Can the defendant discharge a PI judgment in bankruptcy?

Standard negligence-based PI judgments are generally dischargeable. Judgments based on willful and malicious conduct are non-dischargeable and survive bankruptcy.

⚖️ How to Collect on a Personal Injury Judgment

Q: How long do I have to collect a personal injury judgment?

Judgments are enforceable for typically 10 years and can be renewed before expiration for additional periods, with interest accruing throughout.

Q: What if the defendant has no assets and no job?

Record judgment liens, renew the judgment, and re-investigate periodically. People's circumstances change over the 10-20 year life of a judgment.

You Won Your Case — Now Get Paid — A Complete Guide to Enforcing Personal Injury Judgments Against Uninsured, Underinsured, and Judgment-Proof Defendants — 2025

⚖️ Personal Injury 💰 Judgment Collection 🔍 Asset Discovery 🏦 Enforcement 📅 Updated 2025

📑 What This Guide Covers

→ The PI Collection Challenge → Insurance Coverage — Start Here → Collecting from Uninsured Defendants → Locating the Defendant → Asset Discovery → Enforcement Tools → Long-Term Collection Strategy → What If the Defendant Dies → Frequently Asked Questions

📊 The Personal Injury Collection Challenge

Winning a personal injury case is only half the battle. A judgment is a court order establishing that the defendant owes you money — but the court does not collect it for you. If the defendant was fully insured and the judgment falls within policy limits, collection is straightforward — the insurance company pays. But when the defendant was uninsured, underinsured, or the judgment exceeds insurance coverage, collection becomes a separate project that requires investigation, strategy, and persistence. 📊

Personal injury judgments present unique collection challenges compared to contract and commercial judgments. PI defendants are often individuals (not businesses) who may have limited assets. The judgment amounts can be large — $50,000, $100,000, $500,000 or more — making even partial collection worthwhile. Defendants who caused accidents may have a pattern of financial irresponsibility that extends to judgment avoidance. And unlike commercial defendants, PI defendants rarely have ongoing business relationships with the plaintiff that create natural payment incentives. ⚖️

The good news: personal injury judgments are durable. They accrue interest (often at rates well above market), they can be renewed before expiration, and the enforcement tools available are powerful. With proper asset investigation and systematic enforcement, even “judgment-proof” defendants often turn out to have collectible assets — now or in the future. 💰

🛡️ Step 1: Exhaust Insurance Coverage First

Before pursuing the defendant personally, confirm that all available insurance coverage has been identified and exhausted: 🛡️

🚗

Auto Liability Insurance

For motor vehicle accident cases, the defendant’s auto liability policy is the primary source of recovery. Confirm the policy limits and whether the full limits have been tendered. If the judgment exceeds policy limits, the excess is the defendant’s personal obligation.

🏠

Homeowner’s/Renter’s Insurance

For premises liability and some other tort claims, the defendant’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy may provide coverage. These policies often have liability limits of $100,000-$500,000 or more.

☂️

Umbrella/Excess Policies

Some defendants carry umbrella or excess liability policies that provide coverage above the limits of their primary auto or homeowner’s policy — often $1 million or more. These policies are sometimes overlooked and represent significant additional recovery.

🏢

Employer Liability

If the defendant caused the injury while acting within the scope of employment, the employer’s commercial general liability (CGL) or auto policy may provide coverage under respondeat superior. This can dramatically increase available insurance.

✅ Identifying Hidden Insurance

Defendants sometimes fail to disclose all available insurance coverage. A thorough investigation may reveal additional policies — umbrella coverage the defendant forgot to mention, employer coverage when the defendant was on a work-related trip, property owner coverage in premises liability cases, or additional insureds on commercial policies. An insurance investigation or discovery in the underlying case can identify these hidden sources of recovery.

