Highlands Ranch, CO Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

Its unfortunate that this happened and even more so that you did not have insurance. The law requires that you keep a safe distance from the car in front of you under the conditions that exist at the time. Obviously, you did not do that and you will likely be held liable. If the person you hit has uninsured motorist coverage, they will pay more most or all if his damages, but then the insurance company can come after you for whatever they paid out (this is called subrogation). Oftentimes they will negotiate a settlement with you, hopefully for less than $16,000.

This question depends on why your case is stalled. I advise my clients to wait to settle a personal injury case until they are medically stationary. This doesn't necessarily mean that you are completely healed. It means that your medical prognosis is that you are either healed or you are not going to get any better or worse in the near future. If you are not completely healed, it is helpful if your doctor is willing and able to testify as to how permanent your injury is and what treatment you face for what cost in the future. If you are not medically stationary and you resolve your case, you risk finding out later that your injury was worse than you thought and you deserved more money. Once you sign a settlement agreement you release the other party from any future financial responsibility for their negligence. If you can hold out financially, it is usually better to do so. If you absolutely cannot, you need to have a serious discussion with your lawyer about your options. Some cases are held up simply because the two sides disagree on some aspect of the case and litigation will be necessary to resolve it. It is not uncommon for the parties to disagree on how much the case is worth, whether the defendant was negligent, whether the plaintiff contributed to the negligence, how long it should take to heal and many other aspects of the case. That is why we have lawsuits, so that an impartial finder of fact can decide these issues after both parties have an opportunity to present their best case. Litigation is a long and difficult process. I always go over this with my clients prior to filing a lawsuit. In fact it is one of the things I discuss with them when I sign them up for representation. A lawsuit can take years to resolve and can be emotionally draining for someone who is trying to recover from even a fairly minor injury. When the parties are at an impasse your options are limited. You can try to settle the case in a fire sale (for less than it is really worth), you can drop the case, or you can continue to fight. Again, it is time to have a sit down with your attorney to discuss your dilemma and your options. Some cases are held up because the lawyer is busy working on other cases and your case is not a priority to them at this time. If this is the case you need to stress to your attorney that you need to be moved to the top of the heap because of your dire financial circumstances. Having said that, you need to recognize that there is only so much that the lawyer can do. Defense firms like to stall cases so they can bill additional hours to the insurance company. Your lawyer wants to resolve the case quickly. The longer it goes on the less money your lawyer makes per hour (if he or she is working on a contingency fee basis). The defense is getting paid by the hour, so they want to do as much work as they can. Realistically, five months is not a long time in a personal injury case. It is likely that your lawyer has not even filed a lawsuit yet. It can take over a year for a case to be ready to file and once it is filed it can take years to get to court.

No, you will not be allowed to hold the government liable for injuries suffered because of the fault of an individual not acting on behalf of the government.  The Federal Torts Claim Act covers those claims which may be brought against the federal government but your situation does not fall into any of the allowed claims.