Kentucky Injury Law Blog

The widow of a man who was killed in a 2008 Kentucky drunk driving accident wants Madison Circuit Court to consider her motion to amend her wrongful death lawsuit against driver Elmer Ray French.

French is accused of crossing the center line of a road on December 3, 2008 and hitting head-on the vehicle that Jason Isaacs was riding in. The 71-year-old motorist was indicted for driving under the influence (with a BAC of over .18%) and murder for his alleged role in causing the deadly Kentucky car accident. His arraignment is scheduled for Friday. If convicted of these charges, he could end up serving a life prison sentence.

Now, Sandra Marie Isaacs wants the court to let her amend her Kentucky wrongful death complaint to include claims made for her two children with Jason Isaacs. She wants to claim loss of parental consortium for her 9-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter.

Sandra Isaacs is seeking compensatory damages plus interest for funeral costs, medical bills, loss of spousal consortium, and loss of future income and earning capacity. She is also seeking punitive damages.

Loss of Parental Consortium
In Kentucky, a claim seeking compensation for loss of parental consortium can be filed for the time that a child loses with his or her mother or father because of the parent’s death. This claim is limited to the period between the parent’s death and when the child turns 18.

The death of a parent is never easy. Losing one’s mother or father in a tragic car accident when one is very young can scar a person for life. While no amount of money can bring a parent back or make up for time that is lost, there are ways to hold the liable party responsible for your child’s loss.

Hearing set to amend DUI death lawsuit, Richmond Register, May 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Kentucky Revised Statutes, Kentucky Legislature

Car Accidents Overview, Justia

In Jefferson Circuit Court, the respective parents of Claudia Wadlington, 5, and the Riley Lawrence, 4, have filed a Kentucky wrongful death lawsuit for the girls' hit-and-run deaths. The two girls were killed in Louisville on July 25, 2008 as they were walking to swim class. They were holding hands with Claudia’s mom, Angela, as they crossed Floyd Street when a Pontiac Grand Am hit them. The driver of the car, Kenielle Finch, also hit Louisville Metro Police who attempted to apprehend him following the deadly hit and run accident.

Named as defendants in the Kentucky pedestrian accident complaint are Kenielle Finch, who was charged with their murders (in addition to 12 other related charges) and Keynisha Butler, who lent Finch the car that hit the girls. Finch entered a not guilty plea to the criminal charges and will stand trial.

The families’ Louisville wrongful death lawsuit seeks to recover hospital expenses, burial costs, and other accident-related expenses, including Angela’s hospital expenses for her injuries, as well as punitive damages from both men.

Reasons Why Motorists Hit and Run
Not only is it considered negligent conduct to cause an auto accident, but so is leaving an auto accident site after causing a motor vehicle crash—especially if someone was seriously injured. Staying at a crash site to provide assistance and contact emergency medics to let them know that someone has been hurt can determine whether an auto accident victim lives or dies.

Some reasons why people hit and run:
• Driving drunk or under the influence of drugs.
• Driving without a license or proper insurance or documentation.
• Driving a stolen vehicle.
• The driver may have just committed a crime.
• The driver is scared of the legal consequences.

If you were seriously hurt in Kentucky hit and run accident and the driver has not been apprehended, an experienced Louisville car accident law firm can help you pursue your uninsured motorist claim and make sure that you receive a settlement from your insurer that takes as much of your accident-related expenses and recovery costs into consideration. If the driver has been apprehended, then your Kentucky personal injury lawyer can push to recover from the negligent party.

Slain girls' parents sue accused hit-and-run driver, Courier-Journal, May 5, 2009

Kenielle Finch indicted, charged with murder after alleged hit and run, Newsnet14, September 1, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Hit And Run Drivers Kill Nearly 1500 People Annually With Pedestrians At Greatest Risk, According To AAA Foundation Analysis, AAA, May 17, 2004

Pedestrians, Safekids.org

At Bryan Station High School, students are anxiously waiting to find out the condition of three of their classmates who were seriously injured in a Lexington motor vehicle crash on Monday night. One of their other classmates, 15-year-old Nathaniel Lee Stuckey, died in the collision on Russell Cave Road on Monday night.

The driver of the car, Nicoli Petitfrere, 17, and passenger Jasmine Marks, 16, are still in critical condition, while Kierra Fulz, 17, is in fair condition. According to Lexington police, speed may have been a factor, with the teenagers' car going faster than the 55 mph speed limit.

The Kentucky teen driving accident took place around 7pm when Petitfrere lost control of the white Toyota Camry and drove off the narrow two-lane road, striking a rock wall and hitting a tree head-on. Three of the Kentucky car crash victims had to be extricated from the Toyota. Stuckey, who was sitting in the front-passenger seat of the car was pronounced dead at the crash site.

Dangers of Speeding
• Speeding is a contributing factor in over 30% of deadly US traffic accidents.
• It occurs on freeways and on local streets.
• You can be speeding even if you are abiding by the posted legal limit if the weather conditions warrant that you drive slower.

