Kentucky
Personal Injury Law Firm

Do You Have To Report an Accident in Kentucky?

According to Kentucky law, you usually have 10 days to report a crash to local law enforcement if it results in injuries, a fatality or at least $500 in property damage. You also have a responsibility to stop and check if anyone is hurt. Failing to do these things can lead to fines, a suspended license or even criminal penalties. 

Beyond the legal consequences, not reporting your accident can also weaken a personal injury case. Insurance adjusters rely on official records to confirm how a wreck happened and to measure injuries or damages. Without a police report, they may doubt your claim, question the timing or severity of injuries or dispute who’s at fault. By contacting law enforcement, you create a documented record that protects your rights if you decide to file a claim.

What Does It Cost To Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?

Most personal injury law firms that handle car accident cases operate on a contingency fee basis. That means you don’t pay any lawyer fees upfront. This arrangement works well for injury cases for many reasons, including:

1. Reduced Financial Risk: If your case doesn’t win, you don’t owe attorney fees.
2. No Out-of-Pocket Costs: You can hire quality legal help without dipping into your savings.
3. Aligned Interests: Your lawyer has a strong incentive to get the best possible result for you since their payment depends on it.

Always ask about the specific percentage your injury attorney will take if you’re successful, and be sure to review any contract before signing.

Is There a Damage Cap for Car Accident Claims in Kentucky?

Kentucky does not place a general limit on compensatory damages related to car accidents in most circumstances. This means that if you have medical bills, lost wages or pain and suffering, there is usually no broad cap on what you can pursue. 

However, punitive damages, which are meant to punish extreme negligence, can sometimes be limited. Because every situation is different, it can help to talk to a personal injury attorney for more details about possible damage limits in your situation.

Can You Still File a Claim If You Didn’t Immediately Notice Your Injuries?

Yes. It’s common for accident-related symptoms to show up days or even weeks later. Adrenaline can mask pain, or certain injuries (like whiplash or soft tissue damage) may not flare up right away. 

Even if you didn’t initially realize you were hurt, you can still pursue a claim as long as you’re within Kentucky’s statute of limitations, which is one year from the date of your injury. 

Always see a medical professional when you begin to notice symptoms, document everything and inform your insurance company if you suspect the injuries tie back to the crash.

Can a Passenger File a Claim for Injuries?

Absolutely. Passengers who get hurt in a wreck can generally seek compensation through the at-fault driver’s insurance. If multiple drivers share blame, a passenger might file claims with each driver’s insurer. Because passengers are rarely found responsible for a crash, they often face fewer challenges in proving liability. 

What Should You Do If the Insurance Company Denies Your Claim?

A claim denial can feel like a dead end, but it doesn’t have to be. If your insurance company or the other party’s insurer denies your claim, you can ask for a detailed explanation since insurers must tell you why they’re denying coverage. 

Check your policy to see what it actually covers because denials sometimes arise from misunderstandings. Gather additional evidence, such as a second medical opinion or statements from witnesses, to support the cause of the accident or the extent of your injuries. 

Consider getting legal help if the denial seems unfair or in “bad faith.” A personal injury lawyer can negotiate on your behalf and explore additional options for addressing the denial.

What if You’re Hit by an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver?

If the other driver has little or no insurance, you can turn to your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, assuming your policy includes it. UM/UIM coverage can pay for expenses like medical bills or lost wages up to the limits of your policy. If you don’t have this coverage or it’s insufficient, you might need to sue the at-fault driver directly, though collecting damages can be difficult if they have few assets.

What Are Common Types of Motor Vehicle Accidents?

Below are some of the most common collisions seen on Kentucky roads. Any crash can lead to a personal injury claim if it involves negligence, but the details usually differ by accident type.

Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycles lack the protective frame that cars have, leaving riders at a greater risk for severe injuries even in low-speed crashes. Common causes include drivers failing to see motorcycles in their blind spots or turning left into the rider’s path.

Truck Accidents

Tractor-trailers, big rigs and other large commercial vehicles can weigh dozens of times more than a passenger car. This leads to serious consequences when a collision happens. Causes include fatigue, overloaded cargo or inadequate vehicle maintenance. Multiple parties (the driver, trucking company or cargo loaders) could be at fault.

