What can you do as a parent to prevent injuries to your children?  Nobody wants to have an accident claim especially when your kids are involved whether it is a skinned knee or a broken arm. There are some precautionary measures you can take when you go to a playground to ensure that it is safe for your child to play on.  

        1)  Look at the base where the playground and the swing equipment are attached to and see if it is soft.  Make sure that it is firm and that everything is attached in a good manner. 

       2) Check for any loose bolts. 

        3) Check for bare bolts or joints that may cause an injury to your child. 

        4) On a playground made of wood, check to make sure that there’s no exposed splinters. Make sure that the wood is new and is not going to cause an injury to your child. 

        5) Look at the area around the playground. This can actually be more dangerous and cause more serious injuries than the playground itself. 

        6) Make sure that there’s no a broken glass or bottles that can injure your child.

        7) Look for any discarded construction type material.

        8) When a playground is close to a roadway , a ball field or a golf course make sure that there’s not going to be any loose or errant balls, etc. coming toward the playground. 

        9) EDUCATE your children! Explain the dangers that are out there. 

The bottom line is we want our children to have fun but be safe wherever they are. A trip to the emergency room is not part of that.  Take these steps so that you don’t have an accident claim against the playground that your child is playing at.  Child accidents are no fun. Prevention is the key.

In Kentucky, the Statute of Limitations for injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident is two years from the date of the accident or two years from the date the last no-fault PIP payment for your medical bills is paid by your insurance company.  This time frame cannot exceed four years.

Statutes of Limitation are different in every state. They can even vary depending on the type of accident you were in or who you are bringing the lawsuit against. In Kentucky the Statute of Limitations is different for different types of claims. For many claims, such as auto defects or product liability claims, the Statute of Limitations is one year. There can also be a question as to when the statute begins to run. It is always best to consult an experienced personal injury attorney that concentrates in that area of law. If you guess you could be wrong.

I had to give this bad news to a young lady that called me last week. She had been in an accident when she was seventeen. I determined from speaking with her that the Statute of Limitations for this accident was one year. The accident happened in 2008. The time had run. I thought I might save it because she was a minor at the time the accident happened. Generally you have one year after you turn eighteen to bring most accident cases in Kentucky. Unfortunately it had been nineteen months since she turned 18. Even though she was severely injured there was nothing I could do. I felt bad giving her this news. If only she had called a personal injury attorney sooner.

The bottom line is if you’ve been in an accident, you need to be aware of these time-frames because if you do not act within that time, you will not be able to recover no matter how severe your injuries are.

Will a $25.00 fine really deter the conduct of texting while driving? Text messaging is a part of the teenage culture. Kids don’t want to talk on the phone. My daughter will send a text and wait for a reply rather then call a friend. I couldn’t get my sister off the phone when I was growing up.        

As I am sure you are aware, Kentucky now has a law that prohibits texting while driving. The hope is that this law will help to prevent serous car accidents and crashes. You are not allowed to text and drive. I am not going to go the question as to why we would need a law that is simply common sense. Texting while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving. Intexicated driving causes more accidents than intoxicated driving.

But my question is did Kentucky go far enough in the penalties put in place for violating this law?  Are the penalties enough to really deter the act of text messaging?  Are auto accidents going to be prevented? Are lives going to be saved?

Children of the 21^st century have grown up with cell phones. Text messaging is their No. 1 form of communication with friends.  Driving to work every day, I see people texting while they’re driving. Kentucky drivers are looking down at their cell phones and not looking at the road ahead.  They are not paying attention to the cars around them. What happens if a car suddenly stops or a child runs into the street?

 The penalty range for texting and driving starts at $25.00 for a first offense and $50.00 for a second offense, yet the consequences can be severe and deadly in many situations.  It has been said that text messaging is worse than driving while drunk as far as your ability to control the car.  This can be said of any type of distracted driving. 

My question is should Kentucky’s texting law have more severe fines and penalties?  In states like Utah it is a crime of manslaughter in a situation where you are texting and driving and have a fatal accident causing a death. Does this go too far? I think tougher penalties are more likely to deter the conduct that we are trying to eliminate from our roads.  As a personal injury attorney I can use evidence of texting while driving in a civil trial. This may enhance what a jury would award.

