If you’re hurt in a car accident, you’re probably wondering: What is the average car accident settlement in Kentucky? After all, you may have medical bills piling up and may not be able to work. It’s normal to be stressed about your finances.
Unfortunately, there’s not one single correct answer, because Kentucky car accident settlement amounts are determined based on your individual losses. That’s especially true because the state’s no-fault system limits when you can pursue a claim for things like pain and suffering and emotional distress.
At Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC, our firm fights for you to get the maximum compensation. Our clients’ bill of rights shows we’re serious about protecting you throughout your claim, while our impressive past case results and client testimonials show we’ve got you covered.
Read on to learn how much your case may be worth, or reach out to our Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky personal injury attorneys today for a free case evaluation. Fill out our online contact form or call us at (859) 251-3045 today to learn more.
What Types of Damages Are Recoverable in A Kentucky Car Accident Settlement?
If you’re trying to figure out how much is my car accident worth in Kentucky, you need to understand the kinds of losses you should be compensated for.
Depending on the facts of the case, injured people in Kentucky may be able to recover compensation for:
- Economic damages: These are actual financial losses, including for medical bills and lost wages. If you need ongoing medical care or your earning power is permanently reduced, your car accident compensation under Kentucky law should include payment for these future losses.
- Non-economic damages: These include things like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life. It can be harder to prove these losses, so keep a pain diary to show the extent of your loss and try to maximize your Kentucky personal injury settlement.
These damages are available if your injuries are severe enough to allow you to make a claim against another driver who is at fault for your car accident injuries. If the injuries were more minor, or if you don’t have enough evidence to prove your claim, you may be limited to collecting payment for medical bills and partial lost wages from your own personal injury protection.
Examples of Results We Have Recovered for Our Car Accident Clients
You can maximize your chances of getting full and fair compensation by finding a car accident attorney with trial experience and a commitment to fighting for crash victims.
Your attorney can deal with issues like a denied claim, and will help you understand why you shouldn’t always accept the first car accident settlement you’re offered.
At Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC, our client stories and our team’s decades of collective experience demonstrate our successes. Check out some of our results to learn more.
How Long It Takes to Receive a Settlement in Kentucky
Once you settle a Kentucky car accident case, it can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days to get the money. However, it can take much more time to reach a settlement agreement.
After a car accident, you’ll need to negotiate with either your own insurer or the insurer of the at-fault driver to determine a fair amount of compensation. You’ll need time to gather evidence by getting police accident reports, interviewing witnesses, and finding experts. You also need to make sure you understand the full extent of your losses before agreeing to a settlement.
It can take weeks, months, or even years to resolve complex claims or cases where insurers won’t settle or there’s a dispute about fault.
If your case is serious enough to cross the no-fault threshold and pursue a claim against another driver, or if your case must be resolved at trial instead of settlement negotiations, the process is usually much longer. Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC will move your case forward as quickly as possible while maximizing your Kentucky car accident settlement amounts. We’ll also communicate with you throughout your case to keep you informed of its progression.
What Factors Affect Car Accident Settlement Amounts in Kentucky?
Many different factors affect the amount of your settlement, including:
- How badly you were hurt: The more serious your injuries, the more compensation you should receive.
- Whether liability is clear: If the other driver is clearly at fault, their insurer will be more likely to settle than if liability is contested.
- Documented losses: The more documentation you have showing your damages, the more likely it is that you’ll be fully compensated for them.
- Strong medical records: If you have clear medical records showing how bad your injuries were, this helps you get your bills covered and maximizes pain and suffering damages.
How Kentucky’s No-Fault System Affects Your Settlement Amount
Kentucky has a choice no-fault system. By default, drivers must buy personal injury protection (PIP), which is also known as basic reparation benefits. Your PIP coverage pays for medical bills and partial lost wages up to $10,000.
The Kentucky Department of Insurance makes clear that you can opt out of the no-fault system if you do so in writing. But you will not get the $10,000 in coverage for partial lost wages and medical bills that PIP provides after any accident, regardless of fault (unless you buy back this coverage).
If you opt out of the no-fault system, you can file a lawsuit whenever another driver is responsible for causing a crash. If you don’t opt out, you can still pursue a claim if your injuries meet the tort threshold.