💰 Collecting from Uninsured and Underinsured Defendants

When the defendant is uninsured or the judgment exceeds insurance limits, you must collect from the defendant’s personal assets and income. This requires three things: finding the defendant, identifying their assets, and using legal enforcement tools to seize those assets. 💰

📌 Do not assume the defendant is “judgment-proof.” Many PI attorneys write off uncollectable judgments too quickly. A defendant who appears judgment-proof today may have collectible assets in the future — a new job, an inheritance, a property purchase, a personal injury settlement of their own, or a tax refund. A judgment that accrues interest for 10 years can grow substantially, and enforcement tools remain available for the life of the judgment.

📌 The excess judgment matters. Even when insurance partially pays, the excess amount (judgment minus insurance payment) is the defendant’s personal obligation. For a $200,000 judgment with $50,000 in insurance, the defendant still owes $150,000 plus accruing interest. This excess judgment should be actively enforced.

🔍 Step 2: Locate the Defendant

After trial, defendants in personal injury cases frequently move — sometimes specifically to avoid collection. If the defendant has relocated since the lawsuit, a skip trace provides their current address, phone numbers, and employer: 🔍

📌 Current address — for service of post-judgment motions, writs of execution, and debtor examination orders. Also determines which county to file enforcement actions in.

📌 Current employer — essential for wage garnishment, the most reliable ongoing collection method for employed defendants. Up to 25% of disposable earnings can be garnished each pay period.

📌 Asset leads — the skip trace reveals property, vehicles, and other assets in the defendant’s name that may be reachable for judgment satisfaction.

🔍 Find the Defendant and Their Assets

Our skip tracing and asset search services provide PI attorneys and judgment creditors with the intelligence needed to enforce personal injury judgments. Current addresses, employers, real property, vehicles, and more — results in 24 hours or less.

Order Asset Investigation →

📊 Step 3: Comprehensive Asset Discovery

Before initiating enforcement, invest in a thorough asset investigation to identify everything the defendant owns: 📊

Asset Type	Collection Method	Priority
💼 Employment Income	Wage garnishment — up to 25% of disposable earnings per pay period	🔴 Highest — reliable ongoing payments
🏦 Bank Accounts	Bank levy — freeze and seize account balances	🔴 High — immediate cash recovery
🏠 Real Property	Judgment lien — attaches to all real property in the county; must be paid when sold/refinanced	🟡 Medium — long-term but reliable
🚗 Vehicles	Vehicle levy — seize and sell non-exempt vehicles through sheriff	🟡 Medium — depends on equity above exemption
🏢 Business Interests	Charging order or assignment — redirect business income to judgment creditor	🟡 Medium — if defendant owns a business
💳 Tax Refunds	Court order to assign tax refund to judgment creditor	🟢 Seasonal — annual opportunity
📋 Future Assets	Renewal of judgment + periodic re-investigation to catch new assets as they appear	🟢 Long-term — monitor over time

⚙️ Step 4: Deploy Enforcement Tools

Record Judgment Liens Immediately

File an abstract of judgment in every county where the defendant owns (or may own) real property. The judgment lien attaches to all real property in that county and must be satisfied before the property can be sold or refinanced. This is a “set it and wait” tool that pays off when the defendant eventually sells.

Initiate Wage Garnishment

If the skip trace identified the defendant’s employer, file for a writ of execution and serve an earnings withholding order on the employer. This creates automatic ongoing payments — up to 25% of each paycheck — until the judgment is satisfied.

Levy Bank Accounts

If you know (or can discover through a debtor examination) where the defendant banks, a bank levy freezes and seizes funds in the account. Timing matters — levying shortly after payday or after a known deposit maximizes recovery.

Conduct a Debtor Examination

A debtor examination compels the defendant to appear under oath and disclose all income, assets, bank accounts, and financial information. This is the most powerful asset discovery tool available. See our preparation guide for maximizing the examination.

Investigate Fraudulent Transfers

If the defendant transferred assets to family members or associates before or after the judgment, these may be fraudulent conveyances that can be reversed by the court. Common patterns: transferring a home to a spouse, selling a vehicle to a family member for $1, or “gifting” property to a relative. Asset searches reveal these transfers.

