Fort Mitchell Brain Injury Lawyer
Brain injuries are a common, often serious type of harm that can occur as a result of an accident. The symptoms may be obvious but may also be subtle, and they may arise immediately or take time to appear.
If you suffered a brain injury in Fort Mitchell, KY, because of someone else’s negligence, the at-fault party may be liable for your medical bills and other losses. An experienced Fort Mitchell brain injury lawyer can help.
The knowledgeable attorneys at Hendy | Johnson | Vaughn | Emery are here to make the most of your personal injury claim. Get in touch with us online or contact us at (859) 578-4444 to schedule your free consultation today.
How Hendy Johnson Vaughn Emery Can Help After a Brain Injury in Fort Mitchell
Our highly skilled and compassionate attorneys have decades of combined legal experience and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our injured clients. We’re confident that we can get you winning results and maximize the value of your claim if you hire us to represent you after suffering a brain injury in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.
You can count on us to take the following steps in your case:
- Listen to your description of the accident and your symptoms
- Investigate the cause of the accident
- Gather evidence related to the accident and your injuries
- Discuss your options with you and develop a legal strategy
- Assess the extent of your injuries
- Contact the insurance company and negotiate a settlement on your behalf
- Take your case to court, if necessary
Consult an experienced Fort Mitchell personal injury attorney to discuss your potential brian injury claim today.
What Is My Fort Mitchell Personal Injury Case Worth?
The potential value of each personal injury case is unique. Many factors will influence the potential worth of your case, including:
- The extent of your injuries
- The anticipated future impacts of your injury
- The extent of your other damages
- Whether you were partly to blame for the accident
- Relevant insurance policy limits
There’s no specific formula for calculating the value of your personal injury case. Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer with our firm to discuss how these factors impact your case today.
What Kind of Damages Are Available to Fort Mitchell Brain Injury Victims?
Brain injury victims can recover compensation for their losses, known as damages. These extend beyond just their medical bills.
If you suffered a brain injury in Fort Mitchell, KY, the two main types of damages you can recover include economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages relate to the financial costs of the accident. This may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning potential
- Transportation costs
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Economic damages are usually directly related to specific transactions and can be proven with receipts, invoices, or other documentation. Nonetheless, a knowledgeable brain injury attorney can ensure your economic damages are properly calculated and defend against the insurance company’s attempts to reduce their value.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages relate to the other costs of an accident, which may include emotional or psychological impacts. These include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of companionship or loss of consortium
- Loss of quality of life
Non-economic damages are trickier to calculate than economic damages, as they are based on the victim’s subjective experience. An experienced personal injury lawyer will assess the extent of all of your damages.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Brain Injury Lawyer in Fort Mitchell?
Personal injury lawyers in Fort Mitchell generally charge a contingency fee. This type of fee arrangement means the client does not pay any attorney’s fees upfront. Instead, the attorney collects their fee at the end of the client’s case as a percentage of the client’s settlement or verdict amount. A typical contingency fee is between 33% and 40%.
Contingency fees have several benefits. First, they don’t require any upfront fees, so anyone can afford to retain a top-rated brain injury attorney. Second, because the fee is based on the amount of the ultimate financial award, you’ll never be stuck with a legal bill you can’t afford. Third, the attorney doesn’t get paid unless you do.
There may be additional costs, like court filing fees, that you are responsible for. Your attorney should explain these to you at the beginning of the representation, and they should be detailed in your retainer agreement.
Can I Recover Compensation if I’m Being Blamed for an Accident in Kentucky?
Yes. However, if you’re being blamed for an accident, it may impact the amount of compensation you can recover.
Kentucky is a pure comparative negligence state, which means that both you and the other party will be apportioned a degree of blame for the accident (your blame can be 0%). You can recover compensation from an at-fault party whether you were 0% or 99% at fault. However, your compensation will be reduced proportionally to your degree of blame.
Imagine that you were injured in a slip and fall accident. Imagine further that the property owner was found to be 80% at fault, and you were found to be 20% at fault. If your total damages were $10,000, you could recover up to $8,000—or 80% of your total damages.
How Do I Prove Negligence After an Accident in Fort Mitchell, KY?
Most personal injury cases, including brain injury cases, are based on a theory of negligence. This means you must prove that the accident occurred because the at-fault party was negligent. To act negligent essentially means failing to act the way a reasonable person would in the same situation.
To prove negligence, you must establish the following four elements: duty of care, breach, causation, and damages.
Duty of care
You must demonstrate that you were owed a duty of care, which is an obligation to follow a certain standard of care. The regular standard of care is to act the same as a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances.
For example, a driver has a duty of care to drive with reasonable care and consideration for other drivers. This includes adhering to traffic laws and signals.
Breach
Then, you must prove that the defendant breached the duty of care. This often means showing that the defendant acted unreasonably. For example, a driver who is driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol has probably breached the duty of care.
Causation
You must also establish that the at-fault party caused your injuries. This has two components: actual cause and proximate cause.
To be the “actual cause” means that the accident would not have happened without the defendant’s actions or inactions. To be the “proximate cause” means that the plaintiff’s injuries were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s actions.
Damages
Finally, you must show that you were injured or suffered harm–such as a brain injury–because of the defendant’s conduct.
You must prove each of these elements by a preponderance of the evidence, which means that it is more likely than not that the claims against you are true.
How Long Do I Have To File a Lawsuit After an Accident in Kentucky?
In Kentucky, you have one year from the date of the accident or injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. This one-year statute of limitations is relatively short compared to most states. If your case is not filed on time, you will not be able to seek compensation for your injury in court, and your ability to recover compensation at all will be seriously hindered.
Your attorney will calculate the exact filing deadline in your case and ensure that your case is filed on time.
Contact Our Fort Mitchell Brain Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you suffered a brain injury as a result of an accident in Fort Mitchell, the at-fault party may be liable for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and more. An experienced Fort Mitchell brain injury attorney will fight for you to receive full compensation. Let the skilled attorneys at Hendy Johnson Vaughn Emery fight for justice on your behalf.
Contact our law offices in Fort Mitchell, KY, to schedule a free consultation with a member of our team.