Practice Areas
Car Accidents
Suffering serious injuries often leads to a great deal of financial stress. The cost of medical treatment adds up quickly, all while you miss weeks or even months of work.
Lawyers Specializing in Car Accidents
Suffering serious injures in a car accident often leads to a great deal of financial stress. The cost of medical treatment adds up quickly, all while you miss weeks or even months of work. If you have questions about navigating the claims process after a car accident, you can turn to Powell Klausing. We routinely handle auto accident cases throughout Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee.
Who is at fault for a car accident?
Car accidents occur for many reasons, and some truly are freak accidents that are unavoidable. Our focus is on helping the victims of preventable car wrecks. Some of the more common causes of car accidents in Kentucky are:
- Distracted driving: This includes texting, talking on the phone, eating, applying makeup, and other activities that take a driver's attention away from the road.
- Speeding: Driving above the posted speed limit or too fast for current weather or traffic conditions can lead to car accidents.
- Drunk driving: Operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a major cause of car accidents.
- Reckless driving: This includes actions such as tailgating, improper passing, and failing to obey traffic signals and signs.
- Failure to account for poor weather conditions: Rain, snow, ice, and fog can all contribute to hazardous driving conditions and increase the risk of car accidents.
- Fatigue: Driving while overly tired or falling asleep at the wheel can be a serious cause of car accidents.
- Vehicle defects: Malfunctioning brakes, steering, or other critical systems can cause a driver to lose control of their vehicle and lead to an accident.
- Inexperienced drivers: Drivers who are new to driving or have a limited amount of experience behind the wheel are more likely to be involved in car accidents.
- Poor road conditions: Potholes, uneven road surfaces, and debris on the road can all contribute to accidents.
- Aggressive driving: This includes behaviors such as tailgating, speeding, and weaving in and out of traffic.
With over 25 years of combined experience, our attorneys have been involved in auto accident claims and litigation involving all of these causes. The facts and circumstance will vary for each case and it is important to carefully assess fault and preserve any evidence that may exist (such as dash cams or police recordings).
Car Accident
Injuries
Motor vehicle accidents often result in catastrophic injuries such as traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. These are lifelong injuries that will affect the rest of their life, requiring expensive ongoing medical treatment. We focus on making sure our clients have the compensation they need to cover past, current, and future costs of their accident-related injuries.
Motor vehicle accidents often result in serious injuries such as:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones and fractures
- Lacerations
- Soft-tissue injuries
- Burn injuries
- Internal organ damage
Some of these are catastrophic injuries that will
affect an accident survivor for the rest of their life, requiring expensive
ongoing medical treatment. We focus on making sure our clients have the full
compensation they need to cover the past, current and future costs of their
accident-related injuries.
Important: You need to get checked out by a doctor even if
you feel fine after an accident. Some injuries have delayed symptoms, and
seeing a doctor establishes a record of your post-accident treatment that may
be crucial for your personal injury claim.
Maximizing Car
Accident Compensation
Most states operate on a fault system when it comes to car
accident claims, meaning the driver who causes the crash is liable for any
injuries they cause. Kentucky, however, is one of only a dozen states that
instead rely on a no-fault system. This means that no matter who caused the
crash, each driver files a claim with their own auto insurance provider.
If injuries are suffered more than the threshold defined by
Kentucky law, it is then possible to bring a claim against the at-fault driver
for additional compensation. Even though the no-fault system should simplify
the process of recovering compensation, this is rarely the case.
Our firm will work to identify and obtain all available
insurance compensation to make sure you have what you need to cover your
medical bills, your pain and suffering, your lost earnings and other damages. This
includes tapping your own policy's uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in
the event you are injured by a deadbeat driver or hurt in a hit-and-run
accident.
Put A Proven Lawyer On Your Side
The insurance companies are already plotting to leave you
holding the bag after a motor vehicle accident. You need someone on your side
fighting for the full compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free
consultation.
FAQ
Kentucky's no-fault system allows motorists to choose between:
Carrying no-fault insurance and waiving their right to third-party compensation; and
Retaining the right to third-party compensation, but also opening themselves up to the possibility of a lawsuit
The no-fault system means that you have at least $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) benefits to cover your injuries after an accident. (This is true regardless of whether you waive or retain the right to sue.)
The headaches arise, however, when you suffer serious injuries that exceed the limit of this type of policy. Now, if you opted for traditional coverage (retaining the right to sue), you can file suit against the driver with no restrictions at this point.
If you did not opt out of the no-fault system, you must meet Kentucky's threshold. To do so, you must:
- Have more than $1,000 in accident-related medical bills;
- Suffer from a serious break in a bone or a fracture of a weight-bearing bone;
- Have permanent disfigurement stemming from the accident; or
- Have permanent loss of a limb or body function
It is also important to note that PIP policies only cover personal injuries. This means that you will not be able to repair or replace your vehicle or any of its damaged contents unless you file a claim with the other driver's insurance company.
If you find that you need to pursue compensation from the at-fault driver after a Louisville car accident, you may want to call a qualified car accident attorney to discuss the merits and estimated value of your case.
Under Kentucky law, all motorists must carry a minimum amount of liability insurance in case they cause an accident where someone suffers serious injuries. This means the at-fault driver in your crash should have at least:
- $25,000 per person for medical care and other accident-related costs
- $50,000 total per accident for third-party medical care and other accident-related costs
- $10,000 for property damage
By filing a claim based on this policy, you can collect compensation for a wide variety of damages. Often, this includes losses and damages such as:
- The cost of medical care
- Ongoing care costs
- Losses associated with missed work
- Property damage
- Emotional damages, including pain and suffering
- Other out-of-pocket costs related to the accident
On the surface, most car accident claims seem simple. Even many that require third-party claims do not seem overly complex. However, any time you are taking on an insurance company you can count on things not going exactly as planned.
Establishing liability in many car accident cases is more difficult than it originally seems, and insurance companies often use tactics to blame some or all of the crash injuries on the victim.
In most cases, the insurance company will actually use your own words against you. This is problematic because you do not even need to admit fault; even saying something like, "I'm sorry this happened" or "I'm OK" can be misconstrued to mean that you are sorry for causing the accident or that you did not sustain injuries.
Having a skillful lawyer in your corner makes the process go much smoother. Your lawyer can handle all communication with the insurance company, reducing the risk that you fall into one of their traps. He can also help you build a strong case to prove liability, and collect all of the evidence necessary to maximize your payout by demonstrating the severity of your injuries.
In Kentucky, a lawsuit claiming auto negligence must be filed within two years. Generally, the two year limitations period begins to run from the date the auto accident occurred. But there are exceptions to this general rule. Do not hesitate to contact our office if you have questions about the statute of limitations applicable to your case.
Further reading: Kentucky Auto Accident Statute of Limitations
