The medical bills from my Virginia car accident are making me think about declaring bankruptcy. Would that affect my recovery in a personal injury case?

Answer:

Yes. If you discharge some or all of your medical bills in bankruptcy, you are not entitled to turn around and claim them in your personal injury action.

If you’re concerned about mounting medical bills after a car crash in Virginia, we may be able to help. In the past, we’ve been able to get your medical providers to hold off on sending you to collections by signing an Authorization & Assignment, which tells them that they will be the first ones to be paid in the event that you do get a recovery from your auto accident.

This is not to say that, in your individual case, you might not be better off if you simply declare bankruptcy. If you are thinking about declaring bankruptcy, you need to talk to a bankruptcy attorney. We can only advise you of the impact the declaration would have on your recovery in the auto accident case.