In most cases, California doesn’t allow creditors to take money from a personal injury settlement to recover payments the victim owes. There are exceptions. If an accident victim owes back child support payment, the state could require a portion of a settlement.
When Can My Car Accident Compensation Be Garnished?
California protects injury settlements and court judgments awarded to car accident victims. In most cases, that money is to remain with victims to help pay medical bills and simply help them stay afloat financially while they can’t work.
However, when a victim pays child support each month, there are circumstances in which accident support could be garnished. If the victim is up-to-date on child support payments, the government would usually leave accident support untouched.
However, if a car collision victim is behind on child support payments, there would be at least two reasons a car crash injury settlement could be garnished:
- If a judge ordered garnishment
- If parents agree to garnishment on their own
How Can a Fremont Car Accident Lawyer Help Me After a Traffic Collision?
If your car accident involves a serious injury, something like a broken bone or a brain injury, a skilled car accident lawyer can often secure much more for you in a settlement than you could usually secure by filing your claim yourself.
This extra compensation is especially important if you owe back child support payment or if your settlement check will be garnished for any other reason. If money will be coming out of your settlement support, it’s critical to demand as much in compensation as possible.
This additional money will be critical if child support payments are taken out. It’s also important to get the maximum possible in support so at the same time, it covers all of your medical bills and your lost income at work.
Your attorney will have a much better chance of holding a car insurance company fully responsible. While you work on recovery, you may not be able to focus on building a strong case and battling an insurance company on your own. You could also be lacking the legal knowledge to seek justice from insurers.
Your lawyer brings these skills to the table and more to make sure you receive every benefit available:
- Investigative skills to collect all evidence available to make sure the insurance company has to accept 100% of the blame for a bad driver’s mistake.
- Legal protection. Strong safeguards to fight back if an insurer tries to blame you for an accident or tries to question your medical diagnosis and downplay injuries.
- Filing a claim that includes all of your hardships, including some damages you may not have known could earn you additional money in a car crash settlement.
- Negotiation skills. Using strong negotiation backed with evidence to demand the most in support possible from insurers. Knowing when to reject settlement offers and demand more is a huge part of this skill.
- Ready with a lawsuit. If insurers won’t accept full responsibility for all of your medical bills and other hardships, your Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Fremont would be prepared to take the insurer before a judge and jury and win a judgment in your favor.
Talk Over Your Case With a Fremont Car Accident Attorney for Free!
If you suffered a serious injury in a car accident and a careless driver was to blame, a lawyer may be able to help you earn additional support. This can help you pay for your medical and financial recovery, and help you cover any garnishment applied to your settlement. Contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Fremont to schedule a free, confidential consultation with a real Fremont car accident lawyer. We want to hear what happened to you.
Keep in mind that you don’t have any savings to afford powerful legal representation. If you need our help earning what’s fair, we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our pay comes out of the settlement check an at-fault driver’s car insurer must pay you.