Motor Vehicle Accidents

The following are steps to take at the scene of a wreck, and shortly afterward, to ensure you protect your right to pursue a full and fair financial recovery.

1. Remain at the scene of the crash. Do not leave the scene of the accident until it is appropriate to do so. When serious injuries or property damage has occurred, it is important to wait for police and/or an ambulance to arrive.
2. Seek medical attention as necessary. Check on all drivers and passengers. Call an ambulance for anyone who may need one. It is generally advised not to move people who have back or neck pain, or who are unconscious, without specific direction from qualified medical personnel — unless absolutely necessary due to a hazard.
3. Contact the police if injuries or significant property damage has occurred. When police arrive, ask them to file a police report and make note of the names and badge numbers of the responding officers.
4. Exchange information with drivers and witnesses. Kindly ask for the contact information and basic insurance information from the other drivers involved. Seek contact information from passengers and other witnesses as well.
5. Take photographs. Take pictures of the damage to your vehicle and of the scene of the accident.
6. Inform your insurance company. Contact your insurance company and explain the facts of the accident. However, be wary of early settlement offers. It is difficult to assess the actual costs of injuries soon after an accident. Injury victims may require more medical care and time off work than they anticipate. You may wish to consider hiring an attorney, or speak to one during a free consultation, to learn about your rights and options before pursuing an insurance claim independently.
   In Kentucky, you have the right to direct payment of up to $10,000 in no-fault benefits. When you file your insurance claim, you may decide whether these benefits cover medical bills, wage loss or other damages.

If you’ve been in an accident, you may not want to give a statement to your insurance company without consulting an attorney first. If you’ve been in an accident, it is best to not give a statement to your insurance company without consulting your attorney first

Insurance companies, even your own, may not have your best interests in mind. It is important to be cautious when speaking with an insurance company, if you do choose to engage. Insurance adjusters are very savvy and may employ tactics to get people to provide more information than they should.

Again, our recommendation is to say nothing about the accident or incident. You can tell the insurance representative that you will be giving a statement either through your attorney or once you have retained legal counsel.

After an accident, dealing with insurance and paperwork can feel like a full-time job. This is often on top of concentrating on your recovery, your expenses, your own vehicle repair costs and more. But what if the other driver involved in the accident doesn’t even have insurance? Or if their insurance doesn’t cover your losses?

At Hay & Knight, PLLC, we can help you work through these issues. Our lawyers have significant experience in helping Kentucky’s drivers recover compensation after an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist. We are committed to helping clients throughout Kentucky from our office in Somerset.

Understanding Insurance Coverages

There are key differences between uninsured coverage and underinsured motorist coverage.

• Uninsured motorists: Kentucky law mandates uninsured motorist coverage. This comes in handy if the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance coverage. In these cases, your own insurance company should cover costs associated with your accident.
• Underinsured motorists: This coverage is optional, and insurance companies tend to sell it only if it’s requested. While it varies, in Kentucky, underinsured motorist coverage doesn’t tend to cover more than just a few hospital visits. This can be difficult for motorists who have been seriously injured by an underinsured driver. Nevertheless, it can be beneficial.

Even if you have these coverages, there are special requirements for collecting underinsured motorist coverage. It’s often not as simple as settling with the at-fault driver for their liability coverage.

At our firm, we can help you understand your insurance coverages (as well as those of the at-fault driver), and we can work to make sure you recover fair and just compensation.

We begin by acting quickly. After an accident, things move fast. We don’t let evidence disappear. Where necessary, we try to obtain maintenance records and cellphone records. If you’ve been in an accident with a truck, we obtain the drivers’ log and other documents, which companies aren’t obligated to keep unless we step in.

We work with you to find out more about your insurance coverage. We want to find out if you’re being treated fairly, or if the company is simply trying to settle things quickly and easily.

From there, we work with a team of professionals to determine if there is anybody who is liable for your accident. In any case, we work toward getting you compensation for lost wages and medical bills. We try to get your vehicle fixed or replaced, and work to get a replacement or rental car in the meantime, so you’re not deprived of essential transport.

Most importantly, we try to provide peace of mind, including financially. Our lawyers know that the expenses can mount up quickly. That’s why we work to get you the reimbursement and compensation you need.