Thinking about filing a personal injury claim? Maybe you were just in an accident and you’re trying to figure out what comes next. Understanding the legal jargon that gets tossed around in personal injury cases can make a huge difference in protecting your rights. At Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers, we believe in educating our clients, so here are 10 essential legal terms you’ll hear in Kentucky personal injury cases.
Key Terms You’ll Encounter
1. Personal Injury
This covers any harm done to someone—whether it’s physical, emotional, or mental—because of another party’s negligence or intentional actions. It’s the foundation of what we’re talking about here.
2. Negligence and Comparative Negligence
This is huge in personal injury law. Negligence means someone failed to use reasonable care, and that failure hurt someone else. To prove negligence, you need to show the other party owed you a duty of care, they breached it, and that breach caused your injury.
Kentucky follows a pure comparative negligence system. This means even if you were partly at fault for your injury, you can still recover damages—but your compensation gets reduced by your percentage of fault. So if you were 20% responsible, your award gets cut by 20%.
3. Damages
This is the money you can get in a personal injury lawsuit to cover your losses—money spent on medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, punitive and more. Basically, it’s compensation for what the injury cost you and in Kentucky there are no caps.
4. Statute of Limitations
In Kentucky, you’ve got a limited window to file your personal injury lawsuit. Miss that deadline and you’re out of luck. Kentucky’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases related to vehicle accidents is two years from the date of the accident, and for minors, this time starts from the moment they turn 18. The two year window can be extended by PIP benefits being paid. Wrongful death statute of limitations is governed by KRS 413.140.
5. Liability
Liability means legal responsibility by the at fault party
6. Preponderance of Evidence
In civil cases like personal injury lawsuits, you don’t need proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” like in criminal cases. You just need to show it’s more likely than not that the defendant’s negligence caused your injury—that’s the preponderance of evidence standard.
7. Settlement
A settlement is when both sides agree to resolve the case, usually before trial. You accept a certain amount of money and drop the lawsuit. Most personal injury cases settle rather than going to court.
8. Contingency Fee
Good news—most personal injury lawyers work on contingency, meaning they only get paid if you win. Their fee is typically a percentage of your settlement or court award, so you don’t pay anything upfront.
9. Subrogation
This is when a third party, like your insurance company, has the legal right to get reimbursed for payments they made to you from the person who caused your injury. It can affect how much money you actually keep from a settlement. Examples – Medicaid, Medicare, doctors treating you for your injuries, your health insurance, etc.
Why Understanding These Terms Matters
Knowing these terms helps you navigate personal injury law and make smart decisions about your case. But let’s be real—legal stuff gets complicated fast, and you need someone who knows Kentucky law inside and out.
If you’ve been injured because of someone else’s negligence, don’t try to handle it alone. The team at Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers has the experience to guide you through every step and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Call us 24/7 for a free consultation at 888-782-9090 or visit florastuart.com and fill our our Contact Form. We never get paid unless we win for you.
