Kentucky Injury Law Blog

In Frankfort, Kentucky, an 8-year-old boy suffered injuries yesterday morning after he was hit by a car on Frankfort Road. Fire department workers had to rescue the boy, who became trapped under the 1997 Honda, driven by Danny L Givens.

The boy was walking to the bus stop when the Kentucky pedestrian accident happened. He is receiving treatment at a Lexington hospital.

2007 Pedestrian Facts (NHTSA):

• 4,654 pedestrians died in US traffic accidents.
• That’s 1 pedestrian that died every 113 minutes.
• 70,000 pedestrians were injured.
• 14,000 of the injury victims were younger than 15.
• 8,000 of these victims were boys.
• 93 of the pedestrians that died last year were between the ages of 5 and 9.
• 36% of young pedestrian fatalities (under age 16) took place in the afternoon, between 3pm – 7pm.
• 44 people were killed in Kentucky pedestrian accidents in 2007.
• Auto crashes are the number one cause of death for kids between the ages of 3 and 14.

Some of the reasons why younger pedestrians are at risk of getting injured or killed in a Kentucky motor vehicle crash:
• Their ability to determine how fast a car is going and whether it is safe to cross the street is not always accurate.
• Drivers may not see child pedestrians because of their smaller size.
• A child pedestrian may wrongly assume that the driver is going to yield the right of way.
• A child pedestrians may not fully understand traffic signs or know how to safely cross the street.

Children injured in Kentucky pedestrian accidents are prone to serious injuries, including spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, severed limbs, internal injuries, and death.

Boy, 8, struck by car, Kentucky.com, December 15, 2008

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Related Web Resources:

Injury Center, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Walk This Way, Safe Kids

Continue reading "Kentucky Pedestrian Accident Attorney: 8-Year-Old is Struck by Car" »

A Louisville dentist is pleading not guilty to charges of leaving an accident and reckless homicide following a deadly hit and run auto accident on Friday. Dr. Michael B. Mathis claims that he did not know he hit his ex-girlfriend until he got home.

According to his criminal defense attorney, Mathis’s ex-girlfriend Pamela Fay “attacked” his client at the Clark County Casting and Conservation Club on Friday. Mathis then tried to leave a parking lot in his pickup truck but she attempted to block his vehicle.

One witness says that Fay continued pounding on the truck hood as Mathis tried to drive around her. Fay, who was conscious after the auto accident, told police that Mathis struck her with his vehicle. She later died from internal injuries.

While Mathis says he never intended to “hit and run,” the local prosecutor says investigators are looking into whether the Louisville dentist purposely left the accident site. If evidence surfaces to show that the Kentucky dentist intentionally struck Fay with his car, more serious criminal charges could be filed against him.

Hit and Run Accidents
• According to AAA Foundation for Safety in 2006, 11% of all auto crashes reported to police in the US involved a hit and run accident.
• 60% of hit and run fatalities are pedestrians.
• Between 1994 and 2003, 14,914 people died in hit and run crashes in the US.

Leaving a crash scene is against the law and considered negligent behavior—especially when someone is injured or killed in an auto collision—and could be grounds for a Kentucky personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Motorists involved in traffic crashes are supposed to stop at the crash site and exchange contact information, as well as take reasonable action to help anyone who is injured.

Police seek information on fatal hit-and-run, Courier-Journal.com, November 25, 2008

Louisville dentist charged in death of southern Indiana woman, December 6, 2008

Hit And Run Drivers Kill Nearly 1500 People Annually With Pedestrians At Greatest Risk, According To AAA Foundation Analysis, AAA Foundation for Safety

Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Car Accidents Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Kentucky Accident Attorney: Woman Dies in Hit-and-Run Accident Involving Louisville Dentist" »

On US 27 close to the Jessamine-Garrard County Line, motorcyclist David Ballard died on Monday morning after being struck by a car. Kentucky State Police say that Danville resident Rita Pradhan, 24, lost control of her vehicle before striking the oncoming motorcyclist. Her car then spun around before striking the vehicle following her.

Ballard, a 52-year-old Danville resident, was declared dead at the accident scene. Prior to his death, there were 57 reported motorcycle fatalities in Kentucky so far this year.

Motorcyclists are prone to serious injuries whenever they are involved in traffic collisions. Even when a motorcyclist does wear a helmet and protective clothing, he or she does not have a great deal of protection to act as a buffer from the impact of colliding with a car, bus, or 18-wheeler truck.

Many motorcycle accidents can result in catastrophic if not fatal injuries that may include road burn injuries, broken bones, severed limbs, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. The medical and recovery costs can be very expensive.

Unfortunately, many people attribute motorcycle accidents to the “recklessness” of the motorcyclist. It is important, if you are a motorcyclist who was injured in a traffic accident caused by another driver’s negligence in Kentucky, that you speak with an experienced Louisville motorcycle crash law firm that can inform you of your legal rights and advocate for your right to financial recovery.

According to the “Hurt” Report:

• About 75% of motorcycle collisions involve another motor vehicle.
• 2/3rds of all motorcycle accidents involving multiple vehicles resulted in a driver violating the motorcyclist’s right of way.
• Defective roadways is the cause of about 2% of all motorcycle crashes.

