Almost 13 years to the day after she was paralyzed vaulting at the Goodwill Games, Sang Lan has reached a deal with three insurance companies that will allow her to receive ongoing medical treatment in China.
Sang, now 30, was warming up on vault during event finals on July 21, 1998 at the Goodwill Games in New York City when she misjudged her timing on the landing and crashed to her head. The accident fractured her C6 and C7 vertebrae and damaged her spinal chord, resulting in paralysis from the mid-chest down.
Hers was the biggest story of the Games, and she gained international fame as she rehabbed in a New York hospital, where she was visited by Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Reeves and Vice President Al Gore, among others. In 1999, Sang returned to China, where she later became a TV personality and advocate for the disabled. She was also selected to be a torchbearer for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
All was not well in her life, however. The insurance company supposed to provide for her ongoing medical care refused to pay her expenses because she did not live in the United States, Sang alleged in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York this spring.
She also sued AOL Time Warner, Inc. and her guardians in New York after the accident, alleging sexual misconduct, neglect and a host of other complaints, and asked for $1.8 billion in damages. The complaint against AOL Time Warner was later dropped.
Although the exact sum was not disclosed, the deal reached in New York City Monday will allow Sang at least $10 million that will be used to support her and provide her with health care over the course of her lifetime in China as well as the U.S., according to the Associated Press.
"This matter has been resolved through the insurance carriers, and we hope the settlement will assist Sang Lan in the coming years," USA Gymnastics said in a statement. Sang's lawsuit against several of the people she says maltreated her after the accident will continue.
Sang herself was present for the proceedings. As she did 13 years ago, she will stay in New York City for an extended period of time, then return to China.
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