September 29, 2022

The 5 Biggest Hurdles to Winning Kentucky Personal Injury Cases

If you or a loved one are the victims of a personal injury accident you may be wondering what hurdles you may have to jump over to win your Kentucky personal injury case. There are a number of difficulties that you can face but luckily an experienced personal injury attorney from Spivak & Sakellariou can help you with each one. At GSAS we are dedicated personal injury attorneys. We can help make sure you take the right steps following your accident to avoid being taken advantage of.

1. What is a Kentucky Personal Injury Case?

A Kentucky personal injury case is one that involves the intentional or unintentional infliction of injury to a person. This includes cases where a person has suffered any type of physical or mental harm, as well as cases where they have been psychologically damaged. Generally, within a personal injury case a court will assess the following three factors to determine fault: liability, negligence, and intention.

Liability

How responsible is the defendant for the circumstances around the personal injury? Responsibility is always the determining factor of liability and intentions or a person’s mental state is not taken into consideration when considering liability.

Negligence

A defendant's negligence is determined by taking into account the failure of the defendant to act in a manner that is deemed acceptable for people within circumstances. For example, if a shopkeeper did not place a “Wet Floor '' sign on his floor when it was wet and a customer slipped and was injured, that shopkeeper was negligent in warning others about the dangerous floor.

Intention

The intention of the defendant is considered in some, but not most, personal injury cases. Intention is the act of personal injury with a purpose in mind. For example, a defendant who is accused of inflicting assault or emotional distress.

2. Waiting Too Long to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

In general, the statute of limitations for a Kentucky personal injury lawsuit is one year. This means that after you have been injured, you have one year to file a claim. If you wait until after the statute of limitations you will be unable to pursue a case to receive proper compensation. There are two year statute of limitation for certain personal injury lawsuits. They are:

Motor vehicle accidents if you have been injured as a result of another driver’s negligence, you will have two years to file a lawsuit either beginning immediately after the accident or after your last personal injury protection insurance payout.
The 2-year statute of limitation also begins after your last workers compensation indemnity payment if you are filing a workers compensation claim.
If you’ve sustained damage to personal property, you will have a two-year statute of limitation to file a claim.

Statutes of limitations can be confusing, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer prospect of identifying your claim subset and understanding how much time you have to start legal proceedings. That is why it is important to always contact a personal injury attorney as soon as you can after your personal injury accident. An experienced attorney has the necessary knowledge to help you file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations.

3. Proving Fault and Liability

In order to win a personal injury lawsuit you will have to prove that the defendant was at-fault and liable for the accident. However, this can be tricky to do if there are specific requirements that are needed to prove guilt for your situation. For example, proving that the defendant was under the influence requires the use of a toxicologist. It is always important to understand the best practices for proving guilt, and innocence when the tables are turned on you and having a knowledgeable and accredible lawyer like those at GSAS can help you win your case.

4. Settlement Negotiations Can Be Taxing

Negotiating with insurance companies can be a trying and frustrating experience. They are masters at manipulation and are looking to pay you out with the least amount of money possible. They will also attempt to drag negotiations out until the statute of limitations has passed thus not allowing you to take them to court.

Insurance Companies Pushing an Insurance Settlement

Understanding a just settlement can be tricky even for the practiced lawyer. Insurance companies are in the business of making money, and so they will generally always try to settle out of court. This is because it will generally always cost less for them to do so than to go to trial. Because of this, it's important for you to know that there are ways for them to push you into a settlement that does not reflect your true value.

5. Not Having a Personal Injury Attorney

When you're injured in an accident, it can be hard to know where to begin. You may not have any idea what to do next, and you'll probably be feeling overwhelmed by the whole situation. But there's one thing you don't want to do: try to handle this on your own. Without a personal injury attorney, you risk having your claim denied or not being able to get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. As an accident victim, you have rights under law, and those rights are protected by personal injury attorneys. If someone else is at fault for your injuries, then they should be held accountable for them.

The Personal Injury Lawyers at GSAS Are Here to Help You

We understand that nobody wants to be in your position. It can be a very difficult time. Our goal is to pair you with a Kentucky accident lawyer to help you navigate this difficult time to help you get what you deserve and move on with your life. You shouldn’t suffer unfair financial burdens that make it difficult to move on. If you’ve been in a personal injury accident in Kentucky do not hesitate to reach out today. Our trained and professional pedestrian accident lawyers are here to help.

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