Legal Question in Personal Injury in North Carolina

I won 2 lawsuits two years ago and have not received any money on either one. The first lawyer took both suits to trial and then gave me the runaround for a year after. I switched lawyers and was told that one of my suits was about to pay me but to date, I still haven't received anything.


Asked on 8/24/18, 8:31 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

John Kirby Law Offices of John M. Kirby

Hopefully your lawyer has been giving you information about what exactly is going on. Collecting on a judgment is often more difficult than obtaining the judgment itself. Many times people get judgments that they can't collect at all. You should ask your lawyer specifically what is going on with collection. E.g., has the sheriff tried to seize assets of the defendant? Does the defendant have any property to collect, such as a vehicle or land? Is the judgment covered by insurance? Has the defendant claimed exemptions (i.e. things he says you can't collect)? Did the defendant appeal the judgment (which can cause a delay)? In fact, when starting a lawsuit such as this some thought should be given to collection, and so hopefully there was some discussion about that a long time ago, i.e. long before you even filed the first lawsuit. It seems that you need much more specific information about what is going on, and your lawyer should share that with you.

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Answered on 8/25/18, 4:33 am

There are two aspects to suits like you describe - winning them and collecting on them. If your first attorney was worth their salt, they should have made some determination as to the assets of the people you sued. It is pointless to sue people who are judgment proof as you basically end up spending your own money for judgments that have about the same worth as used toilet paper. Assuming the people you sued do in fact have non-exempt assets worth going after, then you need an attorney who is versed in collections law.

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Answered on 8/26/18, 8:38 am


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