Under KRS 304.39-060(2)(b), you can sue an at-fault driver, even under the state’s no-fault rules, if your medical expenses are above $1,000 or if you suffered permanent injury, permanent disfigurement, a broken bone, or death.
How Insurance Policy Limits Create A Ceiling on Your Recovery
Kentucky establishes minimum liability insurance requirements. Specifically, drivers must have:
- $25,000 per person in bodily injury liability coverage
- $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage
- $25,000 per accident in property damage coverage
An insurance company will only pay damages up to the policy limits. Unfortunately, if drivers have only minimum coverage, there often won’t be enough money to fully compensate crash victims for losses.
You may want to buy uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage so your insurer can step in and cover some of the losses the other driver should have paid for if they had enough insurance.
“How do the at-fault driver’s insurance policy limits affect your settlement? Think of the policy limits as the amount of money in a jar. Then think of your damages as permission to take money from the jar. What if you get permission to take $30,000 from the jar but the jar only has $25,000 in it? Unfortunately, you lose the ability to take that $5,000. There is no other jar. This is why it is very important to have good Underinsured Motorist Coverage. UIM coverage on your auto policy gives you a second jar to take money from when you’re hurt really badly.”
– Justin Lawrence
Why Having an Attorney Increases Your Car Accident Settlement Value
Justin Lee Lawrence
Partner
“Your lawyer’s job is to build a wall. The better the wall, the more money you get for it. But your lawyer can’t make bricks. Your doctor makes bricks. The police make bricks. You make bricks. The better the bricks, the better the wall. If you call us, we’ll tell you how to make bricks. We just can’t do it for you.”
When you’re involved in a car accident claim, it’s helpful to have an experienced attorney representing you. Your attorney can help you increase your car accident settlement value by:
- Determining if your injuries are serious enough to be handled outside of the no-fault system
- Calculating the full amount of damages that you may be entitled to, beyond what PIP insurance provides
- Negotiating with the insurance company on your behalf
Your attorney is paid on a contingent-fee basis, so you don’t pay legal fees unless you win. You have nothing to lose by getting legal help.
Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC has been fighting for clients since 2005. We serve clients throughout Northern Kentucky from our Fort Mitchell office, and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of crash victims.
We help with all this and more, including building a strong case and negotiating with the insurer on your behalf. We take fighting for our clients seriously. Your Case. Our Cause.
What Can Limit Your Car Accident Settlement in Kentucky?
It’s also important to understand the factors that can limit the compensation available to you. These can include:
- Low insurance coverage: If the insurance policy covering your losses has low policy limits, this makes it difficult to get full compensation unless you have underinsured motorist coverage or can sue the at-fault driver directly.
- Shared fault: If you share the blame for your accident, your compensation will be reduced based on your percentage of fault.
- Insufficient medical documentation: If you can’t prove your injuries were crash-related, or if you can’t prove how seriously you were harmed, it will be more difficult to get fair compensation.
Justin Lee Lawrence
Partner
“Many things can limit your settlement. Unclear liability and too little insurance coverage are the most common reasons you get limited.”
How Insurance Companies Handle Car Accident Claims in Kentucky
When your injuries are less serious, you didn’t opt out of the no-fault system, and you cannot meet the threshold to come out of the no-fault system, you will need to make a PIP claim with your own insurer.
If your insurer denies a legitimate claim or doesn’t treat you fairly, you may have a bad-faith claim. An attorney can help you fight to make them pay the Kentucky car accident compensation you deserve.
If the other driver is to blame and your injuries meet the tort threshold under Kentucky’s no-fault system (or if you opted out of the no-fault system), you may be negotiating with their insurer.
The at-fault driver’s insurer may try to engage in tactics to avoid paying full compensation, like making a low settlement offer, delaying your claim, or disputing whether your injuries are serious enough to meet the tort threshold.
You need to build a solid case to counter these arguments. Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC is here to help.
Talk to a Kentucky Car Accident Attorney Today
At Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC, we understand the challenges you’re facing, and we’re here to protect your rights every step of the way. Our experienced Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky personal injury attorneys can guide you on what to do—and what to avoid—so you don’t unintentionally harm your case.
Call us today at (859) 251-3045 for a free, confidential consultation, or fill out our online form to get started. Let us fight for the compensation you deserve while you focus on healing.
