How much automobile insurance coverage should you have on your family’s car insurance in Kentucky?  What is enough to protect your family should you be involved in a serious Kentucky car accident? These are questions I am asked when people find out I am a personal injury attorney. I try to give the best advice I can.  Most people do not have enough car insurance. They assume that if a car hits them and causes an automobile accident that the at-fault car will pay for all of the damage. This may not be the case.  

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.

What can a Kentucky auto accident victim do to increase their chances of a successful outcome to their Kentucky car accident injury case? Why is it that some Kentucky car wreck cases are settled for more money than others? Why are some car accident victims seen as more credible than others? Does the insurance company just like Louisville car accident victims more than those from Lexington?

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.

Many Kentucky accident victims have suffered serious and life changing injuries from an automobile accidents, truck accidents or motorcycle accident. They come into my office looking for answers. They are concerned about the fact that they only have $10,000.00 in medical benefits available to them from their PIP Benefits (Personal Injury Protection) in their car insurance policy.  If you’ve been in an accident and have a serious injury and are in need of surgery this may not be enough to cover the medical bills for treatment you receive for injuries suffered in the accident. It’s a real concern if you don’t have health insurance. 

         After an accident your options are limited if you don’t have health insurance. Unfortunately you can’t go back in time. You are forced to go to a free clinic or find a doctor who will agree to treat you or perform surgery on a promise to pay later. This just doesn’t happen very often.

You really must take action right now before you are even in a serious automobile accident in Kentucky. You must do something long before you even think about contacting a car accident attorney. One thing that you must do is ask your insurance agent to increase your PIP benefits.  These additional benefits are called Added Reparations Benefits.  You can increase your benefits to $20,000.00 per accident, $40,000.00 per accident, $50,000.00 and even more with many insurance companies. 

You might think, well if I’m getting five times the benefits, I don’t want to pay five times the amount, but in many circumstances your premium will go up a relatively insignificant amount compared to the increased benefits you are getting.  One of the most important things you can do right now to protect yourself and your family is contact your insurance agent and request additional medical benefits on your auto insurance policy.  I would suggest that you call your insurance agent today to ask him how to go about this.  You’ll be amazed at how little it will really cost you and the peace of mind you will have knowing you have protected your family should you be in a serous car accident.

This past weekend I was invited to help plant trees along Bardstown Road between the Showcase Cinema and Hikes Lane.  This invitation was extended to me by Cindie Cook of the Bon Air Neighborhood Association.  For those of you who are not familiar with Cindie she was friends with Jen Futrell. Jen was the cyclist that was struck and killed by a van while riding her bike home from work down Bardstown Road on October 3, 2008.

This was a tragic accident that has brought attention and outrage to the plight of cyclists and pedestrians.

The Bon Air Neighborhood Association, as a group is a big part of an effort to make the Bardstown Road corridor a tree-lined boulevard that is both pedestrian and bicyclist friendly.  Cindie Cook believes this would encourage people to stop and shop.  Also, there is a hope that it would bring new business to the area, especially the now vacant Showcase Cinema buildings.

I believe an area that is active and as busy as Bardstown Road could be a much safer place for pedestrians and cyclists and especially those that live in the area.  As I was planting trees along Bardstown Road, the amount of traffic was unbelievable. Cars were buzzing by with very little break. I know it is hard to judge speeds as you are standing along the side of the road, but I would guess that many of these cars were speeding. During my three hours on Bardstown Road I saw two car accidents that occurred within 75 yards of where I was working. I also became oblivious to the horns that were honked almost continuously.

There was very little way for people in the neighborhoods along this stretch of Bardstown Road to walk to the mall, to restaurants or to even to cross the street.  My hope is that the efforts of Ms. Cook and the Bonaire Neighborhood Association will make this area safer, limiting automobile accidents, pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents. 

I learned from Cindy that Kentucky is currently seventh in the nation in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities.  There were 32 cyclists and pedestrians killed in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky in 2008.  It is her hope that the tree plantings will add awareness to bikers and walkers, as well as being a tribute to her friend that was killed.  I applaud Cindy Cook for her focus on celebrating and memorializing the life of her friend and for trying to make the streets a safer place. I believe her efforts will save lives and prevent many serious accidents from occurring.

The City of Louisville has experienced bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents that have resulted in deaths over the past year. These include the triathlete that was killed during an event at E.P.Sawyer State Park earlier this year as well as several young children who were hit while riding their bikes. All of these deaths are needless and my sympathy goes out to the families and friends. They do, however, help to show the need for more driver awareness of those they share the roads of Kentucky with. We need more Cindies in Louisville to help make our roads safer.

