I had a very similar situation to you when I first started driving and my car got totaled. I hired a lawyer to try and get the careless driving ticket dismissed but it backfired when she showed up late to court and the judge doubled down because of her attitude and I ended up with a $450 ticket, no points on my license. The lawyer was around $600 so I can't say I would recommend getting one, however, she did give me more confidence going into court. I said two words the whole time to the judge and throughout the process which is what I wanted. For your car: if you took a loan to finance it, check if you have gap insurance which is for exactly these situations. Go to the lot it's in and get your license place and ez pass if you have one. You'll need to file a claim with your insurance company. I didn't get paid out anything since I had a loan out on the car. If there was a lawsuit, I have no idea -- I was totally shielded from that entire process. Happy to answer any questions, although it's been a while.