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I’ve never sued someone I’ve and never been sued (knock on wood) so I don’t know how this stuff works, but I’d like to think that if someone passes away who is involved in a lawsuit, the case would get dropped?
But what do I know?
Apparently nothing!
Check out this story from Reddit’s “Am I the A**hole?” page and see if you agree with this person’s actions.
WIBTA if I continued a lawsuit after the defendant passed away?
“A year ago, I was involved in a hit and run car accident where I was not at fault. I was stopped at a red light and was hit from behind. The driver was going 45mph and wasn’t looking in front of her.
I pulled over and she drove off. I was able to get her plate number and the police picked her up. She was only 20 years old and on probation with no insurance. She ended up going to jail for a couple weeks.
I have car insurance for if I’m at fault, but no collision insurance. Since she did not have insurance, I took her to court. She was ordered to pay me a lump sum for damages, losses, and injury expenses. I was counting on this money in order to get a new car and pay off medical debts.
In the courtroom, I explained to her that I had lost 2 jobs last year due to covid, and when she hit me I was on my way to a job interview that I had to forfeit after the accident. I told her that I could forgive an accident, but I could not forgive the fact that she drove off without any regard for who she hit.
Thankfully I was alone in my car, but I could’ve had my kids with me and things could have been much worse. She did not seem to have much remorse for what she had done.
Fast forward a few months and I had not received a dime from her. I went back to the courthouse last week to file paperwork to have her subpoenaed so we could begin wage garnishment, and it was there that I was informed that she had passed away of a drug overdose.
Obviously, I have a lot of conflicting emotions about this. I feel horrible for her family and sad for her. But the selfish human part of me is now very much in debt and wondering how I’m going to pay these bills.
I learned that if I wanted to, I could file for probate court to continue the process and her family would be ordered to take on the responsibility of paying me what she owed me.
So, my question is… would I be a complete a**hole if I pursued this? I hate the thought of doing this to her family, but at the same time it’s really messed up my life and I did nothing wrong to cause the car accident.
I considered waiting a little while to file at least, if at all, so maybe it wouldn’t be as fresh, but I just don’t know. I’m in quite a pickle here.”
And here’s what Reddit users said about this.
This reader said that they are pretty confused by this whole story…thoughts about this?
Photo Credit: Reddit
And another person said that just because this person had a drug problem doesn’t mean they didn’t have assets so it might be worth investigating.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Lastly, this individual said that this person is not wrong and they have every right to the collect the money that is owed to them.
Photo Credit: Reddit
How about you?
Tell us what you think in the comments.
We look forward to it!
