Kentucky car accident law: deadlines, fault and your claim

Filing deadlines in Kentucky#

Kentucky's no-fault law, the Motor Vehicle Reparations Act, sets its own statute of limitationsStatute of limitations. The law that sets the last day to file a lawsuit. After it passes, a court will usually dismiss the case, however strong it is. Glossary for crash injury lawsuits. The clock runs from the injury, the death or the last PIP payment, whichever comes last, so ongoing PIP payments can push the deadline back.

Injured children. Kentucky's general tollingTolling. Pausing the limitations clock, for example while the injured person is a child. Glossary rule, KRS 413.170, says that for deadlines in KRS 413.090 to 413.160, a child gets the same number of years to sue after coming of age. That range includes the vehicle damage deadline, but the injury deadline sits in the no-fault act instead, so a Kentucky lawyer can tell you how it applies to a child's injury claim. For claims against the state, a child's representative must file within the normal one-year deadline, or the claim is barred.

Claims against the state. Under Kentucky law, claims against state agencies are filed with the Kentucky Board of Claims, which has exclusive jurisdiction over them. Awards are capped at $250,000 per claimant and $400,000 for all claimants from one negligent act. Claims against cities and counties follow different rules.

How fault is shared in Kentucky#

Kentucky follows pure comparative faultPure comparative fault. The version of comparative negligence that lets you recover something even if you were mostly at fault, reduced by your share. Glossary under KRS 411.182. The jury assigns a percentage of fault to each party, and your damages are reduced by your own percentage. There is no cut-off: even a driver found mostly at fault can recover the share caused by others.

Insurers apply the same rule in negotiations, so the fault split affects settlement offers too. Try the fault-rule explainer to compare Kentucky with other states.

Insurance in Kentucky#

Kentucky's coverage rules:

Personal injury protectionPersonal injury protection (PIP). Coverage under your own policy that pays medical bills and some lost income after a crash, whoever caused it. Glossary, which Kentucky law calls basic reparation benefits, pays medical bills and some lost income whoever caused the crash. The guide to who pays medical bills explains how it fits with health insurance. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 14.1% of Kentucky drivers were uninsured in 2023, compared with 15.4% nationally.

The Kentucky Department of Insurance handles complaints about insurers: 1-800-595-6053; 502-564-3630.

After a crash in Kentucky#

KRS 189.580 requires every driver in a crash to stop, check for injuries and give reasonable help, including getting an injured person to medical care when it is needed or asked for. On request, you must give the vehicle's registration number and the names and addresses of the owner, driver and passengers.

Under KRS 189.635, you must immediately notify a law enforcement officer with jurisdiction after a crash that injures or kills someone or leaves a vehicle unable to be driven. If no officer investigates and the property damage is more than $500, you must file a written report with Kentucky State Police within 10 days; KSP takes these civilian collision reports online.

Kentucky crash reports are not public records. Copies go to the people involved, parents of an injured minor, their lawyers and insurers, and a few others named in the law. You can get one online through BuyCrash, linked by Kentucky State Police, or by a written open records request to the KSP custodian of records. Kentucky State Police say to allow 10 days for an officer's report to appear in the system. The guide to the police report explains what to check in it.

Special rules in Kentucky#

When you can sue for pain and suffering

Kentucky's no-fault law limits lawsuits for pain, suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience. Under KRS 304.39-060, the serious injury thresholdSerious injury threshold. A rule in some no-fault states that lets you sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering only if your injury meets a legal definition of serious, or a dollar level of medical bills. Glossary is met only if:

• the medical expenses payable for the injury exceed $1,000, or
• the injury includes permanent disfigurement, a broken bone, loss of a body member, a permanent injury, permanent loss of bodily function, or death.

Choosing to keep full tort rights

Kentucky lets each person refuse the no-fault limits. The refusal requires a written or electronic rejection form, on the Department of Insurance's form, filed with the department before any crash. A rejection keeps your full right to sue, but it also leaves you fully open to being sued, without the threshold's protection. It stays in effect until you revoke it in writing.

Crashes on Kentucky roads#

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 707 people died in Kentucky crashes in 2024. That is 15.4 per 100,000 people, compared with 11.5 per 100,000 people nationally.

• 62% of the deaths happened on rural roads.
• 13% were speeding-related.
• An estimated 23% of passenger vehicle drivers killed had a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher.

Finding a lawyer in Kentucky#

The Kentucky Bar Association does not run its own referral service. It lists three local services, which it says are not affiliated with it:

Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up in the KBA's Find a Lawyer directory. The guide on lawyer referral services explains how these panels work.