It would be nice if people who carelessly cause accidents and their insurance providers would step up, accept blame, and provide full support to victims without hassle. Sadly, this rarely happens. Those who suffer a personal injury due to someone else’s mistake must often fight for every cent of support they receive.
That fight can start with a few simple questions. Was the individual or party alleged to be at fault in your accident negligent? Did their negligence lead to your injury? Finding out what is considered negligence in Kentucky can help you determine if one person or many people may be responsible for providing support to you.
Proof of Negligence in Kentucky
Negligence is when someone is injured due to someone else’s failure to fulfill a legal duty. This duty may be to constantly monitor the street for pedestrians as you drive to keep them safe. It may apply to a store proprietor required to mop up a spill on a grocery store aisle before someone slips.
Property owners, business owners, and drivers must show the care a reasonable person would exercise in a similar situation. When someone is hurt due to someone else neglecting these duties, guilty parties can be held legally liable for all of the consequences the victim faces.
To prove someone was negligent in your personal injury case, you must try to show three things are true.
First, it must be proven the defendant (the person or party alleged to be negligent) owed the victim a “duty of care.” This duty of care means the defendant has a legal responsibility to show enough care to prevent an injury. For example, the duty of care drivers must extend to defenseless pedestrians on the street no matter where they encounter them.
Second, the plaintiff (the person injured) must also show the defendant failed in this duty because of negligence.
Third, the negligence must have played a substantial role in the victim getting hurt. These three factors are the basis of a strong case. Without these three factors present it is difficult to prove the defendant owes you support.
What to Do If You Are the Victim of a Personal Injury
Personal Injury Attorneys work quickly and thoroughly after an accident to collect as much evidence as possible to show a defendant was liable. They need to build a strong case that proves you are owed compensation for what happened.
This collection of evidence should also include any details you managed to get on the scene of your accident. If you are physically strong enough, you should work to grab several key pieces of evidence in the moments after your injury:
- See to your safety first. Call 911. If police respond to the scene give them a full report of what happened. Including if you saw the person responsible for your injury behaving carelessly or recklessly. Let paramedics check out every pain you experience. Go to the hospital if necessary. If you must leave, ask someone with you or a helpful bystander to collect a few pieces of evidence for you.
- Use your cellphone to take pictures. Document the hazard that led to your injury. Car accident scenes can quickly be cleaned up. Store slip-and-fall hazards will be immediately mopped up once you leave, erasing evidence. Take a picture of any visible injuries, damage to your property and the setting involved.
- Don’t say you are okay. Statements like, “I’m alright “ or “It’s my fault,” can be used against you later. You probably won’t know who was at fault or how badly you are hurt until hours or days later when the shock of the accident wears off.
- Alert the manager or owner. If you are on someone else’s property like a supermarket or a rental property, let a manager or employee know what happened. They will likely need to fill out an accident report for their bosses or corporate owners.
- Find out what witnesses saw. Get the contact information for anyone around at the time of your injury or accident.
- See your physician. Make an appointment with your doctor. Get injuries written up on medical charts and pay special attention to pain that arises in the days and weeks after a fall.
- Contact a Personal Injury Attorney. When contemplating filing an accident claim, it’s important to consider this question of negligence. Only a legal expert with a long history of helping personal injury victims in Kentucky will be able to give you a reliable assessment of your case and tell you if it meets the standards of negligence. That will only be the beginning of your journey. Once you file a claim with an insurance company, they’ll be digging into your own injury history, looking for ways to blame your injury on something else. They’ll also attempt to put all of the blame for your accident on you. They’ll say you were negligent! Having a skilled lawyer on your side can force an insurance provider to give up these tactics.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Serving Kentucky Accident Victims
After you’ve been hurt in an accident of any kind, you should be free to focus on recovery. Placing your case in the hands of the attorneys at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, can free you and your family of the burden of proving your case and fighting for every inch against unhelpful insurance adjusters. We take up that fight for you and make sure you have the care you need and the funds to pay for it.
Talk to a Kentucky Personal Injury Attorney you can trust to be on your side and fight for your fair compensation. The attorneys at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, have a combined 100 years of experience in helping clients get the compensation they’ll need to make a full recovery. To discuss your case in a free consultation, contact Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC today, by clicking here.
