Background check on other motorist

[dasaniaddict]

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

Hello hope someone can help me:
I was in an auto accident 4 weeks ago. Another driver veered into my lane and hit me head-on. The other driver died instantly and was not wearing a seat belt. The accident report shows that the other driver was driving with a frosted windshield, so there is no question that the accident was 100% his fault. The other driver was underinsured and my injuries already total $40000. He only had $25000 in coverage, however I have $100000 in underinsured motorist coverage. My medical bills and lost wages will more than likely top 100 thousand (as I am in a wheelchair and will need 2 more surgeries before I can walk again), so it has been suggested that I may wish to sue his estate. Okay here is my question: Before getting a lawyer, I would like to see if this person has any assets and would like to do a background check and search for property owned if he has life insurance, etc. Where can I go to do this?? If he has nothing, then I do not see the point in getting a lawyer. Perhaps I am thinking incorrectly, please any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

Hello hope someone can help me:
I was in an auto accident 4 weeks ago. Another driver veered into my lane and hit me head-on. The other driver died instantly and was not wearing a seat belt. The accident report shows that the other driver was driving with a frosted windshield, so there is no question that the accident was 100% his fault. The other driver was underinsured and my injuries already total $40000. He only had $25000 in coverage, however I have $100000 in underinsured motorist coverage. My medical bills and lost wages will more than likely top 100 thousand (as I am in a wheelchair and will need 2 more surgeries before I can walk again), so it has been suggested that I may wish to sue his estate. Okay here is my question: Before getting a lawyer, I would like to see if this person has any assets and would like to do a background check and search for property owned if he has life insurance, etc. Where can I go to do this?? If he has nothing, then I do not see the point in getting a lawyer. Perhaps I am thinking incorrectly, please any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Most personal injury attorneys will work on a contingent fee, which simply means they get a percentage of whatever you win.

They will also assess your case, the possibility of recovery and the existence of assets from the 'estate' to determine if the case is worth filing.

Go see one.

 

[dasaniaddict]

BelizeBreeze Wrote:

"Most personal injury attorneys will work on a contingent fee, which simply means they get a percentage of whatever you win.

They will also assess your case, the possibility of recovery and the existence of assets from the 'estate' to determine if the case is worth filing.

Go see one."

Thank you for your quick reply.

Yes, I have seen 4 different attorneys, and I understand that the attorney fees are 30-40% of what is recovered. All 4 attorneys wanted me to sign the same day they came to my house, which I was scared to do. But my question is where can I find out what the guy has before I decide to sue? Is there a background check service online that will tell me what he owns, or if he had life insurance? If he has nothing, it is my understanding that the attorney will simply collect 1/3 of my underinsured motorist coverage of 100 thousand. I will more than likey get that much anyway since my bills are already 40 thousand. If the other driver has nothing (house, life insurance etc), then is it correct that I will recieve nothing more than the 100 thousand that I have on my policy? I am worried that I will have to pay tens of thousands of dollars out of my own pocket for medical bills because this person did not have enough coverage. I have blue cross and blue shield, but I am sure they will not pay for everything. Is it possible to hire an attorney on an hourly basis to search for assets and I will pay s/he $200 an hour or whatever just to see if this person is worth suing? I do not wish to contact a lawyer and sign a contract with them so they may take a chunk out of my underinsured policy if there is no hope of gaining more. I am not trying to get rich off of this, I just would like to have enough to pay for the medical bills and lost wages at my day job as a teacher, as I will be out for several months because of multiple fractures in my feet and amputated fingers. The other injuries were less serious and will heal soon.
I apologize if I do not make any sense, I am still on lots of pain medicine and get a little confused.
Thank You for your advice.
Angela

 

[BelizeBreeze]

BelizeBreeze Wrote:

"Most personal injury attorneys will work on a contingent fee, which simply means they get a percentage of whatever you win.

They will also assess your case, the possibility of recovery and the existence of assets from the 'estate' to determine if the case is worth filing.

Go see one."

Thank you for your quick reply.

