Glasgow & Barren County Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal Injury Causes More than Physical Pain

Personal injuries happen anywhere, and many times, they happen when we least expect them. Suffering injuries in a truck accident, slip and fall, or other personal injury that is not your fault can traumatize you. To help you through this process, speak with a Glasgow personal injury lawyer with your best interests at heart.

The Law Firm of Flora Templeton Stuart has been a proud part of the Barren County community for over 40 years. With an office on Green Avenue, we take pride in helping our neighbors through some of the most personally challenging moments in their life, including guiding them through the complex personal injury process and helping them maximize their financial recovery.

Suffering injuries in an accident is frightening and cause for confusion. You do not know what to do next. You may not know how you will recover or how you will pay your medical expenses. Even minor injuries can cause a mountain of medical bills. To help you, look for a compassionate but aggressive personal injury lawyer in Glasgow. Your lawyer can work to hold the at-fault party liable for your injuries, and help you recover compensation so you can heal and return to your life.

Types of Personal Injuries

Glasgow Area injury Statistics

Source: transportation.ky.gov
A personal injury is any injury a person suffers. It does not include property damage or theft, though personal injury can be related to those. A person can sustain both physical and psychological injuries—and many times, mental suffering is more painful.

Car Accidents

When people think of personal injury, most think of car accidents. Over 700 people die each year on Kentucky roads, and about 1,400 collisions kill about 10 people and injuring an average of almost 260 people every year in the Glasgow area. Human error or carelessness cause most car accidents, making them preventable. Causes include:

• Distracted driving
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Failure to yield
• Improper lane changes
• Reckless driving

Car accidents can also cause severe and life-altering injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury from a car accident, you deserve to have a trusted Glasgow personal injury lawyer at your side, guiding you through your personal injury claims process.

Truck Accidents

Semi-trucks, big rigs, eighteen-wheelers, commercial trucks go by many names. A trait they all share is their sheer size and weight. When you are involved in a commercial truck accident, your injuries are much more likely to be life-altering because the truck is multiple times larger and heavier than your car. Even at slow speeds, truck accidents cause catastrophic injuries.

Glasgow is not immune to truck accidents are not one of them—57 percent of all commercial truck fatal accidents occur in rural areas like Glasgow. When a commercial truck slams into you and causes injury, your sole focus should be on your physical recovery. To do that, you need to work with a personal injury lawyer in Kentucky who has the experience of investigating and pursuing truck accident injury cases. These are not like other personal injury cases.

They are much more complex, because multiple parties could cause your injuries, including:

• The truck driver
• The owner of the truck
• The truck manufacturer
• The shipping company
• Maintenance company
• Maintenance technician

Slip and Fall

Slipping and falling cause over eight million visits to the emergency room each year. While many people think this type of accident causes only embarrassment, slip and falls have the potential to cause serious injuries, including:

• Broken bones
• Concussions
• Other traumatic brain injuries
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries

Slipping and falling is no laughing matter. Whether you slipped and fell at a store or on an icy sidewalk, you deserve to hold the negligent party liable for your injuries and collect damages. But that is much harder than it sounds.

That is why, no matter what caused your personal injury, you must work with a seasoned Kentucky personal injury lawyer. Your lawyer can make the difference in your case and help you recover for your injuries. You have limited time to bring a personal injury claim against the at fault party. Don’t delay another day.

Common Injuries

Depending on the circumstances surrounding your accident and the specific type of accident you were involved in, your injuries could range from mild to life-threatening. Common injuries resulting from a personal injury include:

• Scrapes and cuts
• Sprains
• Broken bones
• Burns
• Concussions
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis
• Amputation

No matter what, your injuries and your suffering have altered your life, even if just temporarily. Because of that suffering, you should receive compensation from the person or company who caused your suffering. The best way to do that is by working with a Glasgow personal injury attorney with the experience you deserve to help you recover.

Seeking Damages

Damages are how you recover financial compensation for your injuries. Damages can include:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Lost wages
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Lost earning potential
• Past, present, and future medical bills
• Rehabilitation costs

Many people hesitate to sue someone else. But it’s important to remember that your ability to recover from your injuries may be directly tied to your financial recovery. Your concern about how to pay the stack of medical bills piling up on your kitchen table can be relieved by a successful personal injury claim. You have rights. Let us help you protect them by holding the at fault party liable for your injuries.

Generally, you will try to recover damages from an insurance company. The insurance company has different priorities than you. Your goal is to get better and you do that by not worrying about your bills and focusing on your recovery. The insurance company, however, wants to keep as much money in their pocket as possible.

