Injuries sustained in car accidents can leave you dealing with financial, physical, and emotional setbacks. When you sustain an injury because of another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to monetary compensation for your losses. But to obtain the compensation that you deserve, you must determine fault for the crash. This makes it important to schedule a legal consultation with an experienced car accident attorney. The attorney can help you through each step of the claim process. While a car accident case may seem easy from the outset, some things can get quite complicated quickly. Because of the complexity of handling car accident claims, you should consider having an attorney on your side.
How to Establish Fault in Car Accident Cases
Determining fault after a car accident requires evidence. You must point out that the negligence of the other party can hurt others in many ways. Some pieces of evidence you need to collect include photos of the crash scene, video surveillance, police reports, witness statements, mobile device data, and others. Sometimes, your attorney may also need to hire an accident reconstruction expert to piece together what occurred based on given evidence.
What If You Contributed to the Accident?
In Kentucky, you can recover monetary compensation for your injuries even if you were 99% at fault for the crash. But your total compensation amount will be decreased based on your percentage of fault. For instance, if you incur $100, 000 worth of medical bills because of a car accident; however, you share 40% of the blame for the crash, you could get $60, 000.
No Fault Insurance in Kentucky
You must understand that the state of Kentucky handles car accidents differently. By default, motorists must carry personal injury protection coverage. Thus, drivers should first file accident claims using their own insurance to secure compensation for medical bills and property damage. People are entitled to such coverage no matter how cause the accident.
But the no-fault insurance laws of the state don’t completely prohibit an injured driver from suing an at-fault motorist. Some conditions provide a driver with the right to sue another motorist for damages in car accidents. Filing a lawsuit against an at-fault driver is possible if the victim sustained a permanent disfigurement or broken bone, their medical expenses is more than 1, 000, they sustained a permanent injury, or if death occurred because of the crash. Compensation a victim may be awarded in a lawsuit may include damages that non-fault coverage does not include such as pain and suffering.