Woke up in the hospital with no memory of my crash — anyone else piece things together years later?

Oh man, the memory gap thing is so real and it messes with you in ways people who haven't been through it don't really get. I had a bad rear-end collision a few years back and lost about 20 minutes. I spent probably a year obsessing over the dashcam footage from another car that a witness shared with me — both because I needed to see it and also because I kind of wish I hadn't? There's something both relieving and unsettling about finally seeing what your body went through while your brain was offline. I hope you find some peace with it either way.

On the legal side — when a minor is involved in a settlement, in most states there's actually supposed to be court approval of the settlement (called a minor's compromise), and the funds are typically held in a blocked account until the minor turns 18. Whether that happened correctly depends a lot on the state you were in. It might be worth requesting those records if you can — probate or civil court records from around that time could show you what was actually agreed to and on what terms. Some people find out everything was done properly and that's a relief. Others find out it wasn't. Either way, knowing is better than wondering.

The memory loss around trauma is really common and it's not just psychological — it's physiological. When your brain is under that level of stress, the hippocampus basically stops encoding memories normally. So the gaps aren't you failing to remember, they're gaps that were never fully recorded in the first place. That said, some people do experience fragmented memories surfacing later, especially if something triggers them. Just be gentle with yourself if that happens — it can be jarring.

I'd really push on the question of whether that settlement was actually fair. Insurance companies know that families under stress, especially when a kid is hurt, are easier to close out quickly. They're not evil, they're just motivated to close files. Your parents almost certainly did the best they could, but 'best they could under the circumstances' and 'best possible outcome' aren't always the same thing.

Not legal advice, but I'll say this: statutes of limitations for minors work differently than for adults in most states. Often the clock doesn't even start until you turn 18, which means you may have had more time to act than you realized — though depending on your age now, that window may have closed. If you're genuinely unsure whether the settlement from your childhood was handled properly, it's worth at least a free consultation with a PI attorney to understand what, if anything, could still be looked into. Most won't charge you just to talk.

I just want to say — it makes complete sense that this still bothers you. You were 17, you were seriously hurt, and a bunch of adults made decisions around you while you were just trying to survive. Not having answers to something that big doesn't just go away because time passes. I hope you find what you're looking for, even if it's just a clearer picture of what happened.

Two separate things here: the emotional/memory piece and the legal/financial piece. Don't let them get tangled together or you'll drive yourself crazy. For the memory stuff — you may never get a complete picture and at some point you have to decide if chasing it is helping or hurting. For the legal stuff — just make a few calls, get the records, talk to someone who knows what to look for. That part is solvable. Do the practical thing first.

I'll be honest with you — when a claim involves a minor, there's definitely extra scrutiny supposed to happen, but the reality is that not every claim goes through the court approval process it should, especially if it's handled informally. I saw it happen. Whether that's the case for you I have no idea, but it's not crazy to ask the question. If you can get the original settlement paperwork, look for whether a judge signed off on it. That's your first clue.