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Kentucky Personal Injury Lawyer

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The state of Kentucky has a one-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits, with some exceptions. This means that if you have suffered an injury due to the negligence of another person or a company, you need to review your case with an attorney as soon as possible.

A personal injury is defined as an injury to the emotions, mind, or body of a person, which is opposed to an injury to a piece of property. A personal injury lawsuit is usually brought by a plaintiff who has been injured, made ill, or traumatized due to another person's carelessness or negligence. There are many different types of personal injuries, including tripping accidents, assault claims, dog bites, workers' compensation cases, medical and dental accidents, and defective product accidents. A personal injury is not necessarily accidental in nature, but can also take the form of industrial disease cases. These include occupational stress, contact dermititis, mesothelioma and asbestosis, chest diseases, vibration white fingers, and repetitive strain injuries.

Moreover, personal injury cases are not always physical. They can also include psychological damage caused by either experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, or by experiencing a disfiguring or otherwise life-altering accident. Pain and suffering are often compensated during personal injury settlements.

Kentucky has one of the strictest statutes of limitations in the country. Generally, plaintiffs have only one year from the date of the injury in which to file a personal injury lawsuit, although in some cases five years from the reasonable date of discovery of the injury is the allotted time in which to file a suit. The Discovery Rule, as it is known, applies to injuries or illnesses which are not immediately apparent, but which may develop, be diagnosed, or otherwise become discovered over a period of time. A good example of one of these situations is if a surgical tool or other foreign object is left inside a person's body during invasive surgery. Even if the item were not discovered within a year of the date of surgery, the individual would most likely be able to file a lawsuit if they did so within five years of discovering the item.

Kentucky also caps damages, although not punitive damages, and the state has a strict legal definition of negligence. For these reasons, and because personal injury law and the legal system in general are so complex, it is in your best interests to hire a personal injury attorney due to the various complexities in the legal system.

When you have come to the decision to hire a Kentucky personal injury lawyer, ask friends and family if they have any recommendations. Verify that any prospective attorneys are members of the Kentucky Bar Association and the American Bar Association. You can request a consultation in your hospital room, or even at home, if you are too injured or ill to travel.

If you do not have the money to hire an attorney, you can find lawyers who take personal injury cases on contingency. This means that you do not pay the lawyer until your case is won. There may be some minor fees involved if you lose, but they should be minimal and you should be made aware of them up front, so you will know what to expect.

Your attorney can help you find doctors who will wait for payment, and who are adept at testifying in court. Attorneys will also assist you in locating witnesses. They will file all the necessary court papers, prepare you for depositions, and if necessary, represent you in court.

Personal injury cases can include medical malpractice, auto accidents, slander, assault, worker's compensation, defective products, asbestos exposure or a simple slip-and-fall accident. It is the responsibility of the victim to prove that someone else's negligence caused your specific injury. You are entitled to medical costs, past, present and future. Sometimes this is handled with a structured settlement to pay for future medical expenses. A structured settlement is payed out over time instead of as a lump sum.

When you have been injured, you need the services of an experienced personal injury attorney. He or she will do the fighting with the insurance companies and the court, while you recover from your injuries. Getting an attorney involved as soon as possible improves your chance of a successful resolution in your case.