Wheelchair user sued after she is hit by a truck

From WSB-TV in Georgia:

HALL COUNTY, Ga. -- An insurance company went after a disabled woman in a wheelchair after she was hit by a truck. The woman called Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Jim Strickland to find out why.

Teresa Holcombe (pictured) said she has a chronic lung disease and diabetes. "I can't hardly walk without getting out of breath so they put me in a chair," said Holcombe.

Last December, she was in that chair, toting an oxygen tank, crossing a busy Gainesville intersection. There is no light or crosswalk at the intersection. The car in the near lane stopped for her.

"That lady said I could go and I thought I could and when I did, by the time I got to this side, that truck just plowed me one," said Holcombe.

A landscaper's pickup truck in the next lane slammed into Holcombe.

"My shoulder is out of place for the rest of my life, I had five staples in the back of my head and my leg has two chipped bones in it," said Holcombe.

Holcombe's lung condition meant she couldn't take anesthesia. But her latest medical challenges aren't the end of the story.

"They’re suing me saying I did almost $2,000 worth of damage to that
pickup truck," said Holcombe. "It floored me."

Auto Owners Insurance sued Holcombe for negligence and demanded that
she pay the $1,779.07 repair bill.

"They want every dollar they can get and they need this extra $1,780
from my client," said Holcombe’s attorney William Hardeman.

Hardeman said he thinks the insurance company saw dollar signs but
didn't think about the public relations issues that go along with suing a woman
in a wheelchair.

"I think the insurance company may rue the day they filed this suit,"
said Hardeman.

Hardeman is now countersuing and investigating the driver's record.
Meantime, Holcombe said she continues to wheel through life on a $688 a month
benefit check. She said paying for the man's truck would bust her.

"All the money they’ve got, why are they trying to sue somebody on
Social Security in a power wheelchair," asked Holcombe.

Auto Owners Corporate Headquarters refused to answer any of WSB-TV’s
questions but soon after Channel 2’s Jim Strickland started asking them, they
hired a different attorney and dropped their suit against Holcombe.

Holcombe is pressing on with her suit against the insurance company and
the owner of the truck.