Car Accidents - Hessig & Pohl

Car accidents happen everyday on the roads and highways of Kentucky.

Abogados de Accidentes Automovilísticos en Louisville

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No matter how safely and defensively you drive, other drivers on the road could be driving negligently and recklessly.

Every time you get into a vehicle there is a risk that you might be injured in a crash. In recent years, there have been over 25,000 car accidents every year in Kentucky. Of those accidents, over 600 involved a fatal car accident. If you have been injured in an automobile accident, the best thing to do is to contact an experienced Louisville car accident attorney in order to have your questions answered and get the compensation you deserve.

Hessig & Pohl Louisville Injury Attorneys

Medical Bills

If you have been injured in a car crash due to someone else’s negligence, you may have significant medical bills. Some car crash injuries can be quite serious, requiring months or even years of treatment, including surgeries, hospitalization stays and long rehabilitation. So, who pays for these bills that could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars? Under Kentucky law, there is a priority of insurance coverage and the law dictates who pays first. What is surprising to most people is that the at-fault driver’s insurance policy is not the first to have to pay; the person who caused the crash and injuries is not the first priority.

Under Kentucky law, there is a priority of insurance coverage and the law dictates who pays first.

Personal Injury Protection insurance coverage

If you were unfortunately injured in a car crash then one of the first thing you should do is contact your automobile insurance company and report the claim and get a PIP application so that you can get a PIP claim number. Thereafter, your medical providers can send their billing to your insurance company.

In Kentucky, most drivers have what is called Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance coverage on their own car. PIP covers medical bills and lost wages up to the policy limit. If that dollar amount of the policy limit is not enough to cover all of an accident victim’s medical bill, then you go down through the various policies that are available in the following priority:

1 | PIP coverage on your own insurance automobile policy

2 | PIP coverage on the vehicle in which you were riding as a passenger

3 | Any individual health insurance policy that covers you

4 | The liability policy that covers the at-fault driver’s policy

5 | Underinsured insurance policy on your own vehicle due to the liability policy of the at-fault driver is not enough

What if the at-fault driver has no insurance?

While Kentucky law requires all vehicles to be insured, there are instances where drivers fail to purchase the necessary coverage or let their insurance policies lapse. When that happens, there is no insurance policy that will cover whatever injuries or damages caused by the at-fault driver. Another problem occurs when the at-fault driver has insurance coverage but it is not enough to cover your injuries. Kentucky law sets the bare minimum amounts of insurance coverage that car owners in Kentucky must purchase:

If you were hit by a negligent driver and you and your passengers were seriously injured, if the at-fault driver had only the bare minimum amount of insurance coverage, there would only be a total of $50,000 to compensate all accident victims for their injuries, including medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. How can you protect yourself against this horrible scenario?

You need experienced, effective help from the injury attorneys at Hessig & Pohl

Uninsured and Underinsurance Policies

Protect Yourself

Uninsurance and Underinsurance (UM/UIM) insurance policies are policies that you purchase yourself when you buy automobile insurance. This type of insurance protects you if the at-fault driver has no insurance or if the at-fault driver does not have enough insurance.

How does it work? This scenario can help explain the process:

Assume you were involved in a car crash caused by someone else’s negligence.

You were seriously injured in that crash and had to undergo significant treatment and had serious pain and suffering.

Under these facts assume your case against the other driver would reasonably be worth $500,000.

The other driver’s liability bodily injury limit on his insurance is only $50,000 — not enough. Here a UIM policy comes in.

You can file a UIM claim regardless of whether the at-fault driver has coverage

In fact, in order to recover full compensation for your injuries, you would have to file a UIM claim against your own insurance company. Even though it is your insurance company, they would now step in the shoes of the defendant and litigation would have to be filed against the company assuming the case could not settle. The same would happen if the at-fault driver had no insurance. Therefore, the best practice is to make sure you purchase the UM/UIM coverage at sufficiently high levels just in case you are involved in a scenario like this.

Should You Talk to the Insurance Company?

If you have been injured in an automobile accident due to the negligence of another, you may be contacted by insurance adjusters. The conventional wisdom is that it is best not to speak with insurance adjusters because their goal is to resolve the claim for as little as possible. If the negligent driver’s insurance company calls you, there is no good reason to talk to them without first having an experienced Kentucky personal injury lawyer sitting next to you. Often, these adjusters will call you and ask if you will give a recorded interview over the telephone. If you agree, what you say can be manipulated and used against you in the lawsuit to ensure you are compensated fairly for your injuries.

Now, it recommended that you talk to your own insurance company. In fact, you actually need to in order to establish your PIP claim so that your medical bills can be paid. However, do not agree to any recorded statement without first hiring a lawyer to represent you and ensure that your interests are represented and protected.

How much is my car crash worth?

This question is complicated, and the answer depends on several factors. It is important to remember, however, that to maximize both your chance of success as well as the damages that you can obtain you should work with an experienced Kentucky car accident lawyer.

The variables that will affect how much money you can expect to recover are the following:

Seriousness

The seriousness of your injury and length of your treatment

Will there be any aspect of your injury that is permanent such as scarring or will there be a full and complete recovery?

Medical Bills

The amount of your medical bills

This includes past medical bills, as well as medical bills that you might incur in the future that are related to your car crash injuries.

Lost Wages

Any lost wages it is determined you would have earned

As with medical bills, this number counts both past lost wages as well as future loss wages due a lower earning power caused by an ongoing disability.

Pain & Suffering

The amount of pain and suffering you have endured

These are non-economic damages and can be difficult to define numerically. The best way to determine this number is to hire an experienced lawyer who has handled Kentucky car accident cases.

Ticketing

Your access to insurance coverage

You have access to the at-fault driver's insurance, up to the policy limits, and any underinsurance or uninsurance you possess, even if you have suffered injuries an average person would agree should be worth millions of dollars.

Call 911

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Important things to do after a Kentucky car wreck

Being in any kind of car accident can be a traumatic, jarring experience, especially if you have been injured. Many people who are involved in serious crashes actually lose their memory of the impact.