Speeding Facts by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
• Speeding played a role in than 13,000 motor vehicle fatalities in 2007.
• 88% of traffic fatalities where speeding was involved took place on Interstate highways.
• 24% of speeding-related deaths occurred on roads with speed limits posted at 35 mph or lower.

If you were seriously injured in a Kentucky car crash, retaining the services of an experienced Lexington car accident lawyer can make obtaining your financial recovery a lot easier. Your Kentucky personal injury team can work with accident reconstructions and other accident experts who can help determine whether speed or another factor was the cause of your deadly Lexington auto accident.

Students grieve after crash kills, injures Bryan Station classmates, Kentucky.com, April 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Teen Drivers

Continue reading " Lexington Teen Driving Accident: One Kentucky High School Student Dies and Three Others Are Seriously Injured" »

A Kentucky multi-vehicle collision in Jefferson County has claimed the life of a 16-month-old girl. Daphnie Mangrum was pronounced dead from a traumatic brain injury at a local hospital on Saturday. Mangrum’s mother and two siblings were also injured in the catastrophic Kentucky car crash, which occurred on the Dixie Highway on Thursday afternoon. The three of them are expected to recover.

According to Louisville Metro Police, at about 4:48pm, a Mazda drifted into the center lane, hitting a Dodge Caliber, which then struck a Chevy Lumina before hitting a Dodge Ram truck. Daphnie and her family members were riding in the Lumina. The children in the car were reportedly not properly restrained. The driver of the Mazda and the Lumina were transported to hospitals. West Point resident Janet Crowell, who was driving the Dodge Caliber, was pronounced dead at the crash site.

Traumatic Brain Injuries
• Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of TBI’s, followed by fall accidents and athletic injuries.
• Every 15 seconds, someone sustains a TBI.
• TBI’s occur when there has been a jolt or blow or a penetrating injury to the head.
• 1.4 million people sustain TBI’s each year.
• 50,000 people die from TBI’s annually.
• About 2,685 kids, ages 14 and under, die from TBI's each year.

While traumatic brain injuries can range from mild (approximately 75% of TBIs are mild TBI’s) to severe to fatal, there are those who do survive and continue to live with catastrophic TBI’s that require them to receive long-term, specialized care. A TBI can affect one’s senses, memory, and the abilities to communicate, comprehend, and reason, as well as result in personality changes, depression, and changes in behavior.

Living with a serious TBI can be costly and life changing. Losing someone you love because they sustained a fatal TBI can be incredibly traumatic.

16-month-old dies from injury in Dixie Highway crash, Courier-Journal, April 18, 2009

Traumatic Brain Injury, CDC

Related Web Resources:
Brain Injury Association of America

Brain Injuries Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Kentucky Brain Injury Law Firm: 16-Month-Old Girl Dies from TBI Caused by Jefferson County Multi-Vehicle Collision " »

In Kentucky, a Jefferson County grand jury has charged Herbert Lee III with four counts of murder for a deadly Louisville auto accident that killed four teenagers. Lee was 16 at the time of the crash.

Injured in the catastrophic Kentucky auto collision on December 18 were 15-year-old Arron Shields, 16-year-old twins Demar and Jemar Claybrooks, and their 14-year-old brother Marc Claybrooks. All of them were riding in the stolen motor vehicle that Lee was driving.

Police spotted the stolen auto and tried to make Lee pull over. The teenager reportedly refused, resulting in a short police chase and then the fatal accident.

NHTSA Teen Driver Facts
• Motor vehicle accidents is the number one cause of teen driver deaths.
• 6,982 young drivers, ages 15 to 20, were involved in deadly auto accidents in 2007.
• 3,174 teen drivers died.
• 252,000 others were injured.

CDC Teen Driving Facts
• Having other teenagers in the car with a teen driver increases the chances of deadly auto accident occurring.
• Teens with new driver's licenses are a crash risk for the first year that they are allowed to drive.
• Teens lack the experience that older drivers have of assessing potentially dangerous situations on the road.
• Teens are more likely to speed or engage in distracted driving than their adult counterparts.

If someone you love was seriously injured or killed in a Louisville auto crash, you should speak with an experienced Kentucky injury attorney to determine if you have grounds for filing a personal injury claim or a wrongful death lawsuit. Suing for personal injury won’t bring back the person you love, but it can provide you with some comfort to know that the negligent party has been held liable.

Grand jury indicts Ky. teen in quadruple fatal, Kentucky.com, April 15, 2009

Young Driver Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Teen Driving Fact Sheet, CDC

Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers, Insurance Information Institute

Teen Driving

Continue reading "Louisville Personal Injury Law Firm: Grand Jury Indicts Kentucky Teenager for Motor Vehicle Deaths of Four Other Teens " »

The Kentucky’s Office of Highway Safety says the number of highway motor vehicle deaths occurring in the state appears to be decreasing. According to early figures, there were 158 Kentucky traffic deaths in 2009 through March 31—21 less fatalities than for the same time period in 2008. Kentucky Transportation Secretary Joe Prather says that 81 of the 158 traffic victims that died this year were not using seat belts.

