Red-light runner left me with a shattered hip and a possible lifelong limp. I'm so angry.

The acetabulum thing — I'm so sorry. I fractured mine in a highway accident two years ago and nobody tells you how brutal that recovery is because it's not a "common" break. My honest timeline: I was on a walker for four months, crutches for two more after that, and PT for almost a year total. I'm mostly okay now but I still feel it on cold mornings and after long walks. You're 29 though, and that matters more than people realize. Younger bone heals differently. Don't let anyone give you a final prognosis this early.

The fact that you coded and are now doing PT three months out is genuinely remarkable — please give yourself credit for that even when it doesn't feel like progress. On the mobility question: pelvic and hip socket injuries have a really wide recovery range, and a lot depends on the surgical hardware, your PT consistency, and honestly some luck with how scar tissue forms. I'd push your care team to be specific about what functional goals look like at 6 months and 12 months, not just "reduced mobility" in the abstract. Vague language from doctors can feel scarier than a concrete plan.

Please tell me you have not given a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurance yet. They are going to try to close this out for as little as possible, and they will absolutely use anything you say in those early calls against you when your full injury picture isn't even clear yet. Your medical costs alone sound enormous, and "permanent reduced mobility" as a 29-year-old changes the math on everything — lost wages, future care, quality of life. Don't let them rush you.

I used to work claims. The thing that adjusters count on with serious-injury cases is that people are exhausted, broke, and emotionally worn down — so they accept the first real number that sounds big just to be done. With a surgery history, a documented ER coding event, and ongoing PT, your file is thick. That's actually leverage, even if it doesn't feel like it. The early offer — if one comes — will not reflect what this case is actually worth. I'm not saying drag it out forever, but don't let desperation set the timeline.

Not legal advice, but I'll say this: cases involving long-term or permanent orthopedic injury to someone your age are exactly the kind of thing that gets properly valued only when someone does a full life-care projection — meaning what your medical and quality-of-life costs look like over decades, not just today's bills. A citation for the other driver doesn't limit your civil options at all. Worth at least a free consultation with a PI attorney before you engage much further with insurance. Most won't charge unless they recover something.

Two things you need to do right now if you haven't: (1) keep a daily journal documenting your pain levels, what you can and can't do, emotional state, all of it — dated entries hold up later, and (2) get a copy of the full police report and make sure the officer's speed estimate is in there. That documentation is the foundation of everything else.

I don't want to pile on with questions when you're clearly going through it, but — do you have your own auto insurance with uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage? And do you know what policy limits the at-fault driver is carrying? Those two things will shape your options a lot, especially if his coverage is low. Hoping for your sake he had decent limits.