In Kentucky, personal injury is when an individual’s injury results from another’s actions. These cases are based on the negligence theory, established through four elements: duty, breach, causation, and injury. You must prove three things to establish negligence: that the person owed you a duty, that duty was breached, and that the injury resulted from the breach of duty. Duty, in this case, is the obligation or standard of care to act in a way that does not harm others. The standard of care may vary depending on the situation. Generally, one must act like a reasonable person in the same position would behave.
When involved in such accidents, seeking legal assistance and contacting a Kentucky personal injury lawyer is essential.
Table of Contents
Personal Injury Laws in Kentucky
The statute of limitation. In Kentucky, you should file for a personal injury lawsuit within one year from the time of the accident. The court will dismiss your case if you fail to meet this one-year deadline.
Comparative fault rule. This rule states that damages should be reduced if the injured person is partly to blame for the accident. The amount deducted depends on the percentage of fault on the plaintiff’s side. For instance, if you are 20% at fault for the accident, you are entitled to 80% compensation.
Filing a Personal Injury Case in Kentucky
The first step in pursuing a personal injury case is getting a lawyer who will guide and help you through the legal process. Your lawyer will begin by sending a demand to the at-fault party. The demand includes medical costs, records, and accident photos and initiates settlement negotiations.
If your lawyer disagrees on a fair settlement with the defendant, they can file a complaint in court or provide pre-litigation mediation.
The at-fault party has twenty days to provide an answer. After submitting the response, both parties are provided with requests and interrogatories to answer. The following step is depositions, during which you, the defendant, witnesses of the accident, expert witnesses like accident reconstructionists, and your doctors are all asked to make sworn statements. Courts in Kentucky usually order mediation so the parties can sit down and reach a resolution. Mediation usually works; hence, a jury trial is unnecessary. If mediation is unsuccessful, a trial will be set months later.
How long does a personal injury case take in Kentucky?
The duration of solving a personal injury case in Kentucky depends on factors such as; insurance availability, the extent of injuries, and length of treatment. Cases involving minor injuries with no fractures, surgeries, or permanent disabilities take a shorter time and are easier to solve than cases with serious injuries.
Other factors determining the period for a personal injury case are recovery time, whether or not fault is disputed, the need for an accident reconstructionist, the success of negotiations and mediations, and the court trial’s schedule.
Damages from a Personal Injury Case in Kentucky
If your case qualifies as personal injury, you have the right to file a lawsuit and seek compensation. The types of accidents resulting in personal injury claims include pedestrian, truck, and automobile accidents, bicycle and motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, wrongful death, and dog bite injuries.
Personal injury claims provide financial compensation to a victim of someone else’s negligence. The damages a victim can obtain from these claims include medical expenses, lost wages, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.
Conclusion
Filing for a personal injury lawsuit and seeking compensation can be a battle, especially when the defendant is unwilling to negotiate. It is even more challenging to deal with the complexities of the legal process as an injured person. Finding an excellent personal injury attorney will help ease this burden and help you get justice.
Featured Photo by Mikhail Pavstyuk on Unsplash