They often do this by contacting you shortly after your accident. They offer you a quick settlement. You get excited that you can relieve your worry and put this part of the experience behind you. But we urge extreme caution.

Most likely, the insurance company offer is a low ball offer that will not cover all of your medical expenses. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you could be out of work and require additional medical care. Working with a seasoned Kentucky personal injury attorney, you can create an accurate estimate of your future medical needs. This gives your lawyer a better understanding of the full value of your personal injury claim. Then your lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to help maximize your financial recovery.

While it’s true that most personal injury claims settle out of court, to maximize your recovery, sometimes trial is necessary. Not every law firm is equipped for a complex personal injury trial; ensure the advocate you choose is.

Determining the Value of Your Claim

One of the most frequent questions we get from clients is about the value of their personal injury claim. It’s a hard question to answer. There are many factors at play including:

• Type of accident
• Your injuries
• Amount of time spent in the hospital
• Time out of work
• Additional medical procedures
• Ability to return to work
• Impact on your family
• Your suffering

No two personal injuries are identical and your compensation will depend on many factors. To help you get the compensation you need to make a full and complete recovery, work with a trusted Glasgow personal injury attorney. We can help guide you through the complex personal injury claims process, and ensure your rights are protected at every stage. You need to put all of your effort and energy into your recovery: Let your lawyer worry about the legal issues.

The Five Right Steps to Take After Your Accident

The steps you take after your accident can play an important role in your ability to recover damages for your injuries. Regardless of the type of accident you were involved in, taking these steps will help your case.

1. Call 911. When you call the authorities, the police rush to the scene of your accident, whether it’s a slip and fall at a store or a major car accident. The police will speak with witnesses and with you to get a good idea of what happened. While they may not assign fault, they will create a police report detailing the information they collected. This report can help to show someone else caused your injuries and they should pay for your medical expenses.
2. Seek medical attention. When your injuries are severe, immediate medical attention is important. Do not refuse the help of emergency medical personnel who show up at the scene of your accident. You may have injuries you do not know about and the emergency medical technicians can evaluate you and help you understand your injuries. After your accident, it’s a good idea to see your regular doctor. They can further evaluate your injuries and compare them to how you felt the last time they saw you. The records they keep may be important to show someone is to blame for your suffering.
3. Take pictures. Depending on the type of accident you were in and the injuries you suffered, you may be unable to take pictures. If that’s the case, have a trusted friend or family member help. You want to get pictures of the entire accident scene and your injuries. Having these images can help to show what happened in your accident and show you were not to blame.
4. Speak with witnesses. Witnesses often provide a much needed alternative viewpoint to your accident. They may shed light on the moments leading up to your accident and what may have caused your injuries. The police will want to speak with witnesses but so will we. Many witnesses will not stick around for the police to arrive so, at the very least, get their contact information so we can speak with them later and gather information about your accident.
5. Keep a personal injury journal. As your recovery progresses, your focus will shift to your return to your regular life. That’s great—but it might mean that you forget the daily suffering and struggles you encountered on your road to recovery. By keeping a personal injury journal, you can detail on a daily basis the level of pain you experience, the hurdles you had to overcome, and really paint a picture of your recovery path. This helps your Kentucky personal injury attorney show why you deserve damages.

Your final step after your accident is to find a trusted legal team who can take the legal weight off your shoulders and help to maximize your financial recovery. While you tend to your injuries and work on your healing, your lawyer will work tirelessly to protect your rights and ensure your personal injury claim gets the attention it deserves.

Glasgow Personal Injury Lawyer FAQ

Every year, millions of Americans face personal injury—including hundreds right here in Glasgow. Among motor vehicle collisions alone, the number of crashes in the Glasgow area has increased from 1,224 to 1,421 during the last decade. On a bad year, we can see as many as 300 injuries and 15 deaths, although safer vehicles means fewer injuries and fatalities despite the increase in accidents.

Personal injury is so broad and wide-reaching a term that it’s impossible to quantify how many people are hurt in personal injury cases every year—it means a lot more than just crashes involving cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Across the United States, we can trace back three million injuries each year, alone, to car accidents. Imagine how many more people fall victim to other traumas.

One of the most important aspects of a personal injury case lies in an empowered plaintiff. If you or somebody that you love has suffered a personal injury, partner with a trustworthy lawyer and begin to find out more about your rights. The time following the injury often proves hectic and emotionally taxing. Rather than grappling with that experience and what feels like learning a new language, try introducing yourself to the basics now.

Below, we’ve answered some of our clients’ most frequently asked questions concerning personal injury. While every case is unique and best served by a detailed consultation with an experienced attorney, our answers may be able to help guide you through the initial steps of pursuing compensation and relief.