Garrard Co. Accident Victim Identified, Action News 36, August 19, 2008

The "Hurt" Report (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

Motorcycle Safety, Kentucky Government (PDF)

Kentucky Motorcycle Laws, DMV.Org

Continue reading "Danville Motorcyclist Dies in Kentucky Motor Vehicle Crash Collision on US 27 Near the Jessamine-Garrard County Line" »

According to preliminary statistics, 16 people died in 12 motor vehicle accidents in the Kentucky Counties of Breckinridge, Henry, Calloway, Hopkins, Leslie, Jefferson, Marshall, and Logan from July 21 to 27, 2008. 11 of the deaths involved motor vehicles, 2 of the fatalities were child pedestrians, and 3 of the deaths involved motorcycles. The death toll for that week increased the number of total motor vehicle deaths on Kentucky roads this year to 422 fatalities (327 car crash victims, 47 motorcyclists, 35 pedestrians, and 11 ATV victims), with more traffic-related deaths and injuries happening since then.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a car crash, a motorcycle accident, a truck accident, a bus collision, a pedestrian accident, or a bicycle crash, it is important that you speak with an experienced Kentucky motor vehicle crash lawyer before trying to negotiate a settlement agreement with the liable party’s insurance company. An experienced Louisville car crash law firm will know how to investigate your case to determine causation and liability. Your motor vehicle crash lawyer can work with experienced accident reconstructionists who can examine the crash scene and investigate all evidence.

Another reason it is important that you do not try to settle an injury case on your own is that you or your loved one may not be able to determine the extent (and costs) of the medical and recovery care you may require. A good Kentucky motor vehicle crash lawyer can work with medical experts who can help you get a better sense of all medical and recovery expenses, and assess other damages, such as pain and suffering, reduced income potential, lost wages, and disability, that you may be entitled to receive.

Depending on the specifics surrounding your Kentucky auto crash, the statute of limitations for filing your personal injury lawsuit may be one or two years, which is another reason that it is important to speak with an experienced Louisville car crash lawyer.

Our Kentucky personal injury law firm helps clients with injury claims involving truck crashes, car collisions, motorcycle accidents, hit and run accidents, drunk driving collisions, automobile rollovers, motor vehicle crashes caused by defective autos or auto parts, and crashes involving insured and uninsured drivers.

16 People Died In 12 Crashed Last Week, Kypost.com, July 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Chart: Statutes of Limitations in All 50 States, Nolo.com

The Kentucky DMV

Continue reading "Kentucky Motor Vehicle Accidents Leave Over 420 Dead So Far in 2008" »

In Kentucky, Keneille Finch, the Louisville driver apprehended in connection with last week’s hit-and-run deaths of 4-year-old Riley Jane Lawrence and 5-year-old Claudia Faye Wadlington has been charged with their murders, in addition to fleeing and evading police and aggravated assault.

The pedestrian accident occurred in Louisville when the two girls were crossing a street and Finch allegedly ran a red light. Angie Wadlington, the mother of Claudia, was with the girls when the accident happened. She was also struck by the vehicle during the hit and run accident and sustained injuries to her left leg and broke one of her arms. This is not Finch’s first brush with the law. He has been arrested several times and served time in prison before.

Pedestrian Deaths
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 4,874 pedestrian deaths in 2006. That same year, there were 67,537 motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians.

Pedestrians are prone to serious injuries, including broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and severed limbs, or death when they are involved in a traffic crash with a car, truck, motorcycle, or bus. If you were seriously injured or someone you loved died while crossing the street, riding a bicycle, or waiting at a bus stop in Kentucky because of the negligence or reckless actions of a driver or another party, an experienced Louisville pedestrian injury lawyer can help you.

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents

• Driver inattention
• Drunk driving
• Speeding
• Failure to stop at a red light or stop sign
• Motor vehicle defects
• Hit and run accidents

Hit-and-run suspect identified, charged with murder, Courier-Journal, July 26, 2008

Hit and Run Driver Has Long Criminal Record, Courier-Journal, July 28, 2008

Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Hit and Run Laws in Kentucky, Deadly Roads.com

Our Kentucky motor vehicle crash law firm has helped many pedestrians and their families obtain the financial recovery they are owed for the harm they have suffered.

Continue reading "Louisville, Kentucky Driver Involved in Hit and Run Pedestrian Deaths of Two Girls is Charged with Murder" »

Congressional leaders in Washington DC berated federal regulators today for not implementing recommendations that the National Transportation Safety Board made in 2001 to keep medically unfit truckers off the roads. According to a recent safety study, reported on by the Associated Press, there are hundreds of thousands of commercial truck and bus drivers working even though they qualify for full federal disability payments.

Commercial drivers that have seizures, blackouts, heart attacks, and other health emergencies while driving are a leading cause of catastrophic truck accidents in the United States. Thousands of motorists and pedestrians have been injured or killed because a bus driver or the driver of an 18-wheeler truck, a tractor-trailer, a semi-truck, or a big rig truck became ill or unconscious while driving.

Among its recommendations, the NTSB suggested that a system be set up to trace medical certificate applications and stop drivers from doctor shopping. The NTSB also suggested that examiners who certify commercial drivers be properly trained to determine whether a trucker or bus driver was medically fit.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has found that it is not difficult to fabricate medical certificates stating that a driver is medically fit to drive professionally. Of the 614 medical certificates it examined, the committee found that they could verify only 407 of them.

Truck accidents can lead to catastrophic injury accidents for victims. The force of impact of a large truck or bus striking a pedestrian or the passengers of a compact car can lead to serious injuries, such as severed limbs, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and massive internal injuries, or death for the victims.

Trucking companies are experienced in dealing with injury claims against them, which is why it is important that you speak with an experienced Louisville, Kentucky truck crash law firm to explore your legal options.

Regulators scolded on medically unfit truckers, Associated Press, July 24, 2008

Medically unfit truckers still on the road, safety study shows, CNN.com, July 21, 2008

National Transportation Safety Board

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Continue reading "Congressional Members Tell Federal Regulators They Should Do More To Keep Medically Unfit Commercial Truck And Bus Drivers Off Roads" »