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Kentucky

09.25.2016

Kentucky Court rules in favor of landowner in fall on ice lawsuit

Each year, thousands of people are injured in fall accidents. According to statistics maintained by the Center for Disease Control, a significant percentage of these accidents result in serious injury or even death. The case we are examining in this blog post was a fall on ice. In situations in which a person falls on someone else's property and is injured, he or she may be able to bring a premises liability lawsuit against the owner of the property, if the landowner's negligence contributed to the accident. If successful, the plaintiff in such a lawsuit may be able to recover medical expenses, lost wages, compensation for pain and suffering, and other damages. Read More

09.23.2016

LaJuana Wilcher speaks at Kentucky Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment

LaJuana Wilcher speaks at Kentucky Governor's Conference on Energy and the Environment Read More

09.20.2016

Tennessee Court rules that plaintiff in car accident lawsuit cannot rely on Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to toll time

If you follow this blog regularly, you have probably read several posts regarding situations in which a car accident lawsuit or other type of complaint was dismissed due to the plaintiff's failure to file a claim within the statute of limitations. It is a common problem, and one of the reasons we emphasize contacting an attorney as soon as possible when you have been injured. Filing a timely claim in a court of competent jurisdiction is only the first step in the process of filing a lawsuit. The complaint also has to be served upon the defendant according to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Read More

08.30.2016

Kentucky Court holds that case qualifies for Underinsured Motorist Coverage

It is always a good idea to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage insurance, but settling a UM/UIM claim can be more complicated than it might initially seem. This is true even when the claimant is the insured person, but settlements can be even more difficult when a person other than the insured is seeking to recover UM/UIM benefits. The Kentucky Court of Appeals was recently presented with a rather unusual UIM case filed by the friend of the insured under a policy issued by State Farm. Read More

08.18.2016

Kentucky Court finds no duty of care was owed to family involved in fatal drunk driving accident

The obvious defendant in a motor vehicle accident case is the person whose negligent driving caused the wreck. However, for a variety of reasons, it is possible that other defendants may be named in some lawsuits. In a fatal drunk driving accident, the plaintiff may want to sue those besides the driver who the plaintiff believes is partially responsible for the state of intoxication the driver was in. It is usually to the plaintiff's advantage to name as many potential defendants as possible in order to increase the chances of a settlement or judgment, especially if some defendants may be be uninsured, underinsured, or immune from suit. Read More

08.09.2016

Attorney Rebecca Simpson to teach courses on family law, adoption

Attorney Rebecca Simpson to teach courses on family law, adoption Read More

08.04.2016

Tripping accident lawsuit thwarted by release written into membership application

Property owners and business operators owe certain duties to those who come onto their premises for a business or social purpose. A breach of this duty can potentially result in a finding of liability against the landowner and an award of damages in favor of an injured party. This is most commonly referred to as a "slip and fall" case, in which someone is injured because of property that isn't maintained, such as a cracked sidewalk or other similar issue. For this reason, it is increasingly common for would-be defendants to ask for a waiver of liability from those with whom they do business. It is up to the courts to determine whether such waivers are valid under the facts of an individual case. Read More

05.24.2016

Sarah Jarboe named Chair of KBA environment, energy and resources law section

Sarah Jarboe named Chair of KBA environment, energy and resources law section Read More

05.20.2016

Distracted driving is a dangerous and deadly practice

 We live in an increasingly fast-paced society in which people take on multiple activities at once to get more things done. The level of risk that accompanies this habit varies according to the tasks at hand. For instance, if a person decides to drink coffee while reading a book, the worst thing that will probably happen is that the book will get ruined by spilled coffee. But in distracted driving cases, the level of risk goes up substantially. When a driver attempts to do another task, such as sending a text message, changing music, or applying makeup, the risk of a serious injury or death is high. Our firm has seen multiple accidents in which people were seriously injured or even died due to distracted drivers. In an Atlanta case that's gotten national attention, a teenage driver was using SnapChat while driving and became involved in an accident in which a man was left with traumatic brain injuries. Part of the evidence in the case is a SnapChat screen shot that indicates the teen was driving more than 100 miles per hour. You can read about this case in an article on the TechCrunch news web site. If you're not familiar with it, SnapChat is a social media application for smart phones that allows users to record video or photos and add more information, drawings and writing over the photos. One of the ways to use SnapChat is to add a filter over the photo that shows more information about where the photo was taken. One option is a filter that shows speed. While that's fine to use if you're a passenger, and kinda fun to use if you're traveling 400 miles per hour on an airplane, it's a terrible idea to use this feature while driving. We feel like this should go without saying - but obviously, some need to hear it. Read More

05.19.2016

Kentucky Appellate Court holds that foreman with duty of road maintenance was not entitled to qualified immunity

The term "qualified immunity" refers to a doctrine under which an allegedly negligent public official is shielded from liability when sued in his or her individual capacity for discretionary acts that were performed in good faith and within the official's scope of employment. Recently, a Kentucky appellate court was called upon to review a claim of qualified immunity as it pertained to a personal injury lawsuit brought by two people injured in a school bus wreck that allegedly happened due to the failure of certain government officials to respond to public complaints about the condition of a road in Leslie County, Kentucky. Read More