The city of Louisville has announced a new community awareness campaign called “Street Sense” with the hope of making our streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. The premise is we all share the same roads and should work together to make our Kentucky roads safer for everybody. You will see billboards on the side of the highway , at bus stops and on buses. You will see television spots and web videos. Even the good old fashion print ads will be part of this campaign.

The premise is to educate the public and make everyone more aware of the different ways of traveling on our Louisville roads. The Street Sense website has statistics and safety tips. Statistics automobile/bicycle accidents and automobile/pedestrian accidents include:

• Three  cyclists were killed and another 118 were injured in Metro Louisville in 2008 .

• Twenty-one pedestrians were killed and another 353 were injured. In 2008 locally.

This doesn’t count what has happened this year and in past years.  John Carr was the seventh bicyclist killed in Louisville within the last three years. This was at the Triathlon event at E.P Sawyer State park despite the presence of many other cyclist, cones and off duty police. Kenneth Yates has been charged with drunk driving and murder. In 2005 a drunk driver struck and killed, Charles Barfield, a cyclist on Bardstown Road. The driver was charged with Drunk Driving and Murder. He later plead guilty to Manslaughter in the second degree.

During this same three year period there have been a reported 482 accidents involving bicycles and motor vehicles. I am aware of several in the past month that have resulted in serious injuries that are not reported in the news. This doesn’t take into account the thousands of close calls that have occurred.

There are also tip sections for motorist, bicyclists and pedestrians to make the roads safer. Any serious cyclist will acknowledge that those of us that ride bicycles are not perfect and are the cause of some accidents and some near misses. Unfortunately, when you have the car you will win against a bike. It is up to you to protect the 10 year old boy that is pedaling to a friends house. It is up to you to make sure the mother makes it home to her daughter after a long walk. Respect for others is not a dirty word.

There are many drivers that are openly hostile and aggressive against anyone on a bike. I saw that in comments to a Courier-Journal article. I quote; “Those goofy helmets and spandex shorts are enough to make anyone want to run you down…lol”Not at all  funny and a sad reflection on the attitude of a few people towards bicyclist and runners.

I have been buzzed so close  by a septic truck that I have ridden into a ditch. The person driving thought it was funny to come up behind and get as close as possible and lay on his horn. Not humorous at all from my perspective. I have had Mountain Dew cans thrown at me that thankfully have missed.. It doesn’t take a law degree or a High School Diploma to figure out that these are dangerous activities. It is plain old common sense what you should do and not do on the road.

Most of the Street Sense tips are common sense and you should know them from taking your driver’s test. Unfortunately common sense doesn’t always prevail when we are driving. Abramson says “all we can do is educate and inform.” I agree, but let’s take it one step further and respect everyone on the road.

I might no look great in spandex bike shorts, but do I deserve to be hit? As a cyclist I have the right to ride in the middle of the road, but shouldn’t I be respectful of the cars that are stuck behind me? Give them as much room as possible so they can get by and you can be safe. Check out www.louisvilleky.gov/StreetSense for some great tips. It is a great review whether you are a runner, a walker, a bicyclist or a motorist. Learn what others on the roads are doing and turn your common sense into Street Sense. It will save lives!

Have you ever been slowing down to stop at a red light when the car next to you goes flying by and runs the red light? I see it all the time. In fact I saw it happen to me this morning on Bardstown Road and it was a TARC bus to boot. Not only had the light turned yellow, but it was red when the bus entered the intersection. Thankfully, the cars coming from the other direction were not timing the lights or there could have been a horrible accident. Maybe I am more observant of this because of my line of work or because I have a daughter who will be turning 16 soon and will be let loose on Kentucky roads. The simple truth is that this is very dangerous and causes accidents. Many times these are car accidents, but often they will involve pedestrians, bicycles and motorcycles because they are less visible. These accidents can also involve more serious injuries. There will be the element of increased speed and the element of surprise.

If you have been in a red light accident you will also have additional problems determining whose fault the accident is. I often see accident reports where the police officer writes that there is no determination of fault due to conflicting stories. Both drivers swear that they had the green light and that the accident was not their fault. These swearing contests are difficult to prove unless you have a witness who stops and is willing to give a statement to the police. Without an independent witness your accident case will have a lower value. It will be difficult to convince the insurance  company to settle or a jury to award you damages at trial.

My point is being careful out there. Traffic lights are there for a reason. Whether it is a traffic light, a crosswalk sighn or some other road sign you should pay attention to them. Stop when you are suppose to and you can avoid being in an accident. Drivers are in a hurry, talking on phones and just plain rude sometimes. Following the rules of the road and obeying traffic lights will prevent accidents.