Knowing your legal protections after being in a car accident has never been more crucial. In Kentucky, car crashes are responsible for 40% of traffic-related fatalities and thousands of additional serious injuries.

The rate of these fatalities and severe injuries has trended upward over time, increasing by nearly 10% in the past year. The risk of death or injury due to a car crash has never been more present.

If you or a loved one are injured — or worse — in a vehicle crash, you need the car accident personal injury experts at Rhoads & Rhoads by your side. Our team offers years of professional expertise in navigating the legal process and justifying your case. Here we share what you need to know about proving negligence by the other party to receive the compensation you deserve.

What Types of Negligence Are There?

We all know there are multiple sides to every story. After a motor vehicle accident, the drivers, emergency responders, and eyewitnesses may each have their version of what happened.

With that in mind, your personal injury attorney will work to collect all available evidence to help support your case and prove the negligence of the other parties involved. 

Comparative Negligence 

When multiple parties could be considered negligent, comparative negligence is used to determine the amount of responsibility each person had in the accident. Though both parties may be entitled to damages, your recovery may be adjusted overall because it is divided based on your determined percentage of fault, if any.  Under Kentucky law, this fault determination ratio then affects who receives what.

The fault determination is used to calculate the final payout amount for damages and can be influenced by insurance companies who may try to deny or devalue clients’ claims. Having an experienced lawyer can help to counteract the insurance companies and make your case for a lesser fault determination to maximize your entitled damages.

Gross Negligence 

This type of negligence is defined as actions, behaviors, or omissions that go beyond carelessness and show extreme indifference toward the safety of others. Because of the seriousness of this type of disregard, at-fault parties can be responsible for punitive damages as well as compensatory reimbursements. 

Common or regular negligence cases differ from gross negligence in that they involve showing that an at-fault party demonstrated less than reasonable or made a simple mistake that caused the accident.

Negligent Entrustment

When the other driver is not the owner of the vehicle they were operating, you may be able to seek damages from the vehicle owners via negligent entrustment. This legal principle involves proving that the vehicle owner consciously “entrusted” their vehicle to an irresponsible or inexperienced driver. This rule can apply to a case regardless of the driver’s carelessness or negligence.

Vicarious Liability

As the name implies, vicarious liability creates an avenue for holding a company, another group or entity responsible for the actions of their employees or others connected to them. Also known as “imputed liability,” this legal action allows clients to pursue damage from both the specific driver and the companies or individuals responsible for them. 

There are some stipulations regarding who can be held responsible for vicarious liability charges, so it is important to ask your attorney if they believe this approach can maximize or limit your case.

Kentucky primarily follows comparative negligence rules but also acknowledges negligent entrustment and gross negligence standards. With all of these options and principles in mind, it is important to work with a skilled personal injury attorney who can walk you through the process and determine the approach that is best for your case.

Burden of Proof

When proving negligence in your legal suit, you (the plaintiff) are tasked with the burden of proof. This means you and your attorney must prove that the negligence of the other party directly contributed to or caused your injuries and losses sustained in a car accident. 

Additionally, the presented evidence must demonstrate that your claims are “more likely than not”  more than 50% likely to be true. This rule is known as the preponderance of evidence. 

Documenting and Gathering Your Evidence

Gathering medical records, legal reports, and any other official documentation of the car accident and subsequent events is vital to establishing this burden of proof and proving negligence. Establishing a paper trail is a key step in the legal process to support your case. 

Here are some examples of records you should keep copies of to share with your legal team:

• Police and eyewitness reports/information
• Medical records, reports, and billing statements
• Rehabilitation therapy records, reports, and billing statements
• Insurance statements or documentation of lost or damaged property
• Documents from work regarding lost wages
• Any photos or videos taken at the scene
• Any other documents that show financial, physical, emotional, or other costs related to the accident

You should also consider discussing these records with a personal injury representative before sharing this information with other parties, such as the other party’s insurance companies. Your attorney can help you determine what information is required to be shared and what unnecessary information can be used against you if provided.

How Fault Is Determined

While each case is unique, Kentucky courts will generally consider some of the following factors when determining fault in a car accident case:

• The actions or behaviors of each driver preceding the accident, including any traffic violations committed
• The type of accident (e.g., head-on, T-bone, speed-related, etc.) that occurred
• Weather, road conditions, or other environmental factors surrounding the accident
• Eyewitness reports or video evidence of the event

Your legal team will present evidence that speaks to any number of these factors to help make a case to reduce or completely disprove your percentage of fault or responsibility for the accident.

How a Lawyer Can Help You Prove Negligence

Being in a car crash and dealing with the immediate aftermath can be scary and exhausting. Filing a personal injury case can feel overwhelming in an already challenging situation. Partnering with an experienced attorney to walk through this process allows you to focus on being healthy, avoid additional emotional burdens, and increase your odds of receiving maximum damages to support your recovery. 

More specifically, an expert personal injury lawyer will help you to:

• Understand and develop a successful legal strategy
• Effectively navigate the personal injury legal system
• Gather important documentation to build evidence for your case
• Handle uncomfortable or potentially hostile conversations with defense teams and insurance companies
• Evaluate your total compensation by thoroughly considering all financial and nonfinancial losses and costs you sustained in the accident

These are just a few of the important benefits you can expect from working with an experienced attorney. When reviewing your case, you can ask your potential lawyer how they envision being an asset to your specific case. 

Partnering with Rhoads & Rhoads

Rhoads & Rhoads are proud to support our Western Kentucky community as expert car accident personal injury lawyers. With offices in Owensboro and Madisonville, we take pride in representing clients after their car accidents. We work hard to support and represent you through every step of the legal suit so that you can focus on the most important things, being well and having an excellent quality of life. 

If you believe you are entitled to financial compensation after being in a car accident, the team at Rhoads & Rhoads is here to help. Contact us today for a free case evaluation or call us at 888-709-9329 to learn how we can support you.