Rideshare Accidents

Services like Uber and Lyft involve unique insurance setups. Liability may hinge on whether the driver was actively transporting a passenger, simply logged into the app or completely offline. If you’re in a rideshare vehicle, always report the crash to local law enforcement and to the rideshare company to create an official record, then contact a personal injury law firm. 

Hit-and-Run Accidents

If a driver leaves the scene, it can be harder to track them down. Camera footage, eyewitness accounts and leftover vehicle parts can all help identify who was at fault. If the at-fault driver remains unknown, you might rely on your own uninsured motorist coverage. 

Taxi Accidents

Taxi drivers operate under commercial licensing and regulations, meaning insurance coverage often differs from standard auto policies. If you’re a passenger in a taxi accident, you might file a claim against the taxi company’s insurance, the driver’s personal coverage or both. Liability can depend on employer policies, vehicle maintenance and whether the driver was rushing to meet a fare. 

If you were hurt in Kentucky for any reason, contact a personal injury law firm. They can review your medical paperwork, talk to witnesses and help you decide if you should pursue compensation.

The Bluegrass State is home to over 4.5 million people and hosts approximately 80 million visitors annually. Kentucky also has critical freight corridors and transportation hubs, including Amazon’s air hub, UPS facilities in Louisville and the FedEx ground hub in Independence.

On a daily basis, there are 131,792,000 miles driven in Kentucky. Annually, there are over 48 million miles driven in the state. The presence of so many people and freight carriers multiplies your chances of being involved in a car accident. You don’t have to handle your accident claim alone. Contact Big Auto to find a car accident lawyer that fits your case.

Kentucky Car Accident Statistics

We will examine several relevant statistics to demonstrate how many people are affected by car accidents in KY. Published in 2023 by the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, the 2022 Traffic Collision Facts Annual Report provides these statewide figures:

• 108,713 collisions reported on public roads, with 21,329 more happening on private property and parking lots
• 723 fatal accidents that killed 774 people
• 29,451 injuries, with 2,828 suspected to be major
• 983 pedestrian collisions, killing 102 people, producing 532 confirmed injuries and 230 possible injuries
• Two or more moving vehicles in approximately 64% of all collisions

Car accidents not only impact those directly involved. They also affect family members, workplaces and communities.

Kentucky’s largest cities are Louisville in Jefferson County, Lexington in Fayette County, Bowling Green in Warren County, Owensboro in Daviess County and Covington in Kenton County. In 2022, Jefferson County had 16,521 car accidents, Fayette County had 11,604 wrecks, Warren County saw 4,414 collisions, Daviess County had 3,249, and Kenton County had 4,917 crashes.

The most commonly listed contributing factors to these crashes were driver inattention and distraction, drivers’ lack of proper vehicle control, failure to yield the right of way, driving too fast for conditions, and disregarding traffic control.

Do You Need a Car Accident Lawyer In Kentucky?

You can handle your auto accident claim without an attorney’s assistance, but your chance of having a favorable outcome increases when you hire an experienced car accident law firm. In fact, most people who have legal representation have significantly higher payouts.

Your legal team provides several services to increase your chances of receiving a maximized settlement and make the process easier for you. These include providing information and legal advice, performing case-related administrative tasks, investigating your accident, gathering evidence to support your claim, handling all communications with insurance companies and negotiating a reasonable settlement offer.

If insurance companies refuse to cooperate, we may suggest that you file a personal injury lawsuit.

Do You Have a Valid Car Accident Claim?

To file a personal injury car accident claim, someone else’s negligence must have caused your accident. In legal matters, negligence refers to someone failing to act as a reasonable person should in the same situation.

Every driver has a legal obligation, called a duty of care, to follow safe driving practices to reduce the likelihood of harming themselves and others. To prove negligence in Kentucky, your car accident lawyer must show that:

• Someone owed you a duty of care.
• That party breached their duty of care.
• You sustained injuries.
• The breach directly caused your injuries and associated damages.

Stating that someone else caused your accident isn’t enough to make their insurance company pay you. You need the right kinds of evidence to support your claim. Your Big Auto legal team knows what to look for and where to find it.

