Many of us who live in Lexington wouldn’t ever envision taking to the road without a valid driver’s license; however, a wide variety of circumstances, which we’ll detail below, may lead to a motorist not securing a proper permit to drive their automobile. This negligence can create quite a dilemma if you’re involved in a collision with one of these vehicle operators here in Kentucky. So, continue reading, where we’ll discuss what happens if you get into a car accident with an unlicensed driver.

Truck accidents are very different from typical car vs. car auto crashes. Why? Well, here are just a few reasons:

• Truck accidents are usually much more severe than car accidents, and more often fatal.
• Truckers are employees on the job, which impacts how a case is handled legally.
• Federal, state, and local laws that don’t apply to non-commercial drivers are critical in truck accident cases.
• There are usually multiple involved parties, which could include an employed truck driver, a subcontractor, a trucking company, a truck owner, a freight shipping company, and more.
• There are numerous insurance policies covering trucking operations, complicating how claims are filed.
• Truck companies pay powerful legal teams to protect them from liability, making obtaining compensation an uphill battle.

With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why truck accident investigations are complicated matters. Most people don’t have the knowledge or experience to conduct an in-depth investigation into a truck crash on their own—especially when recovering from serious injuries.

As a division of the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is “the lead federal government agency responsible for regulating and providing safety oversight of commercial motor vehicles.”

In this way, trucking companies are regulated by the federal government. However, state agencies also hold regulatory authority over motor carriers that travel through or operate within their borders.

If you were asked to spell out the differences between car and truck accidents, you’d likely start by describing the difference between the sizes of the vehicles involved. However, there are more differences than that. One of those differences centers around establishing liability in truck accident lawsuits when one of the parties suffers damages and needs to take legal action to recover compensation.

Determining liability in a truck accident case can be complex. The reason why this is the case has a lot to do with there being various state and federal regulations that apply specifically to commercial carriers. Another factor that complicates things is that there can be multiple potentially liable parties who can be sued for any missteps that occurred, resulting in the crash.

Was your car sideswiped by another vehicle? Sideswiping occurs when the side of one vehicle scrapes along the side of another. This type of collision happens between vehicles that are traveling in the same direction, although the struck vehicle may be either moving or stationary.

Not typically as deadly as other types of traffic crashes, a sideswipe accident can certainly still leave you with costly property damage and even severe, debilitating injuries. When you’ve been hurt by the actions of another motorist, being able to conclusively prove who is at fault for your sideswipe accident becomes a central part of your recovery journey.

We rely on the timely and reliable delivery services provided by the United States Postal Service (USPS). While this is an invaluable service that virtually every person in Kentucky has access to, we must remember that the mail trucks we rely on are driven by human beings—and human beings make mistakes.

So what happens if a mail truck gets into an accident? Unlike typical motor vehicle accidents, matters of liability are much more complex when a government entity or employee is involved.

Key Highlights

• The United States Postal Service (USPS) is liable for accidents involving their mail delivery trucks.
• Administrative claims are a necessary prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against USPS.
• Filing a lawsuit in federal court may require the guidance of an attorney with specialized expertise.

Yesterday afternoon, a press conference was held at the Floyd County Courthouse in Prestonsburg, Kentucky to discuss the murder investigation of Amber Spradlin, a 38-year-old woman who was found dead at a home on Arkansas Creek on June 18^th. There are many questions left unanswered regarding her death. If you’re interested in watching the press conference, you may do so here.

Amber Spradlin’s body was found at a horrific, bloody scene. Foul play was suspected early on, but other than that, hardly any details about her death were made public. According to a family member at the press conference, Amber was attacked and violently stabbed at least 11 times. Multiple devastating wounds were found on her head and neck, and part of the murder weapon was even found inside her face. Her body was found in a home belonging to local dentist Michael McKinney, but no details have been released regarding why she was there or who was with her at the time of her death.

Each year, more than one hundred thousand auto accidents occur right here in Kentucky. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority only result in property damage. Ones that do result in injuries or fatalities are particularly devastating.

These statistics lead government regulators and motorists to ponder what they can do to minimize their chances of becoming involved in a crash. One way to handle this situation is by clearly identifying where car accidents happen most. So, that’s what we’ll address below.

The most recently published Kentucky Traffic Collision Facts 2021 report published by the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) at the University of Kentucky in Lexington highlights how there were 109,291 total reported accidents in our state on public roads in 2021, 734 of which resulted in fatalities and 20,117 that resulted in nonfatal injuries. At least 2,867 of those accidents resulted in suspected serious injuries.

While the specifics regarding the injuries that our fellow Lexington residents and others living in or traveling through our state aren’t readily available, it’s safe to say from our experience handling car accident cases at Golden Law Offices, back injuries top that list.

At Golden Law Office, we regularly meet with car accident victims hoping to recover the financial expenses they were unfairly saddled with after an accident caused by another motorist. One of the questions that frequently arises is: What’s the average settlement for whiplash injuries? Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries—and those recovering from this form of neck damage are familiar with the costs of treatment.

Below, we’ll take a more in-depth look at the cost of treating a whiplash injury and what accident victims can expect to recover in the average settlement. We advise you to take in this information with the understanding that every person’s case is different. While these figures represent broad averages, it doesn’t necessarily mean your case outcome will look the same.