What to do if I recently got involved in a car accident in which I was at fault and my insurance policy didn’t cover bodily injury?
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What to do if I recently got involved in a car accident in which I was at fault and my insurance policy didn’t cover bodily injury?
Now his insurance company is charging through a credit collection agency all of his hospital bills. The amount keeps increasing, it started at $300 and now it’s up to $7,000. There is no possibility of me even being close to paying that off with my income and expenses. Should I get a lawyer to fight this?
Asked on May 7, 2013 under Personal Injury, Florida
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
When the party who was not at fault in the accident completes his medical treatment, his claim against you will include the medical bills, pain and suffering (an amount in addition to the medical bills) and wage loss. Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. Compensation for pain and suffering is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement. When he completes his medical treatment and is released by the doctor or is declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in his medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, he will file a lawsuit against you for negligence. If you had had bodily injury coverage, the case may have been settled with your insurance company without a lawsuit. When you are served with the summons and complaint (the complaint is the lawsuit attached to the summons) refer the matter to your insurance carrier. Your insurance carrier may provide you with an attorney at no cost, who will handle the case for you. If the other party eventually gets a judgment against you, it would be advisable to file bankruptcy at that time. It would be premature to file bankruptcy before there is a judgment against you because you would not know the amount of the judgment. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is straight liquidation which eliminates certain types of debts. Your income will determine whether you are eligible for Chapter 7. If you are eligible for Chapter 7, the injured party will collect nothing. If you are not eligible to file Chapter 7, you can file Chapter 13; however, Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires a plan (budget) for payment of creditors.
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