27 Mar
Accident Settlement.. not enough to pay medical bills? Bankruptcy?
Posted in accident injury lawyer on 27.03.11
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I was in a car accident in 05. It’s been five years now. Just yesterday I accepted a ,000 dollar settlement. My medical bills are several times that amount. There is no way I can pay them off. After five years of court date after court date.. depositions.. paper filing and two lawyers. I’m sick of it. And even though I will have to live with my injuries for the rest of my life.. I’m sick of fighting and want to put this behind me. So I accepted. My lawyers told me in the beginning to expect 0,000 or more due to my injuries and the nature of the accident. But the case got more and more twisted as time went on and now the insurance company just wants to take me to court.. where I could walk away with nothing.
This is my question. . I kind of asked my lawyer this. He said that the only bill that I HAD to pay from the settlement was to a hospital due to a lien? Then I would be down near ,000.
Anyways. I’m twenty-one years old. And don’t see how I am ever going to get these bills paid. My question is:
Can I spend the money and then file for bankruptcy? Or would that make me ineligible?
I want to use the money for schooling and to fix up my parents house. I don’t think it’s wrong of me to do such a thing. I have suffered for five years now with major back injuries and severe PTSD. I deserve to use that money how I please.. right?
Thanks 
Let me edit something. Before I ever looked into a lawyer the insurance company offered me ,000 dollars. I then began to look for a lawyer. When I found one and retained him. It was in the contract that his cut would not leave me with anything less than ,000 dollars. So he is actually only going to get ,000 dollars from the settlement. The lein from one of the hospitals is ,000 dollars. That leaves me with a check for ,000 dollars. My question is.. if I spend the money can I file for bankruptcy? I haven’t signed the papers yet. The problem with this whole case was that my lawyer hasn’t been able to prove that the farmer was negligent. His cows got out of their pasture and .. in a vehicle.. I hit one. It came through the windshield and smothered me. Most of my bills are for PTSD.. which i’ve been told is hard to sell to a jury.
2 comments on this topic
27. March - 2:25 pm
Sorry for all the pain you have been through. And, yes you have suffered and deserve whatever money you will get.
But I think your question about filing bankruptcy and spending the money is one of your questions. And, that is something only you can decide and definately something you should ask your attorney’s advice for. And, your second question is maybe about if you should fight this out in court. If the insurance company didn’t think they would win, they would not take your case to court. But again, only your attorney knows your case.
I know going on a rollercoaster for 5 years is overwhelming for anyone. But it will be all over, hopefully soon. So, just hang in there.
Good Luck.
27. March - 2:25 pm
Ug, this is why lawyers are NOT the best place to go, right off the bat.
WHY did you accept that $25,000 settlement? If that was the policy limit, you could have gotten that in the beginning, WITHOUT a lawyer – but I think accepting it was a HUGE mistake. See, your lawyer gets THEIR cut from that $25K first, and you will NOT have enough left over to pay that $15K bill.
Plus, if your plan is to file bankruptcy for the unpaid medical bills ANYWAY, might as well go for the $200K through a trial – see, what’s the difference between you filing bankruptcy on $200K, or on $175K? Your acceptance of that settlement, was ONLY in the interest of the lawyer, because it’s a sure 40% for him if you get it, or NOTHING, if he loses the lawsuit. HE is the only one ahead of the game, by you settling. BAD MOVE.
Lastly, a judge would likely NOT let you bankrupt the amount that you received, if you spent it elsewhere. Yes. You deserve to use the money how you please – and also yes, the people who provided you with the medical services you requested, ALSO deserve to be paid, and YOU are the one legally on the hook for those bills.
If you can pull back that acceptance, I would do it. You’ve got NOTHING to lose, by going to trial.