What to do if I don’t have the name of the person who caused an accident in which I was injured?
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What to do if I don’t have the name of the person who caused an accident in which I was injured?
I was in an accident and I was injured and taken to the hospital by EMT’s. Before I left in the ambulance the sheriff’s department here was on scene. The guy that caused me to have my accident told all of them that the accident was his fault. After getting out the hospital I called the sheriif’s department here and they did not take a report. I called the EMT department and they did not have one either. So now I have no clue who the person was that caused the accident. I have a lot of medical bills now from the accident and more to come. This has put me out of work. I don’t know what to do. Can I sue the county here for not doing there job and taking a report or do I have any other recourse
Asked on November 18, 2013 under Personal Injury, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
It is VERY unlikely that a lawsuit against the county would succeed: first, it is not clear that the county has a legally enforceable duty and an obligation to you to take and keep this information; second, you'd have to prove negligence, or carelessness, on the part of the county and also this negligence led to a loss to you--which means you'd have to prove that you would have been able to recover money had you this information, which is not easy; and third, there are stricter time frames and procedural rules for suing the government that you'd have to navigate. You should speak with experienced personal injury counsel immediately: the attorney may know how to find or track down the driver who injured you; and also, if there is a way to successfully sue the county, he or she can advise you--just be prepared that there may not.
If all else fails, speak with a bankruptcy attorney: if you have unsupportable medical bills, filing for bankrutpcy may be a good option.
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