Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

I'm not sure why you think there would be anything she could do. The trouble with auto insurance is the people who don't have it are the people who also have no money to pay claims. The people who have it are protecting assets. So unless she thinks the at-fault party has assets to pay for her car, the other attorney is entirely right that she should not waste time and money suing him. Quite frankly, she's fortunate she lives in a country with a bankruptcy system. Because of it, she's really in pretty good shape. Think about it. If she sold the car she'd have to pay off the loan. She'd have no car and no debt. If she files for bankruptcy she is in exactly the same position. True, her credit will take the hit, but bad credit is the result of poor financial choices, and being underinsured is a bad financial decision. Not carrying uninsured motorist coverage is a huge financial risk and one that can easily ruin your credit if you lose. There are many places where she'd still owe the $22,000.