Kentucky Injury Law Blog

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" »

In Fayette Circuit Court, the mother of Kiah Milsom, the 14-year-old girl who died of a severe anoxic brain injury after drowning in the pool of a condominium complex in Lexington, Kentucky, is suing Aintree Condominiums Inc. for wrongful death.

Kiah and her friends had trespassed onto the condo complex property on July 20, and they were swimming in the pool at around 4am when her arm got sucked into the pool’s drain. Kiah reportedly was underwater for about 20 minutes until emergency workers, who were summoned, were able to free her. She sustained a traumatic brain injury from the accident and died several days later at the University of Kentucky Hospital.

In her lawsuit, Kiah’s mother Lisa Ann Scott accuses the condo complex owners of negligence and states that they either knew or should have known that the pool drain pump was dangerous. By law, a pool drain is supposed to have a properly secured cover, and the lawsuit contends that the pool’s drain cover was missing.

Premises Liability
Property owners are supposed to make sure that there are no unsafe conditions on a premise that could lead to serious injuries or death. Failure to fulfill this duty of care can be grounds for a Kentucky premises liability lawsuit if someone is injured or dies.

Dangerous Pool Drains
Pool drains have been known to cause serious injury or death if they are not properly covered and secured. Over the past three decades, there have been reports of a number of incidents where children, in particular, have gotten stuck in a pool drain and have been unable to release themselves. Serious injuries have included intestines being pulled from the trapped person’s body, near drownings, traumatic brain injuries, and deaths. It is important that you speak with Kentucky personal injury lawyer to determine whether you have grounds to file a claim against any negligent parties.

Mother of drowned girl sues condo owners, Bluegrassbeat.com, August 22, 2008

Teen dies of injury from pool accident, Kentucky.com, July 27, 2008

Related Web Resources:

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

'She Died in My Arms': A Mother's Mission for Safe Pools, ABC News, July 23, 2008

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" »