Train victim worries about medical costs

Metro North train cars heavily damaged in Friday's derailment are pulled from the scene after being hoisted back on to the tracks in Bridgeport. Conn. on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Metro North train cars heavily damaged in Friday's derailment are pulled from the scene after being hoisted back on to the tracks in Bridgeport. Conn. on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Photo: Brian A. Pounds Photo: Brian A. Pounds Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Train victim worries about medical costs 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Lola Oliver needs follow-up care for the injuries she sustained in Friday's train crash at the Bridgeport-Fairfield line, but she doesn't know whether she'll be able to get it.

Oliver, a Bridgeport resident who wouldn't give her age, doesn't have medical insurance. An employee with Stamford Hospital, she's paid per diem, which she said means she can't get coverage.

After Friday's crash, she went to St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport and received a CT scan. "Who's going to pay for that?" Oliver wondered.

She was one of more than 70 people injured in the crash. Many of those injured were, like Oliver, treated and released. A handful remained hospitalized on Monday.

Oliver was on her way home from work when the trains collided.

"I felt this big bump and I went airborne," she said. "I bounced along the floor and hit a bunch of seats."

She came to rest near a seat that had a handle on it and "I grabbed the back of the seat until the train came to a stop."

Oliver said the whole incident was surreal. "Everything happened so fast," she said. "I felt like I was in a dream."

When she got off the train, she went to the hospital and had the scan. Despite the aches in her back, neck and other body parts, she was told there was nothing wrong with her. "My body would tell you otherwise," Oliver said. "I'm hurting today."

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