Legal Question in Personal Injury in Maryland
Was in an accident. My fault. Other driver was badly injured, in hospital for a month with a broken leg and other injuries. Had a very expensive vehicle he was driving. I have state minimum coverage. His medical bills are going to be easily 4-5x my coverage. His vehicle will cost 4x my coverage to repair/replace. I have no assets, as I rent, have no car(it was totalled in accident), have bad credit, but do make 80-90k per year in earnings. Do I need a lawyer (my insurance company will provide one once it goes to court via lawsuit and non-settlement)? Is the insurance companies lawyer going to give me fantastic representation to limit my out of pocket expenses and future liens/garnishments? Can the court pass judgement to garnish my wages? If so how long can they do so and for how much of my wages? I am worried that because I had such little coverage, and the damages were so serious, that I am going to have to declare bankruptcy without even owning anything! What do I do here? Very confused, which is not a good feeling as this is my future.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You definitly need a lawyer in an effort to stave off bankruptcy which may be ultimately required in any event. Please call me if you would like to fully discuss your situation.
www.walterlaake.com
First, this forum is not confidential or attorney-client privileged, so please do make admissions on here. Unless you pay for a question, your question will be for the world to see.
I can't speak to the insurance company's representation of you. They are concerned about protecting their state minimum. I would consider hiring your own attorney as well.
The Court can order that your wages be garnished for as long as it takes to pay for the damages you caused. You will have to disclose all your earnings and assets and the Court will basically plug the number into an equation. It will be a nice portion of your wages.
I would encourage you to speak with a bankruptcy court about your options.
I would also encourage you to start taking out MUCH more car insurance. If you don't own a home and have no assets, but you make $80-90k/year, you can afford to pay the extra money for insurance. You've learned a tough lesson -- for the few extra bucks a month, you would be fully covered.
Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******
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