The Meaning of Y2K

For those of you who remember when “Y2K” was looming, you may remember the worldwide fear of total mayhem caused by the possible inability of technology to adapt to the new century. For those who don’t know, Y2K was when our calendar changed from the 20th to the 21st century. The year no longer started with “19;” it would start with “20.” People feared that the world as we knew it would stop.
Y2K means something else entirely to me. On December 27, 1999, I was in a vehicle accident. After living through this experience, my ability to handle these claims increased 100-fold. As the managing partner of Owen, Patterson & Owen, I have first-hand knowledge of what clients may experience, and it allows me to fully empathize with our clients and provide better representation.
We were heading to Glamis to camp. I was driving our family car pulling a trailer. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind picked up the trailer, swinging our SUV all over the freeway, until the trailer flipped. The contents of the trailer were spread across the freeway, and our vehicle was balancing on top of the barrier to the left of the traffic lanes. Our small children were sleeping in the backseat, until the roar of the fire engines coming up the freeway awakened them. The fire personnel pulled open the driver’s side door to extract me from our demolished car. It was only later that I realized that three of my tires were on top of the barrier and we were seconds away from falling to our death. My son opened his door on his own, and he and my daughter safely exited the vehicle. It could have happened differently. If my daughter had opened her door, they would have fallen hundreds of feet to the roadway below.
I spent the next days in shock. I ignored my now-totaled vehicle. I didn’t seek medical care for myself (although Greg, my husband/law partner, had the presence of mind to get the kids to the doctor). I still have occasional flashbacks, over 20 years later.
If you are in an accident, I understand what you are going through. OPO will handle the details for you so you can recover. Please call us at 888-OPO-WINS or email us at info@opolaw.com.