Kentucky Car Accident Lawyer

Americans love our cars. They are necessities for most us, allowing us to get to work and support our families. We run errands in them, use cars to drop our kids off at school and get away on vacations in them. Our cars are also places where, all too often, people are injured or killed in life-changing accidents that can happen in a blink of an eye on roads not far from home. No one plans on getting into an accident, but the reality is that they happen all the time.

The federal Department of Transportation estimates that in 2013 there were nearly 185.5 million light-duty vehicles registered in the United States out of a population of about 315 million. With all those vehicles on the road, many of them driven by distracted, sometimes intoxicated or impaired drivers, you may find yourself at the wrong place at the wrong time, involved in an accident and possibly suffering lifelong, disabling injuries. If so, you’re not alone.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides these statistics for 2014 on U.S. roadways:

• 32,675 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents and 2.3 million people were injured in crashes.
• 21,022 of those killed were passengers.
• 1,678 drivers aged 16 to 20 died in crashes and another 581 passengers of the same age group died in crashes in which they were riding with young drivers.
• 31% of motor vehicle accident fatalities alcohol related.
• 28% of the fatalities occurred in speeding-related accidents.
• 10% of the fatalities involved distracted drivers.
• There were 6.1 million vehicle accidents reported to the police; 72% involved only property damage and no injuries or deaths were reported.

In Kentucky for 2014, NHTSA reports:

• There were 672 road KY road accident fatalities, 28 of them in Fayette County (second to Jefferson County, with 78).
• A quarter of those deaths involved alcohol-impaired drivers (lower than the national average of 31%). In Fayette County, 39% of traffic fatalities were alcohol related.
• In Fayette County the number of traffic accident fatalities went up 56% compared to 2013.
• Of the 493 fatalities of those five years of age and older, more than half (284) were unrestrained.
• It’s estimated that seat belt use saved 253 people and could have saved the lives of another 78 if everyone used seat belts.
• 41% of those killed were in passenger cars.
• Of the 672 fatalities, 395 were killed in single-vehicle accidents, 125 deaths were related to speeding and 119 occurred at intersections.

If you’ve been involved in a vehicle accident, even if you think you’re uninjured, it’s important to get a medical examination as soon as possible.

• Prompt medical attention can result in the discovery of injuries, lead to treatment and provide evidence of injuries in case there is future legal action.
• The longer it takes after the accident to be examined, the more likely a defendant might claim an injury happened after the accident and is unrelated to it.

Because of the accident you may be injured and unable to work, and medical bills may start to pile up. You may be tempted to try to quickly resolve the issue with the insurance company in order to limit your losses. This may result in a check in the short run, but in the long run it may cost you far more money and aggravation.

The insurance company’s interests are not the same as yours.

• You should receive fair compensation for all your accident-related injuries, economic and property losses and medical treatment.
• The insurance company wants to resolve claims as quickly and cheaply as possible.
• The insurance company is concerned about its legal rights and interests, not yours.

Personal injury law and insurance law is complex. If you don’t know the value of your case, you should not be talking to your insurance company or companies covering other drivers. That value should be determined by a personal injury attorney who has experience dealing with insurance law and vehicle accidents.

If you are communicating directly with the insurance company, you may state things and take actions that could severely impact your legal rights without even being aware of what you’re doing.

• In the course of a conversation or while filling out forms, you may reveal information damaging to your case, or omit information beneficial to you, without realizing it.
• You may sign a general release and give up legal rights you didn’t know you had or could fully appreciate. Doing so could end your chances of pursuing legal action.

A serious injury due to a car accident can turn your life upside down. Just another drive to work or a trip to the grocery store can be the beginning of a long stay in a hospital, surgeries, physical therapy, medical bills and lost time at work. With our help, you can focus on recovering from the accident while we help you obtain the best medical care possible and deal with the insurance companies.

We will investigate the accident and find all the necessary facts about your case. We will present your legal claims to the insurance company, enter negotiations and, if a fair settlement can’t be reached, aggressively litigate your case so that your legal rights to fair compensation will be protected.

Our motto is “compassion, integrity and results,” and that’s what we provide our car accident clients. They are human beings with serious, individual legal needs who deserve the individual, specialized representation we provide. We provide personal, professional service to clients whose cases we believe in.

If you have been involved in a car accident that is not your fault, learn about your legal rights and seek legal advice about how to obtain fair compensation for your injuries and losses. We can help. Call Julie Butcher, the Lexington, KY Vehicle Accident Lawyer at 859-233-3641 or fill out our online contact form for a free consultation. We can talk about what happened, how the law might apply in your case and your best options to protect your legal rights. Statutes of limitation apply, so contact us today.