What Complexities Could Your Car Accident Claim Have?

Every accident is different, and yours may have unique challenges; however, there are several commonly encountered complexities. Your auto accident lawyers for Kentucky from Big Auto can successfully handle these and any other challenges.

Multiple Responsible Parties

Commercial vehicles, including large trucks, have several potentially liable parties. The vehicle’s owner, driver and manufacturer may be held accountable if their negligence contributes to causing an accident. Cargo loaders are potentially liable for vehicles hauling freight.

Other parties include parts manufacturers, trucking or other companies and those responsible for vehicle maintenance. Some of these apply to passenger vehicles as well.

Sorting through how and why your accident happened to determine who is responsible takes time, effort, resources, and knowledge of what to look for.

Multi-Vehicle Collisions

Determining who caused the accident becomes more challenging when three or more vehicles collide. Involved insurance companies may try to blame other drivers, delaying and complicating claims. Your car accident lawyer can investigate your accident to discover who caused it.

PIP Policy Limits

Kentucky requires drivers to carry personal injury protection insurance policies, although you have the option to reject this coverage. This coverage pays certain expenses up to the policy limits regardless of who is at fault for the accident.

If your PIP limits are lower than your accident-related damages, you may need to seek compensation directly from at-fault drivers.

Government Agency Involvement

Various federal, state and local government agencies are responsible for road maintenance and traffic signals. These agencies may own or operate vehicles.

If a government agency’s negligence contributes to causing a car accident, you can seek compensation for your damages. However, these claims are subject to strict protocols, filing requirements and significantly shorter deadlines.

Statutes of Limitations

In Kentucky, you typically have two years to file a car accident lawsuit. The two-year period begins either on the date of your accident or the date you received your last PIP payment.

Your claims process begins with filing an insurance claim, and your car accident lawyer can settle most cases without going to court. However, it takes time to build a lawsuit. It is usually better to involve an attorney soon after your accident to ensure that you don’t miss any deadlines.

What If You Share Responsibility for Your Car Accident?

In many car accidents, more than one driver shares fault. If you are partially to blame for causing your collision, Kentucky’s pure comparative negligence law allows you to seek compensation from other guilty parties, even if you are 99% responsible.

However, the amount of compensation you can receive lowers proportionally to your percentage of fault. For instance, if you are 15% at fault, the most compensation you can receive is 85% of your total damages.

Although Kentucky is a no-fault state, ensuring that the degree of fault assigned to you is accurate is important because it directly affects how much your payout might be if you have to pursue avenues other than your PIP policy.

Won’t Insurance Companies Pay Compensation Fairly?

Insurance companies don’t like paying claims. They may use various strategies to minimize compensation amounts, such as denying valid claims, giving low initial settlement offers, attempting to blame you for causing your crash or tricking you into signing paperwork that limits your options.

When you hire a car accident lawyer for Kentucky from Big Auto, we will ensure that insurance companies don’t take advantage of you. We will use our experience and knowledge of how these companies operate to protect your best interests, negotiate a favorable settlement or take your case to trial.

What Kinds of Damages Are Available?

The types and amounts of compensation you qualify to receive depend on the specifics of your case. Many people are eligible for economic damages that may include medical bills, lost wages, replacement services and property damage.

You might also be able to seek non-economic damages for things like pain and suffering, PTSD, losing your ability to enjoy life and other conditions. Your Kentucky car accident law firm’s legal team will assess your case’s value and seek compensation for all available damages.

Here Are The Type Of Lawyers You Can Expect From Big Auto

Why Choose a Car Accident Lawyer From Big Auto?

We don’t just win — we win big. We can handle any car or truck accident claim so you can focus on recovery. Big Auto’s nationwide network of local car accident law firms has experienced attorneys to handle your case even in Kentucky. Our reach means we have the resources, organization and power of a large firm, but you will always get the personal attention you deserve.

Contact Big Auto 24/7 to request your free case evaluation. We are not based in Kentucky, but we will still help you. With us, you won’t have to pay us if we don’t win compensation for you. Let us prove to you why hiring a car accident lawyer from Big Auto is the right choice in Kentucky.