Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Accident - Will my savings money be taken away?

Ordinarily, your insurance carrier will negotiate with the plaintiff and, if necessary, hire counsel to do the negotiating. If the plaintiff's losses are in excess of $15,000 and he refuses to settle for that amount, then he can come after you for the rest. (Actually, there would just be a single action, but you would have to pay anything in excess of what your insurer will cover).

And no, filing for bankruptcy will not protect your savings; the bankruptcy trustee will use your savings to satisfy your creditors to the extent possible. Besides, the amount you might have to pay here probably wouldn't eat up your entire savings anyway, so you might not even qualify for bankruptcy.

This is probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but I'm afraid this is a risk you took when you purchased such limited insurance coverage. You would not be in this position if you had paid a bit more for, say, $50,000 of coverage.

Re: Accident - Will my savings money be taken away?

I would not worry about this until the pedestrian actually sues you in court and wins a judgment that is more than $15,000. If he does sue you your insurance company will hire an attorney to represent you. If this pedestrian hires an attorney the attorney will most likely recommend settlement unless his damages far exceed $15,000. It is much easier to get money from an insurance company than from a private individual.