Owensboro Car Accident Lawyers

As a local personal injury lawyer, Flora is out in the Owensboro community helping schools, charities, and fundraising events. Through her partnership with WBKO, Flora travels throughout Kentucky to present deserving schools, students, and teachers with the Poppy’s Leadership Award and the Today’s Leader award. You may also recognize our firm’s mascot, Poppy, from local events and making a difference in the community.

You Are Not Alone

If you recently had an accident, or someone you know has been a victim, you are not alone. Others in the region have successfully recovered from the unfortunate event, and with a reputable attorney, you’ll be able to recover the deserved compensation.

Owensboro is home to over 60,000 residents and is situated in a metropolitan region home to over 160,000 people. It got its All-American City status in 2013 and is among Kentucky’s largest urban areas. US Route 60 serves this part of the country; hence it has its share of daily road crashes.

Common car accidents include:

• Head-on collisions
• Rear-end collisions
• Side-impact collisions
• Sideswipe collisions

If someone else’s carelessness caused a car accident that left you with injuries, medical bills and lost income, you could file a lawsuit to claim the deserved compensation. An attorney can guide you aptly to ensure the other party or their insurer doesn’t exploit you.

A Look into Kentucky’s Comparative Negligence Rule

Suppose you sustained injuries or damaged your property in a road crash and go to court. The judge or jury listens to all the evidence then decides that the other party is liable for the incident – but mentions that you are partly responsible.

What happens? How does the verdict impact your right to be fairly compensated?

Kentucky laws address car accidents based on the comparative negligence approach. Revised Statutes section 411.182 refers to the region as a “pure comparative fault” state. In essence, the amount of recoverable damages in a crash-related lawsuit reduces by a fraction proportional to your level of fault.

For example, the jury has determined that your injuries and other losses sum up to $200,000. However, they also acknowledge that you’re 20% responsible for the unfortunate incident. In this case, your total compensation will reduce by 20%, or $40,000.

But if the court finds you mostly at fault for the crash, you can still recover your damages against the other parties. In that situation, prepare for significantly reduced damages.

Comparative negligence binds the state’s court (if your case makes it to this level) and guides the car insurance claims adjuster as they evaluate the circumstances. Also, remember that there are no empirical means of fault allocation, so any liability assignment ultimately depends on your negotiation with the adjuster or ability to persuade the court.

Kentucky’s Statute of Limitations

Kentucky’s Statute of Limitations for car accidents is two years from the incident date or two years from the date your insurance provider paid your last no-fault medical PIP payment. The law also shields those who lost their loved ones through another person’s negligence. You can pursue a wrongful death claim, and the Statute of Limitations allows you to do this one year after the victim’s demise.

The duration may seem long, but various challenges could hinder you from hitting the deadline. A personal injury lawyer can help you beat the hurdles and increase your total and prompt compensation chances.

Types of Damages

Typically, car accident victims can sue for two types of damages: General damages and special damages. Let’s explore each:

General/Non-Economic Damages

These damages naturally result from the defendant’s wrongful actions. The defendant’s actions must directly lead to the plaintiff’s damages or injuries.

While personal injury cases may vary, general damages usually include:

• Mental anguish
• Physical disfigurement
• Pain and suffering
• Tampered quality of life
• Mental anguish
• Loss of companionship

The exact dollar amount to an injury is assigned when computing the deserved compensation to the injured party. Damages like reduced quality of life are unique to each plaintiff. Notably, several factors come into play when determining the settlement awarded, including the severity of the injury and your attorney’s negotiating skills.

Special/Economic Damages

Economic damages ease the financial burden of the injured party by compensating for any losses resulting from the defendant’s actions. The out-of-pocket costs are usually determined by combining the plaintiff’s financial losses.

For example, the at-fault party and their insurance provider are liable for your vehicle damages. Valuation tools can quickly establish the value of a damaged or totaled vehicle.

Common examples of special damages include:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Property damage
• Limited or lost earning capability and lost income

Special damages are relatively easier to calculate since it covers an already spent dollar amount. But complications arise when computing future income loss or the cost of future healthcare services. However, expert witnesses and other crucial evidence can simplify the task.

While Kentucky may be a no-fault state, the settlement amount you’ll receive as compensation for property damage and injuries may not address all your financial losses. You also need to complete several other tasks like navigating hoops, finding temporary transportation, and filing claims with insurance providers.

Without a reliable and dedicated legal ally, you may not know where to start.

Why You Should Contact an Experienced Owensboro Auto Accident Attorney

An attorney with experience in personal injury law can be your ticket to a favorable outcome and fair compensation in your car accident case. The team at Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers will take the following steps for maximum recovery:

• Investigation: Investigation is key to building a solid case. Our team will obtain evidence immediately after the wreck, including photographs of the scene and vehicles, obtaining witness statements and the police report.
• Getting Good medical treatment: Documenting injuries sustained in a collision is crucial to building a case for damages. Perhaps more importantly, getting good medical treatment with reputable physicians helps our clients recover from their injuries. We provide personal representation to make sure our clients receive the medical treatment needed for their specific type of injury.
• Legal consultations: Our experienced Owensboro car accident attorneys deeply understands Kentucky personal injury law. Their knowledge of the law will be crucial in building a solid case and countering the defendant’s evidence.
• Opening insurance claims: Our team of experienced attorneys will immediately investigate insurance coverage to include liability, uninsured, underinsured, health insurance, and PIP. This is crucial in collecting damages and getting medical bills paid.
• Settlement negotiations: This is among the most challenging parts of the car accident case because the other party will constantly deliver low-ball settlement offers. Our attorney will aggressively defend your case and negotiate fair compensation. With years of experience negotiating claims with insurance adjustors, we know how to collect maximum damages. Often, we have dealt with the same adjustors in the past, which gives us a tremendous advantage.

Let us discuss your case today! Call us at (888) 782-9090 to speak with our injury attorneys about your case.

Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers
607 E 10th Ave
Bowling Green, KY 42101
(270) 782-9090