📅 Long-Term Collection Strategy

Personal injury judgment collection is often a long game. Many defendants do not have sufficient assets today to satisfy a large judgment — but their financial circumstances will change over the 10-20 year life of the judgment: 📅

📌 Renew the judgment before expiration. Judgments expire (typically after 10 years) but can be renewed. Always renew well before expiration to preserve your enforcement rights. A renewed judgment with accumulated interest can be significantly larger than the original.

📌 Re-investigate periodically. Order updated skip traces and asset searches every 1-2 years to check for new employment, property purchases, vehicle registrations, inheritance, and other changes in the defendant’s financial condition.

📌 Watch for triggering events. Certain life events create collection opportunities — buying a home (lien it), getting a new job (garnish it), receiving an inheritance (judgment liens may attach), settling their own lawsuit (levy the settlement proceeds), or filing tax returns (intercept refunds).

📌 Interest accrues in your favor. While you wait, judgment interest accumulates — often at rates of 7-10% per year depending on the state. A $100,000 judgment at 10% interest grows to $200,000 in about 7 years. Time is on your side.

💀 What Happens If the Defendant Dies

If the judgment debtor dies before the judgment is satisfied, the judgment can be collected from the debtor’s estate. The judgment is a creditor claim that must be paid from estate assets before heirs receive their inheritance. See our complete guide on collecting when a judgment debtor dies for the full process — including filing creditor claims, identifying estate assets, and navigating probate proceedings. 💀

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Judgments are enforceable for a set period (typically 10 years in most states) and can be renewed before expiration for additional periods. With timely renewals, a judgment can remain enforceable for 20, 30, or even more years. The judgment also accrues interest throughout its life, increasing the total amount owed. The key is to renew the judgment before it expires — once expired, enforcement rights may be lost permanently.

It depends on the nature of the underlying claim. Standard negligence-based PI judgments (like car accidents) are generally dischargeable in bankruptcy. However, judgments based on willful and malicious conduct (intentional torts like assault, DUI injuries in some jurisdictions, and other deliberate wrongdoing) are non-dischargeable — they survive bankruptcy. If the defendant files bankruptcy, consult with a bankruptcy attorney about filing an adversary proceeding to determine dischargeability of your specific judgment.

A defendant with no current assets and no employment is often called “judgment-proof” — but this is a temporary condition, not a permanent one. Record judgment liens in relevant counties (they attach automatically when the defendant acquires property), renew the judgment before expiration, and re-investigate periodically. People’s circumstances change — they get jobs, inherit money, buy property, start businesses, and settle their own lawsuits. When their circumstances improve, your judgment is ready to enforce. See our cost of not collecting guide for why maintaining an active judgment is worth the modest ongoing investment.

Yes — judgments are assignable in most states, meaning you can sell your judgment to a judgment collection company or judgment buyer. The buyer typically pays a percentage of the judgment’s face value (often 10-50% depending on collectability) and then pursues collection themselves. This provides immediate cash but at a significant discount. The alternative — pursuing collection yourself with the help of a skip tracer and attorney — preserves the full value of the judgment but requires time and effort.

Both, ideally. Before trial, a skip trace and asset search help your attorney assess the defendant’s ability to pay — which informs settlement negotiations and trial strategy. After judgment, an updated skip trace provides the current address and employer needed to begin enforcement immediately. The defendant’s financial picture may have changed during the litigation, so a fresh post-judgment investigation is always recommended. Results in 24 hours or less.

📚 Related Judgment Collection Resources

📋 Disclaimer

This guide is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Judgment enforcement laws, exemptions, and procedures vary by state. Consult with a licensed attorney for specific guidance on collecting your personal injury judgment. People Locator Skip Tracing provides professional skip tracing and asset search services for judgment enforcement — we do not provide legal advice or legal representation. Information current as of 2025.