Advice Please!

brussel09 · #1 11-16-2007, 12:04 PM

What is the name of your state? MN

My Ex-girlfriend crashed my car almost 2 years ago, I was 18 and she was 16 (without a license) and my car was insured at the time. The guy's car that she hit was totaled, and his insurance covered it, but it was her fault so they turned it over to their lawyer to recover the money. My dad started receiving letters at his house intended for me but they had the wrong name, and I didnt even live there. So my dad responded to their letters with a letter of his own saying that no-one by that name lived there and that they should contact the girl who crashed the cars mother because she was responsible for her. The letters to my dad's house stopped. About a year later they found me and I received a letter at my housesaying they were trying to collect the money. I ignored and discarded. I received a couple more that were also ignored. About a month ago I received a manila envelope in the mail saying there would be a finding of fact hearing and some other stuff on Nov. 9th but no where did it say I needed to be there. I knew I should have gone anyways but I was scared and don't know what to do. About a week ago I received to letters from the district court, 1st one confirming there would be a hearing, and the 2nd stated they hade made judgement and that I owed the insurance company 17,000 some dollars. Then yesterday I received a letter from the attorney saying they would be garnishing my wages within 10 days. I am lost and don't know what to do, I have never been in a situation like this. The girl that was driving has moved out of state and they weren't able to contact her, I have not made any contact with them (the lawyer/insurance Co.) Isn't this something my insurance should have dealt with and not me personally? And is there anything I can do? I can't afford to have any money that I earn taken away from me, I am living paychech to paycheck as it is. Please Help!!!

MikeKV · #2 11-16-2007, 12:30 PM

Let me first say that don't consider my advice that I'm going to give you to be from an expert in these incidents but I have been through a few accidents and know basically what I'd do.

You said that your car was insured but you never mentioned whether your ins. co. was contacted. Were they? Do you still have the same insurance that you had when your car was in the accident? If your answer is yes I would first speak with your insurance company and report truthfully all that has gone on. Then again, you probably want to contact your ins. co. whether you still have them or not. Hopefully, with all the time that has passed, your ins. co. will assist you with your issues. Contacting your insurance co. should almost always be your first step in resolving an accident that your car has been in whether you were driving or not. I would also consider, if possible, attaining legal advice (lawyer) especially if your insurance co. can't help.

Lets see what others on this forum have to say.

ecmst12 · #3 11-16-2007, 12:40 PM

Boy did you screw up. Your insurance can't deal with it if they don't know about it. You failed to report the suit to your insurance company so they were not able to defend you. You have now jeopardized your coverage for this accident. You need to contact whoever you were insured with at the time ASAP, send them all the paperwork you have, and see if they are able to help you.

brussel09 · #4 11-16-2007, 04:20 PM

Thank you for the replies, but it looks like my post caused minor confusion. I hadn't had any contact with the attorney/insurance co. for the guy that got hit. I did send all of the information that I had prior to getting the letters and recent information that started coming to me, and the agent said he would take it from there. What I was worried about was the fact that all of a sudden I was getting these notices about a hearing and then about a judgement. My insurance company called me today (after my original post, but before I had a chance to call them) because the other attorney contacted them... so this new agent I am working with said he doesn't have any of the paper work that I sent last year so I am refaxing all of that plus the most current information and he said he would look over it and figure out how to proceed and contact me early next week. My concern is however, and I asked him about this as well. The paper work I got from the attorney about having my wages garnished in 10 days which was no official court document either... My insurance agent (who is no attorney by the way) says that in a situation like this he thinks it would take significantly longer than 10 days to get to that step... Any other opinions????

ecmst12 · #5 11-16-2007, 04:23 PM

If they already have a default judgement against you, then they can garnish your wages within the parameters allowed by your state laws. No idea how long it takes.

The problem is you received notice of a hearing/lawsuit and didn't inform your insurance company until AFTER it had already happened. Therefore they did not have the opportunity to defend you. They may not be able to get the default judgement reversed and the hearing rescheduled at this point.

Zigner · #6 11-16-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brussel09

About a year later they found me and I received a letter at my housesaying they were trying to collect the money. I ignored and discarded. I received a couple more that were also ignored.

For the other readers in the forum who may find themselves in a similar situation - please learn at least one thing from this young man: When you receive a notice that someone is trying to collect money, you may consider MANY options. However, IGNORING it should NOT be one of them.