MILAAP SUCCESS STORY · Road Accident Recovery
Run Over By a Bus, Rebuilt By Strangers: How Crowdfunding Covered What ₹10L Insurance Couldn't
Our daughter Sreejani had just finished her Master’s degree and was days away from a career in Artificial Intelligence when a speeding bus hit her bike and ran over the lower half of her body. Her ₹10 lakh health insurance was gone by her first surgery. Thirty-six surgeries and thousands of strangers later, she is walking again.
36
Surgeries undergone to reconstruct her body
₹10L
Insurance cover exhausted in the very first surgery
90
Days spent in hospital, much of it in the ICU
A bright future, then a devastating accident
Just over a year ago, our daughter Sreejani was a 24-year-old with everything ahead of her. She had recently completed her Master’s degree and started working as a freelancer, and she had even begun discussions for a promising role in Artificial Intelligence, with prospects that could have taken her to Australia.
Then, on 14th April 2024, everything changed. Sreejani was travelling on an Uber Moto to attend a meeting when a speeding bus crashed into the bike from behind at a traffic signal. The impact threw her onto the road, and moments later the bus ran over the lower half of her body.
Although her bones remained largely intact, the muscles, skin, and soft tissues of her pelvis and legs were crushed beyond recognition. Doctors had no choice but to remove large portions of damaged tissue just to save her life. She was immediately admitted to the ICU, where she spent the next several weeks fighting for survival.
“Every time Sreejani was taken into the operation theatre, we wondered if she would come back safely. The emotional burden was overwhelming, but so was the financial one.”
— Sreejani’s Family
When ₹10 lakh of insurance was not enough
We first depended on Sreejani’s health insurance, worth ₹10 lakh, and believed it would be more than enough. Instead, the entire amount was exhausted during her very first surgery. As more surgeries became necessary and one of her biggest challenges, finding suitable skin grafts nowhere available in India at the time, delayed her treatment further, the medical bills kept climbing into tens of lakhs.
As a middle-class family, it was impossible for us to arrange such an enormous amount on our own. We used every resource we had. Friends, relatives, professors, and members of Sreejani’s college community stepped forward, and we shared her story on social media and YouTube so people from different parts of the world could learn about her recovery. This is the same gap most families face after a serious accident in India: insurance covers a fraction of prolonged, multi-surgery treatment, and personal networks alone rarely cover the rest.
How we found Milaap
It was during this time that Sreejani’s college friends introduced us to Milaap. Until then, we had never heard of चिकित्सा क्राउडफंडिंग. They personally helped us create the fundraiser and guided us through the entire process, something that felt overwhelming while we were still trying to process what had happened to our daughter.
Thousands of compassionate donors came forward to support Sreejani’s treatment. We never imagined that people who had never met her would choose to stand beside our family. Every donation, every message, and every share gave us hope at a time we had almost run out of options.
“There are no words that can fully express our gratitude. When we had exhausted every option, you chose to stand with us. Your support made it possible for Sreejani to undergo the surgeries that saved her life.”
— Sreejani’s Family
Where Sreejani is today
Today, Sreejani’s journey looks very different from where it began. After months of surgeries, rehabilitation, and physiotherapy, she has recovered from the life-threatening injuries that once kept her in the ICU and is able to walk again.
Although she still cannot climb stairs comfortably and continues to experience weakness in her lower body, she has regained much of her independence and has started rebuilding the career that was interrupted by the accident, slowly returning to work as a copywriter.
Facing a medical emergency where insurance ran out too soon?
Stories like Sreejani’s are more common than most families realise. Health insurance often covers only a fraction of long, multi-surgery treatment, and personal savings and networks rarely stretch far enough on their own. We help families raise funds quickly through their own community and ours.
Frequently asked questions
How much does treatment cost after a major road accident in India?
Costs vary widely depending on the number of surgeries, length of hospital stay, and complications involved. Srijani’s family exhausted a ₹10 lakh insurance policy during her very first surgery, and total treatment crossed several tens of lakh rupees across 36 surgeries and roughly 90 days of hospitalisation.
Can health insurance fully cover a long-term accident recovery?
Insurance policies typically have coverage caps and exclusions, and can be exhausted quickly in cases needing multiple reconstructive surgeries, skin grafts, or extended ICU stays. Many families find their cover runs out within the first surgery or two, leaving the remainder to be funded through savings, personal networks, or crowdfunding.
Why do reconstructive surgeries and skin grafts add so much to treatment cost?
Severe crush injuries often require staged surgeries rather than a single procedure, along with specialised care like skin grafts, which are not always readily available in India and can involve additional sourcing time and cost. Each additional procedure adds its own charges for the operating theatre, surgical team, and post-operative care.
How can crowdfunding help once insurance and savings run out?
Crowdfunding allows families to reach beyond their immediate circle to friends, extended family, colleagues, and strangers who want to help. It rarely replaces every other source of funds, but it is often what allows treatment to continue without delay while other support is arranged.
Story shared with permission · Written by Milaap
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