Home > Research Legal Advice > Car / Auto Accident > Is there anything that I could do to have the person that injured me in ...
Asked 7 months ago - Libertyville, IL
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In June, 2008 I was seriously injured in an auto accident. The person that hit me was distracted by being on a cell phone, crossed the center double-yellow line and hit me head-on. She had no driver’s license, no insurance, was unharmed in the accident and received only a small fine in traffic court.
I was in intensive care for several weeks and not expected to live. It was six long months before I could return home. This was followed by months of recovery and full-time rehabilitation.
I was in perfect health before the accident. Since then I have had six operations, have serious permanent damage to my organs and hip, one leg is now three inches shorter than the other and I need a walker to help me walk.
At the time of the accident, my lawyer said the person had no assets
Your lawyer would know what was realistic. If no assets existed, and no insurance for driver or vehicle, your only possible options would be an uninsured motorist claim on you insurance or to get a judgment against the driver hoping to collect at some point.
Horribly wrong, but the only way to protect yourself is to have as much insurance as possible yourself.
I wish you health .
Stephen L. Hoffman
Law Office of Stephen L. Hoffman LLC
Chicago, IL
773-944-9737
Email: stephen@hofflawyer.com
Website: www.hofflawyer.com
Blog: www.hofflawyer.com/blog/
Very unfortunate. I hear these stories all to often and have to tell people they have no recourse. This is the reason that you should carry uninsured motorist coverage and plenty of it. In this day and age a great percentage of drivers are either uninsured or under insured. Unfortunately, your only recourse is to obtain a judgement against this individual that you would likely not collect against.
As the other attorneys have stated, this is a very unfortunate situation. This is why I advise all of my clients and any one I meet who asks about insurance that they should have as much uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage your insurance company will allow. This is the only insurance on your car insurance where you cover yourself against the negligence of other drivers.
To directly answer your question, there may be something you can do for the other driver to receive some consequences. If it is illegal to talk on the cell phone while driving, the district attorney may bring charges against the other driver. You would have to call the DA's office to file a complaint and see if they will pursue the matter against the other driver.
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