You’ve just lost someone you love, and now you’re finding out the person responsible doesn’t have insurance. This isn’t the conversation anyone wants to have. But it’s one we need to have, because you’re not without options here. We’ve worked these cases before, and while they’re tougher than cases with insurance involved, they’re absolutely not hopeless.
Start With Your Own Policies
Uninsured motorist coverage exists specifically for this situation. So does underinsured motorist coverage. If your family member had UM or UIM coverage on their auto policy, we might be able to make a claim there. The coverage limits depend on what they purchased, but sometimes these policies provide substantial compensation. Don’t skip the homeowners’ policy either. Some of those policies include liability provisions that go beyond just property damage. We’ve recovered compensation from sources people never even thought to check.
Filing Suit Against The Defendant Directly
You can absolutely sue an uninsured defendant personally. If we win, the court issues a judgment for damages. That judgment becomes a legal tool we can use to go after their assets. However, most people driving around without insurance don’t have significant assets sitting in a bank account. That’s often why they don’t have insurance in the first place.
Still, we have collection options:
- Garnishing their wages
- Levying bank accounts
- Placing liens on any property they own
- Seizing valuable personal property
An Atlanta wrongful death lawyer will dig into whether this person actually has assets worth pursuing. Sometimes people have more than they let on. Sometimes they don’t. We need to figure out which situation we’re dealing with before we invest time and money into litigation.
Finding Other Defendants
Wrongful death cases often involve more than one responsible party. The person who caused the death might not be the only one liable. In a fatal car crash, maybe the driver wasn’t the vehicle owner. In a workplace death, we might have both an employer and a negligent equipment manufacturer. Medical malpractice cases can involve multiple doctors, hospitals, or even pharmaceutical companies. At Deitch + Rogers, we investigate every angle to identify anyone else who shares responsibility. Finding just one defendant with insurance coverage can completely change the trajectory of your case. That’s why we don’t stop at the obvious answer. We keep digging.
Investigating What They Actually Have
Before we file a lawsuit against someone without insurance, we need to know what we’re working with. We’ll search for real estate they own. Business interests. Investment accounts. Valuable vehicles or other personal property. We also look at their earning potential going forward, because a judgment doesn’t expire quickly. Some people try to hide what they have. They’ll transfer assets to family members or move money around to avoid paying what they owe. Georgia law gives us ways to track down those fraudulent transfers and recover that property. People aren’t as clever as they think they are.
When A Payment Plan Makes Sense
Not every uninsured defendant is broke. Some of them just don’t have a lump sum sitting around. In those situations, we might negotiate monthly payments over several years. It’s not ideal. I won’t pretend it is. But predictable payments over time can provide real financial support to your family. Structured settlements work similarly. They guarantee payments on a schedule, sometimes with interest built in. You get more certainty than trying to chase down a judgment on your own. And certainty matters when you’re trying to rebuild your life.
The Professional Insurance Angle
Doctors, accountants, architects, lawyers. Professionals often carry malpractice insurance even if they’ve let other coverage lapse. These policies can be substantial, and they’re specifically designed to cover situations where the professional’s negligence causes serious harm or death. An Atlanta wrongful death lawyer knows where to look for these policies. They’re not always obvious, and insurance companies don’t advertise their existence when they’re facing a claim. But they’re out there, and finding one can make all the difference in your case.
Your loved one’s death deserves accountability. Whether that accountability comes with financial compensation depends on the circumstances we need to investigate together. Contact our team to talk through what happened and what options actually exist for your family.
