Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts

Re: Auto accident..

Hopefully you have filed a homestead. Visit your county registry of deeds for details if you have not filed.

Speak with your attorney and your insurance company about the coverage and defense they will be providing you.

Re: Auto accident..

What is the dollar amount on your policy? If $25,000. they can probably seize other assets. Did you notify your insurance yet. What are the circumstances? Who was at fault?

Re: Auto accident..

You have not given many facts here. It would depend on the circumstances. I would need to know if you have a homestead on your house, how much equity is in the house, whether you are married, how you know the damages are over $100,000. For an important matter like this I think you would help yourself by paying for an hour or two for a knowledgeable lawyer rather than looking for free advice on the internet. You certainly would not want to rely on such an answer with something so important as whether you can protect your house. I would encourage you to call a knowledgeable lawyer. Regards, John Stewart

Re: Auto accident..

As the others mentioned, you should of course make sure your insurance company is dealing with this claim, and you should have your own attorney working directly for you to assure you that the attorneys retained by the insurance company are protecting your interests. To put your mind at ease a little, be aware that an injured party can collect damages only from people he/she can prove did something "negligent" to cause their injury. You imply that your son was at fault, i.e., "negligent", but the mere fact that he is your son, or that the insurance policy on his car is in your name as well as his, does not in any way suggest that you were "negligent" and therefore provides no basis for holding you liable. There are some very unusual sets of circumstances under which a parent can be held liable for a child's actions under the theory of "negligent entrustment", which basically requires proving that your son was "an accident waiting to happen" so that you should have known better than to help make it possible for your son to drive, but such cases are rare and very dificulat to make stick. Also, if your son was working for you or doing any errands for you, such that he could be considered your "agent" or "servant" at the time of the crash, you could be held responsible for his actions, just as when a truck driver causes an accident, his employer, the trucking company, can be held liable. To sort all this out, talk to a qualified lawyer.