Text messaging and driving is very dangerous.  I know I have posed a lot of questions. Only time will tell if the law deters texting while driving and helps to prevent car accidents. I think the penalty for texting while driving in Kentucky should be more in line with what the actual damage done by this very negligent behavior. I am curious to hear your thoughts.

What does the new law mean? What activities does it prohibit? What happens to you if you violate the law?

If you are under the age of 18, you are prohibited from using a cell phone while driving a motor vehicle of any kind.  No talking. No texting. No checking your e-mail. You cannot use the phone at all.

If you’re over the age of 18, you cannot use a cell phone to send a text message, receive a text message or read a text message while you’re driving the car.  You can use the cell phone to make a call. There is no requirement that you use a blue tooth or head set.

What happens if you get caught violating the law?  What I mean is what happens if you text while driving and get caught by the police? Until January 1, 2011 absolutely nothing will happen to you (other than being 23 more times as likely to be in an automobile accident, but that is a story for another time). Warnings are going to be given by the police so you will not actually receive a ticket for violating the law. 

After the first of the year you will receive tickets for the offense of texting while driving if you are pulled over in conjunction with any other type of violation. The fines for this are minimal.  For a first offense it is $25.00 fine plus court costs, which in Jefferson County are $134.00.  For a second offense, it is $50.00 fine plus court costs. Not much more than a slap on the wrist in my opinion.

The bottom line is do the obvious and don’t text while you’re driving. You will be in violation of Kentucky law if you do.

This is a follow-up to my last blog where I outlined the available Kentucky insurance coverage.  Here are my recommendations for your family’s Kentucky car insurance. I strongly recommend that you purchase at a minimum the following for your policy of insurance: 

·         Bodily injury liability:  $300,000.00 per person, $500,000.00 per accident

·         Property damage liability:  $50,000.00 per accident

·         Collision:  $50,000.00 per accident

·         No-fault or PIP benefits:  I recommend add a reparation benefits of $30,000.00.  This is especially true if you do not have health insurance.

·         Uninsured motorist coverage:  $300,000.00/$500,000.00 per accident

·         Underinsured motorist $300,000.00/$500,000.00 per accident

            These are minimum recommendations. It is important to note that the increase in your premium for this increased coverage is very inexpensive as compared to cost of the basic policy.  Check the rates with your car insurance agent and see what happens. For a sample of the increase in your rates for increasing your policy limits see the appendix of my book What You Don’t Know about Buying Car Insurance Can Hurt You. 

Don’t let your insurance agent tell you that you don’t need to purchase the additional insurance coverage and limits as I’ve listed above.  Especially uninsured motorist and/or underinsured motorist coverage. These are must have coverages to protect your family in case of a car accident.  

There are many reasons they may not tell you about these coverages.  Some insurance agents are given bonuses if there are no third-party claims made or a minimum number of third-party claims made on policies they have sold.  Third-party claims are those that are made under uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.  You are eating into their Christmas bonus if you make a claim under this. 

Let’s give you an example of what could happen.

Bob was in a Kentucky automobile accident. He walked away from the auto accident without a scratch, but his twelve-year-old son, Chris, was severely injured. A drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into their car. Bob’s car was totaled. His son, Chris, was taken by ambulance to the emergency room. He had a broken arm, a back strain and glass in his face. Chris had surgery and pins were inserted in his arm. Chris should be okay, but he will have to endure several months of physical therapy.

The drunk driver did not have Kentucky car insurance. Bob doesn’t have health insurance. He has questions. How will he pay the $22,000.00 of medical bills Chris will incur?  How does his car get repaired? Will he get paid for the time he misses from work to take his son to his doctors and physical therapy? Can he sue the drunk driver?

Bob thinks he has full coverage on his car. I take a look at his policy. Bob has the Kentucky minimum insurance. He has $25,000.00 per person in liability coverage and $10,000.00 in PIP coverage. He does not have collision coverage on his car and he has waived his Uninsured Motorist and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (Bob had no idea what he was doing when he signed the insurance agreement doing this but it saved him $20.00 on his premium). The few dollars Bob saved on his premium is now going to cost him thousands and thousands of dollars. Unfortunately for Bob, there is no way around this horrible outcome.

