Learn where the cash for any damages won will come from in a personal injury case.
Unfortunately, in some cases winning your personal injury lawsuit is just half of the battle towards getting fair and just compensation for your injuries and suffering. You still need to actually recover the damages that the court has awarded to you. If a defendant is unemployed and/or has very little cash or assets, it may not even be worth the time and effort to bring a suit against them at all. Your personal injury attorney will investigate the defendant’s financial situation as part of the preparations for your case and let you know what to expect.
Here are the main recovery options available in a typical personal injury case.
Collecting from Insurance
Ideally, you will be able to recover all of your damages from an insurance company. This might be the defendant’s insurance company, or, in the case of an auto accident involving an uninsured driver, your own insurance company. However, the amount of cash you can receive will be limited by the amount of coverage. For example, if you have a slip and fall accident on someone’s property and win a $100,000 settlement but their insurance coverage tops out at $50,000, you will need to seek alternative means for getting the rest of your money.
Personal Collection
The next option for recovering amounts not covered by insurance is to work directly with the defendant to facilitate voluntary payment. Depending on their financial means, they may be willing to pay you a lump sum or they may need to negotiate an installment agreement or a partial payment. It is best to let your personal injury attorney handle communication with the defendant via their attorney. This way you do not risk getting accused of harassing the defendant and any resulting payment agreements will be legally binding.
Court-Ordered Payment
If efforts to secure voluntary payment are unsuccessful, you can seek court orders to make them pay. The first step is often to request an Order for Examination, which will force the defendant to appear in court and answer questions about their assets. This helps to ensure they are not hiding assets. If the person does not appear in court, a warrant can be put out for their arrest.
If the defendant has an income and/or assets, the court can issue orders to help you recover your damages. For example, the court could have a portion of the defendant’s paycheck withheld each payday, place a levy on their bank account, or order their vehicle seized and sold.
In the case of damages from an auto accident injury case, you can also turn to the DMV for help. The DMV can suspend the debtor’s license if they do not pay in a timely manner.
