Kentucky Motor Vehicle Accident Attorneys
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a traffic accident, you need help with medical bills and other expenses right away, but you cannot afford to sign away your right to the full compensation that you will require to pay for your long-term needs. Kentucky has an unusual way of handling auto accident liability called “choice no-fault” or “optional no-fault”. Only two other states use this system. An experienced Kentucky motor vehicle accident lawyer can protect your rights and preserve your claim.
Can You Sue?
Choice no-fault is very unusual. Kentucky is one of only three states that use the system.
No-fault means that you can quickly get paid by your own insurance company because you do not have to prove fault in a traffic accident. However, the benefits are very limited and you are barred from suing the at-fault driver unless certain conditions exist.
You can opt out of no-fault, in Kentucky. You lose the right to no-fault benefits, but you gain the right to sue. You also open yourself up to lawsuits. If you opt out of no-fault, you can buy back no-fault coverage, which means you pay higher insurance premiums in exchange for retaining your no-fault benefits along with your right to sue.
If you have not opted out of no-fault, you can still sue the other driver if they have opted out or if your injuries meet one or more of the following thresholds:
- Medical expenses are $1,000 or more
- Permanent disfigurement
- Permanent injury
- Permanent loss of a body function
- Fracture of a weight-bearing bone
- Compound, comminuted, compressed, or displaced fracture of any bone
No Soliciting by Medical Providers for 30 Days
Kentucky law prohibits medical providers and their intermediaries from seeking you out and offering their services during the first 30 days after your traffic accident. The purpose of this law is to prevent fraud. The no-fault system means that accident victims have funding for medical expenses up to the policy limit, which is usually $10,000. A common scam involves medical providers offering services to newly injured people, and treating them until the money is all used up and then breaking off treatment. They may administer treatments that are not needed or helpful. Once the money for medical care is gone, injury victims have no way to pay for the care that they still need.
If you have been injured in car crash in Kentucky, please browse our directory to speak to one of the experienced Kentucky motor vehicle accident lawyers profiled on this website.