In Part 1 we saw how a husband and wife were injured in a motorcycle accident. Now we will see how they recovered, and how bankruptcy helped them move on from the accident financially.

The wife was airlifted to a nearby trauma center. She spent about a week in the hospital, a month in casts, and several months in physical therapy. The husband was taken to a local hospital and checked out soon after. He was given a walking boot for his injuries.

The pedestrian spent quite some time in the hospital. His leg required multiple surgeries. He never fully recovered from his severe fractures. He still limps heavily to this day and utilizes a cane when he walks, but he’s lucky to be alive.

Fortunately for our clients, they had great insurance. They also had some money in the bank to cover things like co-pays and deductibles. Unfortunately, the thing they couldn’t afford was not working.

Both the husband and wife had hourly jobs which offered no vacation and no sick leave. When they didn’t work, they didn’t make money. The husband’s job was physically demanding, so his broken ankle kept him from working for several weeks.

The wife’s job was a desk job, but her injuries were severe enough to keep her from work for a month. After returning to work, she could only work part-time because of the immense pain she felt after sitting for hours in a chair.

The interruption in their income along with the depletion of their savings, put them behind on bills. They used credit cards to keep afloat, but this created a lot of debt.

The wife never returned to full-time work, so they were unable to afford even the minimum payments on their credit cards. Harassing calls began, and threats of wage garnishment soon followed. It was then they came to our office.

When we ran their credit, we discovered they had about $15,000 in credit card debt. They easily qualified for chapter 7 bankruptcy due to their low income. So we quickly filed their case and protected them from any creditor harassment, threats, or potential garnishments.

Now they are debt free. The wife is still only working part-time, but her pain is being managed well. Since they no longer have any debt, their income is just enough to pay all of their expenses, with a little left over for savings and fun. And they just completed their first road trip since the accident, on that very same Harley-Davidson motorcycle.