Sued by auto insurance company

[me001]

Hello i live in Ohio and about five years ago I was involved in an accident where I rear ended a woman in a truck. I had no license/insurance, but i had a permit although no licensed driver in the car with me. The accident occurred on a state highway where the speed limit was 55 mph, it was raining so i set the cruise at 45. The woman I hit was just stopped in the road, I don't know if there was someone in front of her turning or what but she was on a cell phone and the curve i came around was blind. So the way i see it is it was both our fault. Well the traffic judge gave me 30 days to get a license and show proof of insurance which I did and he dropped it to Assured clear distance. All fine and well; I get a $150 fine and go about my way, wrong. I moved recently after that. Well about a year later I get pulled over only to find out my license is suspended for non compliance. Turns out the girl i previously lived with didn't inform me the woman's insurance company sued me. I never got a subpoena to appear in court, that I knew of, so I never went. Now I owe about 10 thousand bucks cause the judge ruled on their behalf. I don't believe the accident caused that much damage as I was in a car and she was in a big truck and the officer was going to let me drive mine home until he discovered i had no license. So now i cant get my license back unless the insurance company lifts the lean. Is it to late to fight this and if so is there a way to pay it without the insurance company taking all my paycheck each week. Sorry this post is so long but I'm in a big rut here and thanks ahead of time for any help.

 

[me001]

P.S. Shouldn't the court have required that i sign something proving that i got a subpoena when the insurance company sued me?

 

[lwpat]

You can go to the court and get a copy of the file. If you were not properly served, you can make a motion to have the default judgment set aside.

 

[me001]

what sort of summons is normal for a civil case like this. and is there a statute of limitations on paying this debt? i know some things are seven years. and thanks for the quick reply.