What does this mean? Since the drunk driver had no insurance and no assets our next step is to look to Bob’s insurance company to pay his son’s medical bills and to compensate Chris for the pain and suffering he has gone through from the ride in the ambulance while strapped to a back board unable to move to the tears in his eyes while he goes through physical therapy, and for the pain he will endure for the rest of his life. 

Unfortunately, Bob only had minimum coverage, which is what the Commonwealth of Kentucky says is the lowest amount of insurance you can have on your car and legally drive. The Lowest limits are 25,000/50,000/10,000. The $25,000.00 is per person or the most available to a single person. The $50,000.00 is for the entire accident no matter how many people are injured. Finally the $10,000.00 is for the property damage.

Even worse, the Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Bob waived to save a few dollars on his insurance premium would have protected him and his son in the event that the at-fault person in this Kentucky car accident (in Bob’s case the drunk driver) did not have insurance.  Since this protection was waived there is absolutely no insurance money to compensate Chris for his pain and suffering. The only recourse for Bob against the drunk driver that hit his son is to sue him in Civil Court. Unfortunately, it will be next to impossible to collect any money from the drunk driver since it is likely that he has no assets and will be a candidate for bankruptcy.

To make matters worse, Bob didn’t have Collision Coverage so he had to pay to replace his car out of his own pocket. This is not a situation you want to be in. It gets worse.

What about Chris’s medical bills? Well Bob did have PIP coverage. This will pay the first $10,000.00 in medical bills for Chris. Bob will have to pay the additional $12,000.00 of his son’s medical bills (Bob didn’t have health insurance). So, not only did Chris get nothing for his pain and suffering, Bob has to pay $12,000.00 and buy a new car.

Since the drunk driver had no assets that could be attached, Bob’s son cannot get anything for pain and suffering, Bob has to repair his car and pay out of his pocket for any other expenses he has. If only Bob had been better informed he would have purchased the right insurance and this situation would have been avoided.

This is example shows you why you need to be proactive and know what your insurance coverage is. Talk to your agent today so that your family is protected should you be in a Kentucky auto accident.

One of the first questions I ask as I am getting to know a new client is “What type of car insurance coverage do you have?”  The answer that I get 90 percent of the time is, “I have full coverage.” I have learned that this means vastly different things to different people. So I ask the follow up question “What do you mean by full coverage?”  The answers I get vary. They are rarely the same. The potential client is almost never correct. Unfortunately, when someone becomes an auto accident victim it is the first time they really look at their own car insurance policy. 

I ask for a copy of the insurance policy declarations page to make sure I am getting accurate information.  The declarations page is a sheet or bill that you receive from your car insurance company that shows the different types of insurance coverage you have purchased , the limits, the amount that you pay for each coverage, and the cars or vehicles that are covered on your policy.

Now here’s the kicker.  Full coverage is a term that people hear all the time. I use it. I am sure you have used it. Guess what? There is no real definition for it.  You cannot ask your insurance agent for full coverage. This is not an all inclusive term. This makes it extremely important to know the different types of insurance that are available. This will enable you to purchase the best car insurance for you. In other words what full coverage is for you.  The different coverages available to you in Kentucky are:

• Bodily Injury Liability- Mandatory insurance that covers the injuries you cause to other people if you are in an automobile accident that is your fault.
• Property Damage Liability- Optional coverage that pays for damage done that is your fault to other vehicles or property.
• Collision- Covers property damage done to your own automobile by an actual collision and nothing more.
• PIP, Personal Injury Protection, or Basic Reparations Benefits- Mandatory coverage that is also known as No?Fault insurance. This insurance pays for your medical bills and lost wages up to $10,000.00 should you be in a car accident regardless of fault. 
• Added Reparations Benefits- Optional benefits that you can purchase in addition to your PIP for medical coverage and lost wages above $10,000.00. 
• Uninsured Motorist Coverage- Pays you for your pain and suffering and your out of-pocket expenses if you’re in an automobile accident and injured by a driver of a car that does not have insurance.
• Underinsured Motorist Coverage- Covers you for injuries you have sustained in an automobile accident that was not your fault when those injuries are greater than the insurance coverage of the car that hit you. 
• Miscellaneous coverage such as towing      
• Comprehensive- Covers damage to your car caused by something other than a collision, such as crack in your windshield.
• Umbrella Policy- Additional insurance you can purchase in case you have liability that is in excess of the limits of your other insurance. You may also purchase coverage for additional under insured motorist coverage under some umbrella policies.          