The state also experienced its lowest number of Kentucky motor vehicle deaths last year with 823 fatalities. This decline reflects the overall decrease in motor vehicle deaths on a national level.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 37,313 people died in US traffic accidents in 2008. This is the lowest number of US motor vehicle deaths to occur in a year since 1961. The report notes that states that have weaker seat belt laws tend to have higher death tolls.

Prather says that Kentucky will take aggressive action during next month’s “Click It or Ticket” Campaign. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that seat belts can decrease the number of front-seat occupant traffic deaths by 45% and by 50% for traffic deaths involving occupants of SUV’s, pickup trucks, and minivans.

Common Causes of Car Crashes:
• Driver negligence
• Distracted driving
• Drunk driving
• Speeding
• Driver exhaustion
• Defective auto or auto parts
• Cell phone use while driving
• Text messaging

If you have been injured in a Kentucky car collision, an experienced Louisville car crash lawyer can help you investigate your case and pursue your claim in a manner that allows you to obtain the maximum recovery possible.

Kentucky highway fatalities declining in 2009, Examiner.com, April 7, 2009

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces Record Low Traffic Deaths, Improved State Seat Belt Use, NHTSA, April 6, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Fatalities in 2008 (PDF)

Seat Belt Use in 2008, NHTSA (PDF)

Kentucky Office of Highway Safety

Continue reading "Kentucky Motor Vehicle Crash Attorney: Number of Traffic Deaths Declining in 2009" »

The Kentucky State Police is reporting that through February 22, there had been 87 fatalities on state roads for 2009. 82 of these deaths occurred as a result of motor vehicle accidents. 46 of the victims that died were not using seat belts, while alcohol is suspected to have been a contributing factor in 23 of the fatalities.

The state police also said that on Kentucky roads last week, there were seven motor vehicle fatalities. Four of the people who died were not using seat belts and alcohol is a suspected contributing factor in three of these Kentucky auto accidents.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident accident, you may be entitled to file a Kentucky personal injury claim or lawsuit against all negligent parties. Whatever you do, do NOT settle with the negligent party’s insurer without contacting an experienced Louisville car accident lawyer first.

Reckless or negligent driving can be grounds for a civil lawsuit against a liable party. Drunk driving is one form of reckless driving that can result in serious injuries and deaths.

Here are a couple 2007 facts provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about drunk driving:

• 12,998 people died in US drunk driving accidents.
• 1 drunk driving death occurs in the US every 40 minutes.

Drunk driving can impair the driver’s senses, perception, reflexes, and ability to process information, which can make it hard for the motorist to pay attention, stop the vehicle when necessary, notice that he or she is driving at excessively high or slow speeds, obey street and traffic signs, and assess how much distance there is between his or her car and other motor vehicles.

Too many lives are destroyed in Kentucky drunk driving accidents.

KSP Releases Accident Statistics From Last Week, WBKO, February 23, 2009

Alcohol-Impaired Driving, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:
Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Continue reading "Kentucky Car Accident Lawyer: State Police Reports at Least 87 Auto Accidents Deaths So Far for 2009" »

This year, the National Safety Council wants all US states and Washington DC to impose a total ban that would make it illegal for all drivers to use cell phones when operating their motor vehicles. The NSC says drivers who talk or text message on cell phones increase their chances of getting involved in a motor vehicle crash by four times. The NSC says cell phone use is a form of distracted driving, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports is the cause of 80% of US traffic accidents.

According to the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis:
• 636,000 US motor vehicle crashes a year involve a driver who was using a cell phone.
• These accidents make up 6% of all US auto crashes, resulting in 330,000 injuries and 2,600 fatalities.
• Over 100 million people drive and use cell phones at the same time.

A number of US states have a partial ban on certain kinds of cell phone use. For example, Kentucky completely bars school bus drivers from using cell phones while driving. The state also has legislation under consideration that would ban drivers from using handheld devices.

The NSC, however, wants all states to bar drivers from using even hands-free phones.
A study by University of Utah researchers shows that just because a driver isn’t using his or her hands to hold or operate a cell phone while driving doesn’t make it safer to operate a motor vehicle. Talking on any kind of cell phone while driving reportedly places a motorist’s concentration elsewhere rather than on the road.

Driver Inattention
Distracted driving is one of the reasons why so many US motor vehicle accidents happen. It can also be grounds for a Kentucky personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit if someone gets hurt or dies as a result. If you or someone you love was seriously hurt in a Kentucky motor vehicle crash, an experienced Louisville auto accident attorney can help you prove negligence so that you can recover the maximum compensation that you are owed.

National Safety Council Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving, NSC.org

Cell Phone Use While Driving Fact Sheet, NSC

Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "Kentucky Motor Vehicle Accident Attorney: Ban Motorists from Driving with Cell Phones, Says NSC" »

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" »

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" »