Many people to not realize that if you are sued for a car accident, you can have your driver's license suspended. Let's say that you are at fault for a car accident and are sued for damages. The other driver gets a money judgment against you. Under California law, if you cannot pay the judgment, then the DMV will suspend your driver's license until the judgment is paid in full. When your license is suspended because of a money judgment resulting from an accident, it is called a DL30 suspension. Both the licenses of the driver and the registered vehicle owner can be suspended for failing to pay a judgment. Failure to pay the judgment can result in your driver's license being suspended for up to 6 years.
Once your driver's license is suspended for failure to pay a judgment resulting from a car accident, you have very limited options. You can either: 1) pay the judgment in full and have your license reinstated; 2) wait until the DL 30 License Suspension ends, which can between 3-6 years; or 3) file bankruptcy to satisfy the judgment debt by obtaining a discharge of the judgment debt.
The first two options are usually not practical for most people. If you can pay the judgment, then you probably would have already, and most people cannot wait 3-6 years to get their driver's license back, it's just not practical. This leaves most people with bankruptcy as their only option to eliminate the judgment debt and immediately reinstate their driver's license.
If you have had your driver's license suspended as a result of failing to pay a money judgment resulting from a car accident, call 1st California Law at (949) 735-8499 today to see how we can help you get your driver's license back.