Pending Medical Lawsuit Question while/post Chapter 7!

[MajorMike]

You can probably pay off all your debt if your lawsuit is successful and don't even have to worry about filing!

[MajorMike]

what is your cc debt? Do you have insurance for your medical debts?

[newbeginning]

Well, it would be fortuitous to be able to pay-off debts, but such lawsuits are lengthy and creditors will not be "waiting" until a judgment is made one way or another. I have health insurance, but CC debts are about 70k. Only one income now and that makes things look dim for the long-term. No way I can pay for mortgage, CC, upcoming medical, etc. on my salary alone.

[Flamingo]

Thank you. I will look into discussing this with an attorney. My brother in law is a junior partner in a very prominent law-firm, but don't like the idea of having relatives involved in personal affairs. Especially those that have been grossy unsupportive throughout this ordeal.

I will need to get a more precise account of what happened from my wife. It is only now that she is lucid enough to help hash-out what the OB did and did not do. As per getting a second opinion, it is also reasonable to argue that we rely on the expertise of physicians to help us make decisions that we know little or nothing about. It is reasonable for someone to take the word of the physician and leave it at that. The unfortunate thing is that I do not recall or my wife did not tell me of this until she was diagnosed.

1. I will need to spend what I have in my bank accounts prior to bk. Is setting aside money for attorney legit? I can't imagine why not?
2. There is a church that is doing a fund-raiser for our family. I have told them about the pending bk and asked for them to wait after I have filed. What is the best way to handle this? This money will not come close to paying off CC AND medical debts to date. But will help us pay for future bills considering my wife may not be returning to work for some indefinite time (metastatic breast cancer).

Thank you.

I work in a law firm (paralegal, no we don't handle bankrutpcies) and have seen/worked on many malpractice suits. I have just given you snippets of some things that may pop up just to let you know it will not be easy and will be long and drawn out. They will look for negligence on the part of your wife (i.e., my posting of info that she did not seek a second opinion which is almost always covered by insurance companies and many insurance companies push it). Early cancers can be missed by sophisticated technology. Maybe she waited to long to go in and get seen and the cancer had already spread or the cancer was not there at that time. The list can go on and on. I truly, highly suggest, to get a good starting point and base in all of this is to quit questioning the situation and just go see a malpractice attorney (avoid family). Call your State Bar Association, get a referral for a good one, and he/she will give you all the advice you need as to the financial aspects of it all, what you can or cannot expect, and how to handle your finances, and also let you know your chances of prevailing in the case. It's a long, drawn out process if the other side fights it. But, as I stated in a way earlier post, if what you are stating is true and correct and can be proven, you have an excellent chance of recovery in this matter.

[diviaruba]

You can probably pay off all your debt if your lawsuit is successful and don't even have to worry about filing!

I am sorry to say this Mike, but that was about the most inane and insensitive post I've ever seen here.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Newbeginning, a couple of things kind of got lost in the string of posts, but I wanted to address them again just to make sure you know, because they are both really important:

First, what HHM said about a pre-existing claim is right. If the event occurred prior to bk (in this case, the alleged malpractice) the claim itself belongs to the bk estate. Even if you don't sue before or during bk, if you sued *after* bk and the trustee found out about it (likely, because the other guy's lawyer would make sure your trustee knew) anything you won that was not specifically exempt, your trustee would have first dibs on. This is true even years after a bk. Schedule B, Item 21 (Form 6) requires that you list "contingent and unliquidated claims of every nature, including tax refunds, counterclaims of the debtor, and rights to setoff claims. Give estimated value of each." In short, any claim that may result in a lawsuit you list here and assign a value.

It's funny, because I am in a similar situation: temporarily disabled and yes, there are people and events that were directly responsible for it, that I can prove well above and beyond "he said she said". But you know what? I have everything I need for today, and I *choose* to forgive that debt. My friends think I'm insane, the bk trustee pressed me on whether I would ever pursue this claim (I didn't list it in my schedules but it came out very quickly when he asked how I got in the position I am in today), and there are people who love me that I don't think will *ever* understand why I didn't pursue it.

But the fact of the matter is that I don't have much energy, what energy I have is going toward recovering and slowly putting my life back together, I *am* getting better!, and my quality of life is MUCH better without those people that caused my injury in it. In due time, I will have gotten back everything I ever lost and then some, without having to lift a finger against the people who injured me. And I can avoid the whole mess of becoming consumed and bitter with the people whose fault it all was. God forbid I should get better physically only to find myself an emotional and spiritual cripple.

