As an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, I have been involved with many cases where an individual with a personal injury claim - automobile accident claim, trucking accident claim, premises liability claim, medical malpractice claim, nursing home negligence claim, etc. - filed bankruptcy after the incident occurred that is the subject matter of the claim. In such a situation, if the claimant doesn't properly identify in his or her bankruptcy petition and related schedules that he or she has a claim against another party for personal injuries, under Georgia law, the claim would be barred by the doctrine of judicial estoppel. What this means is the claimant would be prohibited from bringing any claims against the at-fault party or parties for injuries and damages arising from the incident.
This doctrine has been the law of Georgia for some time, and it continues to surprise me that I regularly come across this situation where a client has failed to tell his or her attorney about the bankruptcy so that the claim can be properly listed as an asset in the bankruptcy proceedings. If the claim is not properly listed as an asset in the bankruptcy proceeding, the holder of the claim cannot assert it as a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit. The legal way of describing this is to say that the plaintiff is judicially estopped from bringing the personal injury claim because he or she did not acknowledge that it was an asset in a different judicial proceeding.
The good news is that under the right circumstances and with a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer, even if the bankruptcy proceedings have been finalized, certain things can be done to list the claim is an asset in the bankruptcy proceedings to resurrect the ability to bring the claim for personal injuries. Generally speaking, the law on these issues is somewhat complicated. The Atlanta injury lawyers in our office are intimately familiar with these issues and have written extensively on them. Please do not hesitate to contact an Atlanta injury lawyer in our office if you would like to discuss these issues or any other matters concerning your personal injury claims.