You can tell by this list that the only mandatory insurance coverage required by the State of Kentucky is bodily injury liability coverage, property damage liability coverage, and no?fault or PIP benefits.  The minimum amount of coverage is $25,000.00 50 for liability coverage.  As you can tell, this will not even be a drop in the bucket should there be a serious accident.  The minimum for PIP is $10,000.00.

For more information on Kentucky car insurance request a free copy of my first book “What You Don’t Know About Buying Car Insurance Can Hurt You.”

Make yourself an informed consumer when you buy car insurance and make sure you protect your family in case you are the victim of a Kentucky automobile accident.

The initial investigation into a distracted driving case involving texting or talking on a cell phone at the time of a car accident is very similar to the investigation of any automobile accident case.  A personal injury attorney will obtain a copy of the police report; get photographs of the accident scene and the vehicles. Witnesses will be interviewed. Insurance policies will be reviewed.

Other lines of investigation will include the at-fault driver’s cell phone provider at the time of the Kentucky car accident.  All cell phone records will need to be subpoenaed and reviewed. Those would include all personal numbers and employer numbers. You need to review  all cell phone records.  Cell phone records are important because they can show the time and length of a call on a particular date. If you can pinpoint the exact time of the accident you can show whether or not a defendant was on a cell phone at the time.

A defendant will have to explain the cell phone use during his deposition. Questions I would ask during a deposition would include:

• Were you on the cell phone at, near or during the collision? 
• Were you dialing your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Were you picking up your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Were you touching your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Were you looking up a phone number at, near or during the collision?
• Did you have your phone in your hand for any reason at, near or during the collision?
• Were you texting on your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Have you ever used a cell phone while driving?
• Have you ever had an accident with a cell phone? 

Unfortunately this type of litigation is going to become more and more common.  I don’t believe the new Kentucky cell phone law is going to curb the use of cell phones for either talking or texting.  As the verdicts and penalties increase then the behavior will change.  It will take time.

If a personal injury attorney discovers information that indicated a cell phone was being used by the at-fault driver theories of negligent causation and failure to abide by a statute will be considered.  Reckless driving or gross negligence are other theories that may be pursued. The law is developing, but these fact situations may justify punitive damages if the activity was grossly negligent or recklessness.  It will be interesting read Kentucky Court opinions as the law develops. Only time will tell whether any of these theories of negligent will be applied to cell phone use.

           The New Jersey law has stronger prohibitions than the Kentucky law. New Jersey prohibits texting while driving and talking on a handheld phone while driving.  The penalties in New Jersey are similar to those in Kentucky. Motorists only face a $100.00 fine plus court costs for a violation. The crime of using a cell phone in a car while driving in New Jersey is a primary offense. This means the police can pull you over just for that activity alone. 

            Unfortunately laws don’t change behavior overnight.  We can look back at seatbelt laws when they were first passed.  People fought the new laws. Many did not wear seatbelts. They saw no benefit. It had to be proven to them. Now there’s hardly anybody that gets into a car that does not buckle up. 

             What is the answer to speed up the process of the new anti-texting law? Is it public awareness?  Campaigns using billboards and commercials appear to be helping. 

             What can Kentucky learn from New Jersey?  In my opinion the penalties are not strong enough to inhibit texting while driving.  This is especially true with those who have grown up using texting as the primary communication tool. It is second nature to them. The penalties need to fit the crime.  If somebody is seriously injured or is killed by a driver distracted by texting the penalties and charges should be in line with the damage that is done.  An automobile is a deadly weapon if not treated with respect. My old boss, former Commonwealth’s Attorney and Jefferson Circuit Court Judge, Ernie Jasmin, used to say that an automobile in the hands of a drunk driver was a deadly weapon with a license to kill. It is exactly the same for a texting driver.  If you use a motor vehicle carelessly and cause a serious Kentucky automobile accident you should pay the consequences. It’s time to take the next step and beef up the law in Kentucky.

