When is a Car Accident Serious Enough for an Injury Claim?

You’ve been injured in a car accident caused by a negligent driver. You have hospital bills and must undergo a bit of therapy. You can’t work – for a while anyway – and you still suffer significant pain. What do you do?  Well, for starters, unlike in other states which give you more time to decide your course of action, in Kentucky you have decide – then act – fast. Since you were injured, you (or better, your lawyer) have 10 days to file an accident report with the Kentucky State Police. Once you make that deadline, you then have a year (from the date of the accident) to file any insurance claim.

As to determining whether you would file a claim, a simple rule of thumb – regardless of the property damage aspects – is that if you must pay any medical bills out-of-pocket (or use your health insurance), you should file a claim. Generally, if there are no injuries, you’ll only file for the value of the property. But what of the injuries which don’t show symptoms immediately, like soft-tissue (whiplash) injuries?  The point is this: Even though you don't know whether you were injured, because you don’t have any early symptoms, file the accident report with KSP. If you don’t and then later discover you are injured, collecting on a claim can be very difficult – if not impossible. 

How Kentucky Car Accident Claims Work

Kentucky is a “no-fault” state. You file your claim with your liability insurance company, which pays up to the limits of your policy. All who drive in Kentucky must carry at least “minimum coverage” – $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 for total bodily injury per accident, and $10,000 for property damage -- commonly referred to as 25/50/10. Smart drivers find a way to carry higher coverage amounts, for many good reasons.

Under Kentucky’s no-fault system, those who are injured in a vehicle accident cannot sue the at-fault driver unless their medical expenses exceed $1,000, or they suffer a broken bone, permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, or are killed in the wreck.  Drivers are given the right to opt-out of Kentucky’s no-fault system by filing a waiver with the Department of Insurance (DOI). But it’s a double-edged sword, because even though this waiver removes the limitations on your rights to sue, it will also remove those same limits from those who want to sue you.

After an accident, your insurance company investigates your claim.  It then calculates all your damages and issues you a settlement check for the total amount, including pain and suffering.  If you disagree with the amount or your claim is denied, you may appeal. If your appeal fails, you may then file a complaint with the Department of Insurance, by which time you most certainly will have retained an experienced personal injury lawyer – if not much sooner.

But What if I’m a Passenger who was Injured in a Car Accident?

The same rules hold for injured passengers, though because they were not driving they are not required to file the KSP accident report. But it is also a very good idea for injured passengers to retain a seasoned accident lawyer as soon as possible. The driver of the vehicle in which the passenger was riding is “immediately responsible” for paying passenger damages. He or she may be eventually relieved of that obligation, depending on the outcome of the insurance investigation.    

An injured passenger can also file a claim through his or her own auto liability policy’s medical coverage. But its purpose is to pay medical bills only.  It does not pay for lost income or other expenses that are typically reimbursed through other liability insurance instruments. So it is prudent for injured passengers to pursue compensation from the at-fault driver in addition to their own carrier. And if an injured passenger collects from his or her insurance, then also from someone else’s insurance, the amount their insurance carrier paid to them – or a portion of it – may have to be reimbursed.

If the passenger is determined to be partially at fault, such as by distracting the driver or taking some other action, their recovery can be reduced by their proportional share of the blame. For example, if the passenger’s damages were $50,000 and he was found to be 10 percent at fault, the court shall determine the award of damages, which in this case could be reduced to that 10 percent ($45,000) or maybe less, depending on the circumstances of the case.

Do I File a Claim or Don’t I?

As we mentioned earlier, a general rule of thumb is that if you have to pay any money out of pocket or must use health or some other insurance to pay the medical bills (and your deductible), then filing an injury claim is certainly justified. If you experienced pain and suffering or have lost income because you cannot work, the time and trouble associated with filing an injury claim are likely worth the effort. Just be aware that any claim with an insurance company could be denied, and you may have to go to court. And the only rights we truly have are those we can – or are prepared to – defend. So if you can’t immediately decide whether or not a claim is worth pursuing, seek the counsel of a seasoned accident lawyer.  Most will review your case without charge.