Q: Can i sue the estate of the person i was riding with who had no insurance I sustained injuries.

A: Yes you can sue an at-fault driver for your injuries. Without insurance, many attorneys will not take on the case. But you may be able to find a lawyer who will.

A: Like the answer to so many legal questions, it depends. First of all, you need to be able to prove that your friend who was operating the motorcycle was negligent (beyond the fact that he failed to purchase insurance). An attorney is unlikely to take your case because the attorney would have no way of knowing whether he/she would ever be paid. If your friend were wealthy and/or had significant assets, it is extremely unlikely that he would have operated a motorcycle without insurance. There are exceptions to everything but the biggest reason that people do not carry insurance is that they are unable to pay for it. If you are suing someone who couldn't afford motorcycle insurance for hundreds of thousands of dollars, what do you think the likelihood of recovery is?

Moreover, if you were that badly injured, you had significant medical bills. Any amounts not covered by your medical insurance have become liens on the file which must be paid before you get money. Additionally, any insurance company that paid money on your behalf has a subrogation right meaning they are entitled to recover the money they paid. Moreover, your claim becomes a debt to the estate. If the estate's debts exceed the estate's assets, your Judgment would be subject to a pro rata share of the estate's net value. Remember, if your friend was married, he probably owned any real property in Joint tenancy with his spouse. When one Joint tenant dies, the ownership vests entirely in the surviving tenant. That means your friend's house and or other real estate would never be part of his probate estate. The same is true for Joint bank accounts. I don't know any of the facts of your matter. I only mention these things to illustrate that it is entirely possible your friend's probate estate is insignificant.

All of this is to say that even if you are able to prove that your friend operated the motorcycle negligently, there is a possibility that you would recover nothing and a strong probability that if you make a recovery, it will be a small fraction of your Judgment. If you do make the claim, you would almost certainly be required to pay your attorneys, upfront (at $400 per hour to $500 per hour) in addition to paying the costs that you would incur preparing the matter for trial and taking it to trial (minimum of $10,000). In other words, you would be spending $35,000-$50,000 to secure a Judgment without knowing whether you could recoup your costs, much less collect on the Judgment. Even if liability or a no-brainer, the case is not "viable" because it would probably cost more than you would collect. If your friend was wealthy, eccentric, and single, the analysis may be very different. You need to discuss all that you know about your late friend who was operating the motorcycle with a local personal injury attorney. Good luck.