Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
personl injury / never got paid
After winning my personal injury case in court the defendents filed bankruptcy. My attorney notified by phone that they had filed and there would be no money. I never recieved a notice from the bankruptcy court! Can I go to the court to see what happened in their bk case? Was the law office suppose to send me documents regarding the bk? Why do we have lawsuits when it is as simple as filing bk to get out of having to pay?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: personl injury / never got paid
If there was insurance, you should be able to get paid. If the injury was intentional or reckless, such as in a DUI, you should be able to get an order that the debt is non-dischargeable. You can look up the bankruptcy case on PACER, for example ecf.cacb.uscourts.gov . You need to pick up your file from your lawyer and have it looked at by another lawyer, some attorneys have insufficient BK experience to collect on a case that has gone to BK.
Re: personl injury / never got paid
You have to file a motion electronically called :"Motion for relief from Bankruptcy Stay" to get only the insurance policy money. This does not take away from the debtor's assets, so the courts will order that you can pursue the insurance company.
Re: personl injury / never got paid
We all know that people can file a BK to get out of debts. But didn't the defenant have insurance? If so, the insurance policy is still there. If the defendant had no insurance, you should have uninsured motorist coverage on your policy.