What to do if i cant afford to pay settlement in an accident case?

Question

I was involved in an accident and a personal injury suit has been filed against me. Since my insurance limits are very low and i have no assest like a house or anything, if the judgement is for a very high amount and i cannot pay it, what will be the consequence? If i leave the country after the judgement, can they arrest me when i come back after a couple of years?

Answer 1

They can Garnish you wages if you stay in the States. And if you do leave the country to avoid paying it the yes the can arrest you when you do came back. If you have the money to leave the country the you have the money to pay for the damage that you caused. You dont have to pay it all at one they will let you make monthly payments or most states do.

Answer 2

Try not to worry about this too much. I know that's easy for me to say but I have been involved in hundreds of cases like this. The vast majority of them get settled within or at the policy limits before the jury gets to make a decision. Your company owes you a complete defense make sure you stay in communication with them and the lawyer assigned to your case so you know what is going.

If the case doesn't get settled before going to the jury and there is a verdict that is more than your limits (excess verdict) you then have some reason to be concerned but you are not going to be arrested. I have never seen or heard of anybody being arrested for an excess verdict judgment. It is a civil matter not criminal. Now thats not to say that there won't be some severe consequences if the verdict comes in over your limits. The judgment can lead to your license being revoked until the amount is made. It can also affect your credit and your ability to buy a house or car. If an excess verdict happens then I suggest you try to set up a monthly payment plan. Of course you have the bankruptcy option. It's a severe option but if you were NOT DWI at the time of the accident some bankruptcy courts will throw the debt out. I suggest avoiding this option if at all possible.

I have lost cases in court while working for the insurance company representing people in your position. (I am not a lawyer just an adjuster). I sometimes had our company pay the excess verdict (it's called an extra-contractual payment). in order to avoid a claim of "Bad Faith" from our policyholder.

The issue of a "Bad Faith" claim will make your company work very hard to settle the claim at or below your limits so you do not have any excess exposure.

You need to ask your company if the injured party has an Underinsured Motorist coverage as that will affect how things work. (for more info on how it affects things look at this previous question on the subject.


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If you are leaving the country you aren't going to get arrested but you will owe more money. In most states a judgment allows the other party to add interest to the debt and trust me it adds up really fast. The bottom line is IF there is an excess verdict you can't just ignore and head out of the country. You need to figure out the best way for you to deal with it.

With all that being said the odds are in your favor that you will NOT get hit with an excess verdict.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Yes, they can arrest you later. You will probably have a warrant for your arrest. With the security stuff going on currently, you may not even make it out of the country. It may even cost you a charge of inter-state flight to avoid arrest. Best to try to arrange a payment plan.

Answer 4

Yeah they can put a warrant out for your arrest.

Answer 5

you have a interesting article and options here. good luck!
http://all-car-insurance.blogspot.com/