Going Against the At-Fault Driver in a Kentucky Car Accident
Below is a summary that ChatGPT provided me with regarding how fault affects Kentucky car wreck cases. In Italics, I have put my comments wherein I thought AI got it right or wrong in describing the law regarding Kentucky automobile accidents.
Going Against the At-Fault Driver in a Kentucky Car Accident
(Fault, Negligence, and Pain-and-Suffering Claims Explained)
Once Kentucky’s no-fault (PIP) benefits are used up or the legal injury threshold is met, an injured person may pursue a claim against the at-fault driver. At that point, the case is governed by traditional negligence law. (Wrong. ChatGPT is confusing concepts. You have the legal right to sue someone, whether your PIP is exhausted or not. Further, the legal injury threshold, oversimplified, is having at least $1,000 in medical bills from a car wreck. That threshold applies only to Kentucky wrecks and your personal injury claim. That threshold does not exist, for example, for wrecks occurring in Indiana, and/or against your property damage claim.)
What “Negligence” Means in a Car Accident Case
To hold another driver legally responsible, the injured person must prove negligence. Negligence has four basic elements:
1. Duty
Every driver has a legal duty to operate their vehicle safely and follow traffic laws. (Yes, but it is really a duty to keep (It’s broader than this. Duty refers to the fact that you must have a legal duty under the law, e.g., yielding the right of way.)
2. Breach of Duty
A driver breaches that duty by doing something unsafe, such as:
- Running a red light or stop sign
- Failing to yield the right of way
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Following too closely
(The above are examples. Most traffic cases are determined by who had the right of way.)
3. Causation
The unsafe conduct must be a substantial factor in causing the crash. (Correct. For example, you can’t hold the Drive-Thru Hamburger place responsible for taking too long with the order; even though, had they been on time with the order, you would have avoided the wreck since you would not been at the intersection when the other guy ran the red light.)
4. Damages
The crash must result in actual harm, such as:
- Physical injury
- Pain and suffering
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
(It failed to mention the damage to your car.)
If any one of these elements is missing, the at-fault driver is not legally responsible. (True. You need all four elements to make a successful personal injury claim.)
Why “Right of Way” Often Determines Fault
In most car accidents, fault comes down to who had the legal right of way.
Examples:
- A driver who runs a red light usually violates the other driver’s right of way.
- A driver turning left must yield to oncoming traffic.
- A driver entering a roadway must yield to vehicles already on it.
When a driver violates right-of-way rules, that violation is strong evidence of negligence because:
- Traffic laws are designed to prevent collisions
- Violating them creates a foreseeable risk of harm
While not every crash is simple, right-of-way violations are the most common cause of fault in Kentucky car wrecks. (True. Think about why that is the case through this example. Many drivers try to say, “Well, the other guy was speeding!” Yes, but that is only a small factor in causing the car wreck. First of all, you would have to be able to prove that but for the other driver’s speeding, the wreck could have been avoided. Second, and more importantly, you turned left in front of the other driver, thereby breaching your legal duty to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic. That other driver could have been doing 100 mph, and had you not entered his path of travel, there would not have been a collision. That’s why a high rate of speed, if you can prove that the car was in fact speeding, is only considered a factor in causing the wreck, and the substantial cause of the wreck was failing to yield the right of way.)
Comparative Fault: More Than One Driver Can Be at Fault
Kentucky follows a pure comparative fault system.
This means:
- More than one driver can share fault
- Each driver is assigned a percentage of responsibility
- An injured person’s recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault
Example:
- If damages total $100,000
- And the injured driver is found 20% at fault
- The recovery is reduced to $80,000
Even a driver who is mostly at fault may still recover something under Kentucky law. (Correct. So in the above example, not only would your damages be reduced by 20%, but also, that other driver would have a claim against you for 20% of their damages.)
Recovering Pain and Suffering Damages
“Pain and suffering” includes:
- Physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Ongoing limitations or discomfort
(True, let me say this. The merits of a personal injury claim are determined by the contents of your medical records. For complaints of pain to be taken as credible by an insurance company, those complaints need to be noted in your medical records, and your treating physician MUST relate those complaints to the injuries sustained in the car wreck. Plain and simple, when it comes to car accidents, the treating physicians are seen as gods, and their testimony makes or breaks a case.)
To recover pain and suffering damages in Kentucky:
- The injured person must meet the KMVRA threshold (such as medical bills over $1,000 or a qualifying injury), and
- The at-fault driver’s negligence must be proven
Unlike medical bills or wage loss, pain and suffering:
- Has no fixed dollar amount
- Is evaluated based on the severity, duration, and impact of the injury
- Is often the most contested part of a claim
(On this last part, wherein Chaptgpt says an injury claim is the most contested part of a claim, understand that the best personal injury claims follow the concept of “Garbage in equals garbage out!”. In other words, give your injury attorney the best facts to work with, and by doing so, your result may be a higher recovery on your injury claim. For example, if you are hurting and the impact made your car look like an accordion, take the EMS ride to the Emergency Room and get checked out. If you have not been to the doctor in weeks and are still hurting from a car wreck, get to the doctor and document the fact that you are still hurting. If you don’t, it looks like you were not hurting during that time. Essentially, your medical records are the ‘Hansel and Gretel breadcrumb trail’ that leads an insurance company to the conclusion that you were seriously injured in the car wreck.)
Evidence Commonly Used to Prove Fault
Fault is usually established using a combination of:
- Police reports
- Traffic citations
- Witness statements
- Photographs and videos
- Vehicle damage patterns
- Medical records linking the injury to the crash
No single piece of evidence controls the outcome. Fault is determined by the total picture. (I don’t agree with most of ChatGPT’s statements on this. The police report is evidence of fault but is generally not admissible as evidence during trial. Traffic citations help, but only if they concern how the vehicle was being driven, e.g., the other driver was intoxicated or charged with reckless driving; a citation for an expired registration means nothing for a personal injury claim. Personal injury claims arising from a car accident are all about what we can prove. So yes, videos that captured the car accident, statements of witnesses, or photographs that show the position of the vehicles after the wreck, all help us to prove fault.)
Property Damage Follows Fault Rules from the Start
Unlike injury claims:
-Property damage is not limited by the no-fault law
-The at-fault driver is responsible for:
- Repair costs
- Total loss value
- Loss of use (such as rental car expenses)
Fault analysis for property damage is the same negligence analysis described above.
Bottom Line
Once no-fault limits no longer apply, a Kentucky car accident claim becomes a traditional fault-based case. The injured person must prove that the other driver violated traffic rules, caused the crash, and resulted in real harm. Right-of-way violations frequently determine fault, and damages may include medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and pain and suffering, subject to comparative fault rules.
(True, quit putting such emphasis on the no-fault laws. They are not hard to comply with, and really, Kentucky is a traditional fault-based system for the most part, and the no-fault laws are just several exceptions to that system.)
