Personal injury law, in Kentucky and elsewhere, covers a wide variety of injuries, including physical and emotional injuries, as well as property damage. Defendants, or responsible parties, may be individuals, businesses, or even government entities, and can include a combination of all three.
The basic concepts of personal injury are the same across the country, but there are very important differences in each state which will affect your case.
You must act fast in Kentucky
One very important difference in Kentucky is the statute of limitations. That is your time limit for filing a lawsuit. You have less time to file a personal injury suit in Kentucky than in most states – only one year. Statue of limitations laws can be confusing, because in some types of cases the clock starts running as soon as the act which caused your injury occurred, while in others your time limit begins when the injury is discovered.
For more in depth information about time limits in Kentucky read our Kentucky Statute of Limitations page.
You can receive compensation even if you bear a large portion of fault
You do not have to be blameless in order to be entitled to compensation. Under the doctrine of pure comparative negligence, in Kentucky if someone else is as little as one percent to blame, they can be held responsible. They can only be held responsible for a percentage of damages equal to their portion of responsibility.
Compensation
Compensation to which you may be entitled in Kentucky includes:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages, including time missed from work to attend medical appointments
- Lost earning capacity
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Interference with family relationships
- Property damage
- Other expenses incurred as a direct result of your injuries
Several liability
Kentucky holds each party responsible for their percentage of fault only. If there are multiple responsible parties and one fails to pay, you cannot collect their share from the other parties.
Fault
The standards for fault depend on the type of case you are dealing with.
Most personal injury cases require that you prove negligence. It is presumed that we all owe each other a minimum amount of care under certain circumstances, such as not causing an avoidable accident while driving. Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care.
In cases involving a defective product, you must prove strict liability rather than negligence. Strict liability requires that the following elements exist:
- The product was defective making it unreasonably dangerous
- You used the product properly
- The defect caused your injuries
- You suffered damages
Personal injury laws vary from state to state. If you believe you have a personal injury claim and you live in Kentucky, please contact one of our Kentucky personal injury lawyers for a free claim evaluation.