One of the biggest reasons why I see Kentucky car accident cases fail is lack of documentation.  The most important thing a Kentucky accident victim can do is document everything that happens in their accident case. From the moment you are in an automobile accident you should take pictures and make notes of everything that happened. The same thing applies to truck accidents and bicycle accidents.

If you’re in a car accident, you should take pictures of the vehicles as they are on the roadway at the time the accident occurs.  This could be important in determining liability or who caused the accident. 

You should also take pictures of the damage to your car and the damage to the car that hit you.  Many times there is very little damage to your car, yet the car that hit you has thousands of dollars worth of damage.  This is important evidence that your personal injury attorney can use in negotiating a settlement with the insurance company or arguing your accident case to a jury.

It is also important to keep a diary. You should write down everything that happens in the case so that you can remember it later when you need to.  Should you have to give a deposition or testify at trial it might be three or four years after the automobile accident. You may forget many of the details of the accident, your treatment and how you were affected.  You must have a way to refresh your memory as to how the accident painfully affected your life. It is also a great help to your personal injury attorney.

If you think back to even last Christmas and try to remember everything that happened, you’re not going to give an exact play-by-play of every gift that everyone received that day. This is the same thing that will happen as time passes after your auto-accident.  You will not remember everything. 

The point to all this is you need to document! This will increase the chances of you getting a good and fair recovery in your Kentucky auto accident case. Give yourself a fighting chance against the insurance company by documenting everything that happens in your Kentucky car accident case.

I was in a deposition with a client on their Kentucky car accident case when my cell phone vibrated.  I recognized the number. It was my 16?year-old daughter who had just got her Kentucky driver’s license a month and a half before.  I let the call go to voice mail, but she immediately called me back.  This is our signal that it is an emergency and she HAS to speak with me immediately.  

I asked to take a break from the deposition so I could return my daughter’s call.  On the other side of the line I heard in half understandable words, “Dad I’ve just been in a wreck.”  I said, “Calm down.  Are you all right?”  She responded “The car, the car, the car.” I told her “I don’t care about the car.  Are you all right?” 

As I deciphered my daughter’s words in between the sobs I discovered that her neck was hurting from the automobile accident. She was driving to study for finals with three of her friends. She stopped at a light. Friend #1 stopped behind her. Friend #2 stopped behind Friend #1.  At that point in time Friend #2 was rear-ended by a blue minivan.  This set off a chain reaction that ended up with my daughter getting hit in the rear; the car in the middle was sandwiched and got the worst impact in this car accident. 

Then here’s what happened that made it all the worse.  The van took off.  It was a hit-and-run accident.  None of the girls thought quick enough to even try to get the license plate or a good description.  After all they are 16 and new to driving. The police responded to the scene and did an investigation but there was little they could do with no information. 

Luckily my daughter was okay and her friends appear to have no medical issues after a few weeks of treatment. You have to be extremely careful what you write about your Kentucky personal injury case, whether it is in a blog or on Facebook. That allows me to talk about it at this time and make my point. You should always be alert and try to keep your head after an accident.  Document as much as you can at the automobile accident scene. Take pictures of everything at the scene, including cars and skid marks. Give all information that you can to the police. 

Uninsured drivers are everywhere. If my daughter would have been seriously injured, we have Uninsured Motorist Coverage which would have paid for any pain and suffering.  Thankfully we also had PIP insurance which will pay for any and all medical bills. In fact was have Added Reparations Benefits which will pay medical bills up to $50,000.00. 

I hope none of you ever receive this call but if you do, the most important thing is to make sure that your child stays calm in this traumatic situation.  If anyone reading this would like a copy of the free brochure I offer, “What to do if You’re in an Automobile Accident”, please go to my website. You can download a copy there or if you send me an email I will be more than happy to mail you a copy free of charge.