Injury settelment question...

[berrymom31]

Okay, we have retained our attorney and have stopped paying cc bills about two months ago. We have not filed yet. Our atty is very busy and we have no idea when they will have the papers ready. She said it could be two more months. Anyway, last night hubby and I went to the casino...no not to gamble..to see a free concert...anyway on the way out the door my foot hit a lemon wedge from someone's drink that was on the floor and I tore my knee up. It mangled and twisted it around backwards and while no bones were broken the er doctor said he thinks I tore my ACL and I will have to see an otho and probably have surgery. My question is this.....what do we do about the bk13 if I might get a settlement. Should we wait to file to see what happens? I know that if we file then get a settlement then we have to give it to the trustee right? How would the trustee know I got a settlement since they are not taxed in anyway and would not be on our tax return? Could they take the whole thing or just enough to pay off what we owe on the bk? If I get 100,000 from the settlement and owe 25,000 on the bk can they take the full amount of what I originally owed the creditors which was around 55,000?

What happens if I get a settlement before we file of like 10,000? Will this be considered part of our income from the last 6 months? Please if anyone has any info I'd appreciate it. I'm in pain and was in the er till 1am this morning!!!

[BKParalegal]

Depending on which state you reside in, there are exemptions for personal injury rewards and/or settlements regarding health issues. I can check it if you let me know your state, but the most important thing is you let your attorney know that you have a pending claim.

Good Luck

[keepmine]

How would the trustee know I got a settlement since they are not taxed in anyway and would not be on our tax return?

You can be certain that as part of opposition research, defendants attorney will find out about your bk and inform the trustee.

[berrymom31]

Thanks for the Info..I'm in Missouri by the way...

I still don't know what is going to happen..I'd really like to get a huge settlement to pay off all our debt so we don't even have to file!!!! I think I'll keep dreaming though

[berrymom31]

I tried to research this myself and I found a website with Missouri bankruptcy exemptions and one of the line items said..Personal injuries and monetary damages...but there was no amount so I assume that all of it is exempt? That would be so great, because then it wouldn't matter if I waited to file before or after the settlement...if I even get one.

[rrockinggramma]

you haven't even begun to sue yet so I would definitely talk it over with your attorney and see what he recommends you do. If it is exempt, then go for it. It might take 5 years to settle anyway.

[berrymom31]

Well, it's either all exempt or 15,000 of it is....I've read both....so I'm not sure...I'd like to avoid a law suit and just let them settle once I find out the damage to my knee...If I can only keep 15,000 of it anyway I don't see any point in trying to get more and draw it out for months and months....

[fltoo]

Thanks for the Info..I'm in Missouri by the way...

I still don't know what is going to happen..I'd really like to get a huge settlement to pay off all our debt so we don't even have to file!!!! I think I'll keep dreaming though

I am confused. Don't you need them to pay all your medical bills, loss of income, few bucks thrown in for your time, future doctor bill, etc? Why would you need more money than that so that you can pay your personal debt?

[Flamingo]

Unless you have a permanent injury which will result in you not being able to work, don't expect a huge settlement. Briefly, since you have not filed, ensure you bring this matter up immediately to your attorney who can advise you correctly as to your situation. It could be several years before you receive anything as to this injury because you will have to be cleared first by doctors and if there is any permanancy involved, a percentage will have to be provided by your doctor to their insurance company. I am sorry to hear of you hurting yourself cause when you fall like that on a slick floor or something slick, you can easily hit your head. Be thankful it was not worse and I hope you feel better soon!

[arkienurse]

I am sorry to hear of you hurting yourself cause when you fall like that on a slick floor or something slick, you can easily hit your head. Be thankful it was not worse and I hope you feel better soon!

Yes, be very thankful. We lost one of our beloved doctors several years ago. She had gone to a medical conference at a casino/hotel and fell down. She hit her head and actually died as a result of her injury.

[momof5]

My husband was Tboned in a serious car accident about 6 years ago. He was in the hospital for 2 weeks. 3 surgeries during that time. He had more than 200 pieces of mirror glass removed from his face and many more pieces surfaced over the next couple years that needed to be removed. He has nerve damage in his forehead and around his eyes that will never be corrected.

Final settlement: $12,000. Subtract attorney fee and a whopping $8,000 was left over. While calculating the money he lost out of work and the time spent at the hospital & doctors visits there really was no profit of any sort. I think your setting your sites a little high as far as a settlement of any sort. Its definately not guaranteed. If this place refuses to settle out of court you will have to go to a trial and a lemon wedge on the floor isn't malicious or purposely negligent.

You may want to just focus on getting healed up and not worry about a lawsuit.

[berrymom31]

I'm not, nor have I ever, expected a major windfall here. If my acl is torn, this is a serious condition and my knee will never be the same. I really wish someone would just answer the question instead of questioning my intentions. No, the lemon wedge was not malicious, but certainly negligent on their part. Car accidents are not malicious either, accidents rarely ever are...thats why they are called accidents.

[NowImDownInIt]

I have no answers for you... just hopes that you feel better soon. Well, soon-ish. I tore my ACL in high school, and you're right... it's never been the same again. It's a severe injury and I'll be praying for your recovery.

[momof5]

Car accidents are not malicious either, accidents rarely ever are...thats why they are called accidents.

The driver who is under the influence of alcohol and unlicensed may get into a car accident but is it really an 'accident' that he causes injury to an innocent person knowing full well that he should not be driving? When a person receives a settlement for a car accident it is because negligence was proven.


I dont think anyone is questioning your intentions per say, I think some find it strange that this fall happened last evening and your already thinking about lawsuits.
You really should see the ortho doctor before even thinking about suing because as you stated "the ER doctor THINKS you tore your acl." Thinking and absolutely being able to prove in a court of law are to totally different things. I just want you to realize that suing is a serious matter and should be about alot more than a few extra dollars.

Please read the following as you have to seriously consider how you can prove beyond a doubt that the casino is responsible for a lemon that fell out of someones drink during a free concert. You may actually do better if you can find the person who dropped the actual lemon :

For a potentially negligent party to be held liable, you have to prove that it was foreseeable that their negligence would lead to injuries sooner or later. Then further, you must prove that:

That party created the condition;

That party knew the condition existed and negligently failed to correct it; or

The condition existed for so long that the party should have found and fixed it before your injury happened

[berrymom31]

You know, once again, my original question is...is a personal injury settlement protected in Missouri.

The word malicious means that someone attacked you meaning to hurt you. Even a drunk driver...who is obviously negligent, is not malicious. I'm not going to argue anymore......I thought I would get an answer to my BK question here...

Nowimdowninit...I appreciate your thoughts and concern. I actually had an ACL reconstruction on my other knee about 4 years ago and I will never be the athlete I once was....I cannot even squat without being in intense pain.

Since, I've torn one ACL I know what it feels like to tear one...I am not just speculating. From the research I have done, it's a premises' job to make sure they have a safe environment for their patrons. It does not matter who dropped the lemon peel, what matters is that it had not been cleaned up by their staff. I guess the casino thinks the same thing because their insurance rep has already called me and asked my condition and if I had seen an ortho yet.....

If anyone knows about personal injury settlements in regards to BK's, please let me know!

thanks