Kentucky Auto Accident Passengers Have Multiple Options Of Recovery

Passengers in vehicles that are involved in Kentucky auto accidents have multiple potential avenues to recovery for their injuries, medical bills, lost wages, and pain & suffering. The question of who to seek recovery from boils down to two questions: (1) who is at fault, and (2) who has insurance.

If you are injured in an automobile accident in Kentucky, the first $10,000.00 of insurance available for medical bills and lost wages is covered by Kentucky No Fault Insurance, which all drivers are required to carry. That means if you are a passenger in a vehicle that is involved in an accident, regardless of whose fault it is, you are covered for the first $10,000.00 of insurance available for medical bills and lost wages through the insurance company of the car you are a passenger in. If the driver of the car you were in does not have insurance, then you would rely upon you own insurance coverage for the first $10,000.00 of insurance available for medical bills and lost wages. If you also do not have auto insurance coverage, then you would rely upon the insurance coverage of someone who has auto insurance and who resides in your household for the first $10,000.00 of insurance available for medical bills and lost wages. If you, the driver of the vehicle you were in, or the people residing in your household, do not have auto insurance, then you can qualify for the Kentucky Assigned Claims Plan, which would assign an insurance company to cover the first $10,000.00 of insurance available for medical bills and lost wages. This coverage is commonly referred to as PIP Coverage (Personal Injury Protection Coverage/No Fault Coverage).

Once the PIP Coverage is exhausted, the next source of recovery that a passenger in a car would turn to would be the at fault party. That means that if you are a passenger in a vehicle and are injured in an accident, you would seek additional recovery from the insurance company of the at fault driver, whether it was the driver of the vehicle you were not in or the driver of the vehicle you were a passenger in. If insurance coverage under this scenario were not enough to compensate you for your total loss (medical bills, lost wages, pain & suffering), then you may be able to make a claim upon the driver’s, of the vehicle you were in, insurance or your own insurance for underinsured and/or uninsured insurance coverage.

Being a passenger in a vehicle, even if the driver of the vehicle you are in is at fault or if the at fault driver does not have insurance, still leaves many potential avenues for recovery for your damages and injures. A qualified attorney will look at the particulars of the accident, your injuries, and the available insurances, and then be able to best advise you on how to recovery the money you are entitled to.

The author of this article is attorney Brent T. Ackerson. Any questions or for more information about the rights of persons injured in auto accidents, Brent can be contacted via email (by clicking here) or telephone, (502) 882-5176.