These are topics that most people don’t think about (or don’t want to think about!)—what happens if you are injured and have an injury case going on, or a claim against someone for an injury before, or after a bankruptcy case is filed?
For most people, having a debt problem is stressful in and of itself. But, if they get into an accident, that adds more stress to the situation. Or, they could have an accident at work, a workers-compensation claim.
So, what happens to these claims, and how do they affect a bankruptcy case. Or, how does a bankruptcy case affect an injury claim?
Before a bankruptcy is filed, a person who is injured can contact an attorney, and make whatever claim they need to make. For most injury cases, the attorney then contacts all medical creditors, and tells them about the case that is going on. The medical creditors file “liens”, or claims against the case. Most of the time, the medical creditors wait patiently for the case to settle or go to trial, and then collect from the proceeds. For workers’ compensation claims, medical creditors cannot file a lien on the case, so they might not be as patient. They sometimes start calling and trying to collect on their bills before the case is settled.
The most important thing to remember before a bankruptcy case is filed is to tell your bankruptcy attorney about your claim, who your lawyer is, and, if any estimate of the range of recovery would be, tell the attorney that also. This is because you MUST list on your bankruptcy petition and tell the bankruptcy trustee about any claim you might have for money for any injuries. If you do not list that claim, you could be denied any recovery at all! You do have certain amounts of money that you are allowed to keep from an injury case, and from a workers compensation claim. But, if you don’t mention it, you will lose it all!
After the bankruptcy case is filed, if you have an accident or other type of injury, you need to tell your attorney about your case. Why, you ask? Because, if your case is still going on, the bankruptcy trustee still needs to know about it. And, depending on the type of case, the money might be something that, like the injury that occurred before your case was filed, the bankruptcy trustee would use to pay creditors. Again, tell your attorney. If you don’t disclose, you could lose the whole claim. What happens depends on many factors, such as when the accident occurred, and the type of bankruptcy case was filed.
Bottom line, if you are involved in a bankruptcy case, and have an injury or accident claim, call your bankruptcy attorney.
If you have questions about an injury or have debt problems, call us and we can help you so you don’t slip up!
Daniel J. Winter
BankruptcyLawChicago.com
312-789-9999
Offices in Chicago, Gurnee, Oak Lawn, and Skokie, Illinois