Yes, I have seen 4 different attorneys, and I understand that the attorney fees are 30-40% of what is recovered. All 4 attorneys wanted me to sign the same day they came to my house, which I was scared to do. But my question is where can I find out what the guy has before I decide to sue? Is there a background check service online that will tell me what he owns, or if he had life insurance? If he has nothing, it is my understanding that the attorney will simply collect 1/3 of my underinsured motorist coverage of 100 thousand. I will more than likey get that much anyway since my bills are already 40 thousand. If the other driver has nothing (house, life insurance etc), then is it correct that I will recieve nothing more than the 100 thousand that I have on my policy? I am worried that I will have to pay tens of thousands of dollars out of my own pocket for medical bills because this person did not have enough coverage. I have blue cross and blue shield, but I am sure they will not pay for everything. Is it possible to hire an attorney on an hourly basis to search for assets and I will pay s/he $200 an hour or whatever just to see if this person is worth suing? I do not wish to contact a lawyer and sign a contract with them so they may take a chunk out of my underinsured policy if there is no hope of gaining more. I am not trying to get rich off of this, I just would like to have enough to pay for the medical bills and lost wages at my day job as a teacher, as I will be out for several months because of multiple fractures in my feet and amputated fingers. The other injuries were less serious and will heal soon.
I apologize if I do not make any sense, I am still on lots of pain medicine and get a little confused.
Thank You for your advice.
Angela

By spending a lot of money, time and perhaps effort that should be spent getting better. Listen, you decide. It may take up to a year or more to track down any assets this person may have had when you don't know what you're doing. And if you are supposed to be getting better, how will that affect your recovery and, in the longrun, any award you may be able to recover?

And what will you do if you find there are no assets? Start your recovery when you should have been doing so from the beginning.

This is not something you can buy a book and read then viola! there are the assets. And it's not something I would advise doing yourself.

If you didn't like the attorneys who came to your home, interview a few more.

 

[dasaniaddict]

Thank You BelizeBreeze

 

[dasaniaddict]

Returning to an original post- 3 years later

I am so glad that I did not take the advice given to me by this board and so many other lawyer services online.

If your case is as black and white as mine was, you do not need a lawyer! Take it from someone who has been there. I ended up getting the full amount without anyone
elses help. It was pretty easy, although it did take a full year to get it because I was not released from the doctor.

 

[ecmst12]

The full amount of what from who?

 

[dasaniaddict]

Re

I received the full amount of $100,000 from my insurance company. After reading what I could online and having several lawyers scare me with their stories of how my insurance company could not be trusted, I am very glad that I did not get a lawyer and waited it out. They even negotiated what I owed the hospital so I only owed $20,000 and got to keep the rest for pain and suffering and lost wages.

So it is not always best to get a lawyer.

 

[CourtClerk]

Just curious:

What does getting 100K from YOUR insurance company have to do with doing a background check on the deceased? Maybe I'm missing something but your question on this board was:

Okay here is my question: Before getting a lawyer, I would like to see if this person has any assets and would like to do a background check and search for property owned if he has life insurance, etc. Where can I go to do this??

And again:

But my question is where can I find out what the guy has before I decide to sue? Is there a background check service online that will tell me what he owns, or if he had life insurance?

Did someone here tell you NOT to collect from your insurance company?

I didn't think so.

 

[ecmst12]

So you had no NEED to try to go after the personal assets of the guy who hit you. That's good, and that's why you didn't need a lawyer. If you HAD, then you would not have been able to do it without a lawyer. It's obviously much better for you that it was not necessary. When your injuries are very serious, it's not that hard to get policy limits even when the limits are pretty high. I hope your treatment was successful and you are able to walk normally now.

 

[dasaniaddict]

Re:

I apologize if I was not being clear. I did not mean to state that it was this forum in particular solely gave me advice, it was, however, a blanket statement to describe my experience in general. This is why I my post had this sentence in it:

"I am so glad that I did not take the advice given to me by this board and so many other lawyer services online. "


Courtclerk wrote:
"Did someone here tell you NOT to collect from your insurance company?"

No. I really did not receive any advice of use at all. Not anyone's fault, just stating a point.

Thank you for reading my post.

 

[dasaniaddict]

Reply to ecmst12

Yes, that was what I was trying to say, thank you.