Mimi Silver Liebenberg: Family of ‘vegetative’ NYC architect SLAMS insurers for not covering treatment after hit-and-run case
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY: The devastated family of an NYC architect Mimi Silver Liebenberg, who was left permanently disabled after being run over by a heartless driver, claims insurance companies are refusing to pay for her medical bills as doctors believe she will not recover from her near ‘vegetative state’.
Liebenberg, 37, suffered severe brain damage after she was mowed down by Clossie Spencer, on August 14, when she was crossing the street while apartment hunting in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. As per the local police, Spencer was looking for a parking spot when he backed into Liebenberg. He was arrested on February 1 and charged with reckless driving, assault, and leaving the scene of an accident with injury.
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Why are insurers refusing to pay for Mimi Silver Liebenberg’s treatment?
After the horrific accident, Liebenberg was rushed to Kings County Hospital, before being transferred to an Atlanta-based rehabilitation facility that specializes in brain injuries. She was reportedly in a coma for seven weeks and came out of the horrific state at the end of September, after which she was left unable to speak, lost control of her body, lost her memory, and was entirely unable to take care of herself, according to Daily Mail. The architect is currently at a facility in Richmond, where doctors said she will not recover past this point and her family said insurers have used that prognosis to stop paying for treatment.
Liebenberg's sister, Creecy Richardson-Creef stated that the situation is a "nightmare that won't end." "Our mother, who's 63 years old, has been with my sister for the last five and a half months in all these hospitals and traumatic brain injury facilities. It's taken a toll on my mom and her health, as well," she told New York Daily News. She claims that insurance companies have given up on her sister's rehabilitation and that convincing them to pay for treatment has become a full-time job. "They don't think it's medically necessary, that's their excuse," Richardson-Creef said. "She's treated as less than human."
'She's been robbed of her life'
Richardson-Creef continued by saying that after waking up from the coma, Liebenberg was left barely able to function. "She couldn't control her arms and legs and had to be restrained so she wouldn't hurt herself," her sister states. "In her mind, she thinks she's speaking clearly, but what we hear is nonsense. She gets very frustrated. We have to tell her, again and again, she was run over by a car," she said. "Every time, she's shocked and horrified all over again."
She said Liebenberg had her dream job as an architect before she was mowed down. "She went back to school and graduated," her sister said. "She loved her job and she was so good at it. She had finally gotten there and now she is just going to be somebody who has to be on Medicaid and get government benefits and be disabled. It's like she's there, but she's not," Richardson-Creef expressed. "She lost her dignity and independence and there's nothing we can do to help her. She's been robbed of her life."
Reflecting on Spencer’s arrest, Creecy said she doesn’t believe he was looking for parking when he hit her sister. "I just don't understand that," Richardson-Creef said. "I'm happy they've arrested him and I hope the DA will prosecute him to the fullest extent allowed by law because this has been the worst thing that's ever happened to my family."