I don't know if you know this, but suing someone -- especially someone you know -- is very much akin to marrying your worst enemy, and your whole life tends to be put on hold by it. All your future plans become financially contingent on the outcome of the lawsuit (i.e. "well, when we get our money we'll get the roof fixed," or, "if we win we plain to visit Hawaii," or even, "I can't save for retirement right now, but whatever I get from the court will be a good start," etc.). Everything gets put on hold. And then if you do actually finally win something, after the lawyers and the trustee what will you have? If you've ever sued someone, or known someone who did, and that lawsuit carried on for years (like a malpractice suit almost certainly would) then you know what I'm talking about.

In short, I thoroughly understand your decision to forgive (my spiritual beliefs had a lot to do with my decision as well) and support it wholeheartedly. It's very easy for people whose own slim resources are not at stake to encourage you, even push you, into fighting. Armchair generals are never hard to find. But I can tell you that I have not once regretted my decision, and to this day I continue to receive -- sometimes quite miraculously -- everything I need to live. I don't know that that would be the case if I had chosen to embroil myself in a big long fight.

So I wanted to encourage you in your decision to forgive, because it's a hard one to make and many people will never understand why you didn't fight it. But if, God forbid, these are the last days you have with your wife, and you already have enough problems without taking the long hard road of pursuing a malpractice suit, I honestly think that you will never regret forgiving this debt, and will indeed find more than enough grace to go on without whatever reward you might have gained. This is doubly true if you intend to declare Ch7, because your claim itself belongs to the bk estate and the trustee will get first dibs on any winnings.

(That said, if your church is having a fundraiser, definitely hold off on it until AFTER you file. If you receive that money prior, it will jack up your income figures and you'll have to use exemptions to keep anything you still have in the bank when you file. So yes, hold off.)

I know many people who read this will not agree... at ALL. And that's fine, because it's not their life, it's mine, and I have unequivocally made up my mind. But you're still in the place of making your decisions, so I wanted to be sure there was at least one voice in the crowd to let you know: you're not alone in deciding to forgive your debtors, no matter how egregious those debts may be. Best wishes to you and your wife!!!

[Flamingo]

To the OP - you have received some marvelous advice and counsel in this thread. In a nutshell, you have a choice to make; the best thing for you to do for your family and for youself is to investigate both sides before making a decision. There may come a time when you will regret not having investigated both sides and wish you had done so. Make an appointment with a Malpractice Attorney and find out what rights you and your wife have as to a possible suit and discuss those aspects as to your need to file bankruptcy. An experienced attorney can guide you down the right path as to timelines, costs, fees, your chances of prevailing, etc. With that information in hand, talk to your wife and see what you two want to do. Talk to your pastor of your church. You will get advice from everyone as to what to do but if you have all the information in hand that you need as to your decision, you will know you based it on what you know you had to do. Hope all goes well for you from here on out.

[newbeginning]

Thank you all. Thank you FreshLikeADaisy.

I believe I will take the route of consulting an attorney just to see what my options are. I am not deterred by the idea of forgoing this lawsuit, if viable. I know what you are talking about as blessings arise. The fund-raiser is not being run by my church, rather a church that I have never seen or known of. Not even in the same state.

The prospect of spending months or even years on this is not at all appealing. And, as it has been mentioned, it could do more harm spiritually and psychologically in the shorter term.

Anyway, looking into it. Thank you all.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Newbeginning, best wishes to you. I think you are wise to look into your options; I did as well before making up my mind.

Regarding the fundraiser, is there any way that church could make that check payable to your church instead of to you? If not, then go ahead and receive that blessing, but make sure it's just about gone by the time you file; if you have anything in the bank when you file you will need to use exemptions to cover it, and what you can't exempt you will lose. So go ahead and spend it on necessities, bills, etc. From all you've written that shouldn't be hard right now, unfortunately.

I wish you and your family the very best. Good luck!!!

[newbeginning]

FreshLikeADaisy,

1. I wouldn't want my church to get this donation. Too many friends of the family, etc. that will certainly become a whirl-wind of gossip.
2. Couldn't I ask the church to give me this money "after" I file? I can always ask if they could send it to my mother or brother.
3. Depending upon the amount, I may not be able to spend all of it, so exemptions may be necessary.

Thank you.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Newbeginning, it ain't yours until it's yours, know what I mean? Until it's in your name it has nothing to do with your bk. Now, if it was already in your name and you transferred it out, that's a whole 'nother story. But you haven't received it yet. Anything you can do to keep from receiving it until after your bk is worth the effort. That said,

1. Understood perfectly. So sorry. I hate that sort of thing.

2. Yes, yes, and yes.

3. Only if you receive it before or during your bk.

I wish you the best!!! Hope your wife is feeling better these days!!!