Kentucky Injury Law Blog

On June 30, 2010, a woman from Thomasville, Kentucky was killed in a car accident in High Point Kentucky. She was driving a minivan when she was struck by a car pulling out of a parking lot. Police did not file charges against the driver who allegedly caused the accident, but that does not mean a civil lawsuit cannot be filed, which is what the estate of the victim did on June 15, 2012.

The wrongful death lawsuit names both the driver of the vehicle and a paving company as defendants. The suit claims the driver of the vehicle was negligent because she did not look in all directions before turning across five lanes of traffic. The suit also states she did not stop or turn her car or to avoid the accident or honk her horn to alert the victim that she was in harm’s way. This part of the lawsuit is pretty straightforward.

One might wonder how a grading and paving company could be blamed for an accident when none of their trucks were involved and the accident was not blamed on road conditions. The lawsuit claims one of the company’s signs caused the accident, stating "The sign was constructed of inadequate materials and was placed too close to the ground." Because the company’s employees did not consider the placement of the sign, it obstructed the view of the drivers trying to enter the intersection of the highway. This caused the other driver to run into the victim because she couldn’t see around the sign, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit requests a trial by jury and is asking for over $10,000 in damages. The amount of damages is often left to the jury to decide in a jury trial. Compensatory damages are meant to compensate the victim – or in this case the victim’s estate – for lost income, medical bills, funeral expenses, pain and suffering, and mental distress of both the victim and her family. Another type of award called punitive damages is sometimes requested as well. This amount is meant to deter the defendant from acting in the same manner again. Oftentimes people think jury awards in personal injury or wrongful death trials are excessive, but that is not usually the case. This victim in this case was only 29 years old and had children. When one considers the amount of income she would have made throughout the rest of her life and how much will be needed to care for her children, the amount of damages seems more reasonable.