Personal Injury Actions Against Convicts

Brien Roche

Sometimes in the course of personal injury litigation it’s necessary to sue someone who is in jail. That person may have been the at-fault party in a crash and subsequently is in prison. On the other hand it may be the wrongdoer who intentionally harmed the plaintiff. 

Regardless of the circumstances, there may be a need to sue that individual. If they are in prison then there is probably going to be a need to have someone appointed to act on behalf of that person. That person may be called a “guardian ad litem“. There may be other terms that may be applied to the person acting on behalf of the convict.

Personal Injury Actions Convicts-Statutes

There are special statutes that need to be complied with in terms of serving suit papers in that circumstance.

If such a guardian or guardian ad litem is to be appointed, the question may arise as to who pays that guardian.

Virginia Code § 8.01-9 addresses that. Those fees may be paid out the estate of the defendant. If of course the defendant doesn’t have any money, then that may not help you much. It may also make it difficult to find anyone who is willing to serve as the guardian for that convict. If the civil action against the incarcerated felon for damages arises out of a criminal act, then the compensation and expenses of the guardian ad litem will be paid by the state of Virginia. That money come from the state treasury from the appropriation for criminal charges. 

If the person being sued is in jail for some reason unrelated to your case, then having a guardian ad litem appointed may be a bit more problematic. Likewise the issue of who pays the fees may be problematic.

Hire a Skilled Personal Injury Lawyer in the DMV Area

Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more info on personal injury actions see the Wikipedia pages. Also see the post on this site dealing with personal injury issues.