Legal Question in Personal Injury in Missouri
wrongful death lawsuit
A wrongful death suit was filed against the owner of the company,myself, and several of my co-workers over two years ago. Since that time I have given two different depositions re: this matter to the plaintiffs attorneys. I suspect the reason my co-workers and I were named was to have us become adverserial to our employer's case because he is the only one with enough assets to be a target. Since that suit was filed our employer had his insurance company retain an attorney to represent myself and my co-workers. This attorney is now advising us employees to file a claim against our homeowners insurance and to hire a personal attorney to work toward a settlement as we are not covered by the insurance which covers him personally. My question is if I choose to accept a job offer and move to another state can I be compelled to returned to Missouri over and over regarding this matter? Is the deposition sufficient or will I be in danger of being made a scape-goat by not returning?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: wrongful death lawsuit
To answer your question, you may leave the state, of course, but if you are a defendant in a pending lawsuit and you have been served with process or had an attorney enter an appearance for you then you will remain a defendant in the lawsuit and you may be subpoenaed to appear. If you simply leave and ignore the legal proceedings it is likely that a default judgment will be taken against you. This judgment could then be registered in whatever state you relocate to, with the possibility that an attorney would be able to execute upon your assets, garnish your bank accounts, garnish your income, and so forth in an effort to collect. At this stage of the proceedings it appears to be in your best interest to hire your own attorney to represent you in the pending lawsuit. If you are not personally liable for the "wrongful death" then your atorney should be able to present a defense when the matter comes to trial, or at least be sure that you are dismissed as a defendant. You may still be required to come back for the trial ,if there is one, to assist with your own defense. Your question does not state where this lawsuit is pending or whether you already have an attorney. If you are not already personally represented by legal counsel, you may call me for a free telephone consultation at 314-727-2822.
Re: wrongful death lawsuit
The attorney who advised you to turn this matter over to your homeowner's insurance is probably giving you good advice. If you have a homeowner's policy, and the case involves negligence only (i.e., it does NOT involve professional negligence like that of a nurse or LPN) then your homeowners insurance may provide you with insurance coverage.
If you were named in the petition as a defendant, and it sounds like you were, then even if you leave the state you could still be liable for the judgment.
If you do not have insurance, contact the local legal aid office if you do not have sufficient resources to hire an attorney.
Keep in mind if you are found to be negligent as the employee, and the company is held liable as a result of your negligence, your employer may have to pay the judgment, but retains a right of indemnity against you. So if the judgment comes in holding you liable and the company liable for your conduct (as opposed to holding the owner liable for his personal negligence) then your employers' insurer might very well sue you for "contribution."
As you can see, this is not something you ought to just forget about. If this attorney represented you during your depositions, and is now suggesting he can't represent you, he may have discovered a conflict of interest, and that may be why he has suggested you get your own counsel.
Irrespective of the reasons, GET YOUR OWN ATTORNEY to represent you in this matter.
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