If you are in a car accident, you may be entitled to damages for your medical bills, lost wages and other losses. When you file a car accident lawsuit, a court will examine how the accident happened and who is responsible for the damages. However, a court may decide that you are partially at fault for a car accident.
If you are partially at fault for a Kentucky car accident, can you still recover damages? Under Kentucky’s fault laws, you may still be entitled to damages even if you are partially at fault. However, how much you can recover could be impacted by your percentage of fault. Here is what you should know:
Understanding Kentucky comparative fault laws
Kentucky follows a pure comparative fault system, which allows victims to recover damages after a car accident even if they are 99% at fault. In other words, if a victim was speeding when an accident happened and a judge determines that they are 20% at fault for the crash, the victim could still sue the other driver for damages.
Any percentage of fault can reduce how much a victim will recover for medical bills, property damages and other losses. For example, a victim who is 40% at fault for a car accident would only receive 60% of a $100,000 claim.
Because this is how the system works, insurance companies typically try to look for ways to shift some of the liability for an accident back onto victims, even when that is unfair. Insurance adjusters are always listening to things that injury victims may say to see if they can find some “evidence” that can be used to infer fault. For example, if you tell the other party’s insurance company that you “never even saw him coming” when their insured driver hit you, they may say that you were admitting that you were distracted and not paying attention to the road.
This is why victims should understand their legal options when seeking compensation after a car accident. Early contact with an attorney can help you avoid problems down the road with your claim.
