would even survive. She suffered multiple severe internal injuries and a serious brain injury. After waking from a coma, Stump describes how she’s battled back both physically and mentally after months of medical care and physical therapy.

She’s currently enrolled in one class at OSU to prove she’s mentally capable of completing assignments. She plans to take additional courses this summer and return as a full-time student living near campus next fall.

While it appears as though Stump’s story has a happy ending, such scenarios aren’t typical in most accidents in which an individual sustains multiple internal injuries and a traumatic brain injury. Such injuries are life-threatening and often render an individual physically or mentally disabled. In Stump’s case, doctors are amazed by her progress and focus on making a full recovery.

Ohio residents who have been injured in car accidents or pedestrian accidents often require both emergency and ongoing medical care. Additionally, such injuries typically require an individual to take time off of work and incur large sums of medical debt. For these individuals, a personal injury lawsuit may be an appropriate means to help recoup compensation related to medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost wages.

Source: The Lantern, “Rachel Stump enrolled in classes, health improving during Ohio State return,” Lauren Clark, March 22, 2013