Kentucky Personal Injury Lawyers

Statewide personal injury, medical negligence, and wrongful death representation across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Hance & Srinivasan, PLLC is a Kentucky personal injury law firm based in Louisville and representing injured people throughout the Commonwealth. A Kentucky injury is a Kentucky case under Kentucky law, filed in Kentucky courts, governed by Kentucky statutes of limitations, and decided by Kentucky juries. 

This page is written for people searching for a Kentucky personal injury lawyer, whether the injury occurred in Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Bowling Green, Paducah, Owensboro, London, Pikeville, or any of the Commonwealth’s one hundred twenty counties. The answers are the same in every county. The deadlines are the same. The law is the same. What changes is the courthouse.

WHAT KENTUCKY PERSONAL INJURY LAW COVERS

Kentucky personal injury law is a body of civil law that allows a person who has been harmed by the negligence, carelessness, or intentional misconduct of another to recover compensation from the responsible party. The framework applies to motor vehicle crashes, medical negligence, workplace injuries, defective products, premises liability, pharmaceutical injuries, defective medical devices, nursing home neglect, aviation and aquatic accidents, and wrongful death arising from any of the above.

Kentucky follows a pure comparative fault rule under KRS 411.182, which means an injured person can recover damages even if they were partly responsible for what happened. The award is reduced by the injured person’s percentage of fault, but unlike the rule in most states, Kentucky does not cut off recovery at any fault threshold.

Kentucky also follows a choice no fault auto insurance system under KRS 304.39-020, which means every driver carries a minimum ten thousand dollars in Personal Injury Protection coverage unless they affirmatively reject it in writing. When an auto injury crosses the tort threshold under KRS 304.39-060, a full liability claim against the at fault driver becomes available.

Kentucky imposes no statutory cap on compensatory damages in personal injury cases. Section 54 of the Kentucky Constitution prohibits the General Assembly from limiting the amount recoverable for death or injuries to person or property. A jury that hears the evidence is free to return the verdict the evidence supports.

KENTUCKY STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS

Kentucky has some of the shortest personal injury deadlines in the country. Missing the statute of limitations is almost always fatal to the case, regardless of how strong the underlying facts are. The deadlines that matter most in Kentucky personal injury practice are:

KENTUCKY’S CERTIFICATE OF MERIT REQUIREMENT

Medical malpractice cases in Kentucky require a certificate of merit filed at the time the complaint is filed, under KRS 411.167. The certificate is a sworn statement that a qualified expert has reviewed the facts of the case and concluded there is a reasonable basis to proceed.

DAMAGES AVAILABLE IN KENTUCKY PERSONAL INJURY CASES

Kentucky personal injury law recognizes three broad categories of damages.

Economic damages

Past and future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, and out of pocket costs such as medications, assistive devices, and home modifications. Economic damages are proven with invoices, pay records, medical documentation, and expert testimony about future costs.

Non economic damages

Physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disfigurement, and loss of consortium. Non economic damages are real losses that do not come with a price tag attached, and proving them at trial requires skilled advocacy.

Punitive damages

Reserved for cases involving oppression, fraud, or malice under Kentucky law. Punitive damages are not awarded to compensate the victim. They are awarded to punish the wrongdoer and to deter future conduct. They are rare, but they are significant when the evidence supports them.

WHERE KENTUCKY PERSONAL INJURY CASES ARE FILED

Kentucky’s court system is unified under the Kentucky Court of Justice. Civil cases involving damages claims over five thousand dollars are filed in Circuit Court, which is the court of general jurisdiction. Smaller civil claims and most probate matters are filed in District Court. Federal claims arising in Kentucky are filed in the United States District Court for either the Eastern or Western District of Kentucky, depending on the location of the events giving rise to the claim.

Venue in a Kentucky personal injury case is generally proper in the county where the injury occurred, where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has its principal place of business. Selecting venue strategically is one of the first decisions in any litigation, and the choice can affect jury composition, docket speed, and settlement value.

Kentucky has one hundred twenty counties. The law is the same in all of them. The approach is not.

WHO WE ARE

Michael R. Hance has been practicing law in Kentucky since 1980. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, is a past president of the Kentucky Justice Association, and received the Peter Perlman Service Award in 2011. Chandrika Srinivasan has been a partner in the firm since 2002 and brings a J.D. together with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology. The combination of that scientific background with decades of Kentucky trial experience is unusual, and it matters in medical negligence and pharmaceutical injury cases.

We are a small firm by design. We accept a limited number of cases. We handle those cases personally. We try cases when cases need to be tried, and the Kentucky defense bar knows that about us. Our referral network across the Commonwealth is built on that reputation and on the results that earned it.

CONTACT A KENTUCKY PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

If you were injured anywhere in Kentucky, or if a family member died as a result of someone else’s negligence anywhere in Kentucky, the Kentucky statute of limitations applies to your case, and it does not wait. The sooner a lawyer evaluates the facts, the more options remain available. Call today.