Legal Question in Personal Injury in Pennsylvania

What assets can be attached as a result of a personal injury lawsuit in pa


Asked on 12/05/13, 9:23 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

I do not understand your question as phrased. Are you the defendant or the plaintiff in the personal injury suit? It would help in understanding where you are coming from.

Judgments are the same in PA for most things. If a creditor gets a judgment, then the creditor can try to collect on the judgment. There is no exemption in PA for a motor vehicle or a house for a state law judgment (there is for a federal bankruptcy but then you have to file bankruptcy in order to avail yourself of this). But it depends on how those things are titled. If only one spouse is sued, anything held jointly with a spouse is exempt from a creditor's claims. If a house or a car has a lien (mortgage or car loan) it also cannot be seized in most cases. There is no wage garnishment in PA for a debt like this.

If you are the recipient of proceeds from a personal injury suit then these usually are exempt from claims of creditors.

Since you provide no relevant details, I suggest that you have a talk with the personal injury or insurance defense/defense attorney representing you in the personal injury suit to see what is or is not at risk. Either that, or you can try re-posting here with more information about what is going on.

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Answered on 12/05/13, 1:20 pm
Richard Senker Senker Law Office

None. In order to execute on assets, the person who is suing must win at trial (or get the defendant to agree on an amount), and record that verdict as a judgment. The holder of the judgment can then execute on the assets of the person who the judgment is against. Merely filing a lawsuit does not entitle anybody to "attach" any assets.

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Answered on 12/05/13, 1:47 pm


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