Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Your question implies that your mother has no automobile insurance. Assuming she was liable for the accident, the other driver has three years in which to file a lawsuit against her for the property damage. If the other driver received money from his/her insurance carrier, then the insurance carrier has some time to sue your mother in subrogration for the money it paid to its insured to try to recoup it. Once there is a judgment against your mother, conceivably, the judgment creditor could record the judgment in the county in which your mother lives, and that would operate as a lien against the house and any other real property she owns. She might wish to speak with a lawyer about how to protect herself against that possibility.