An injury caused by another person’s negligent, reckless, or careless actions can upend your life in the blink of an eye. A Lexington personal injury lawyer from Thomas Law Offices is here to get it back on track.
Our Lexington personal injury attorneys will serve as powerful advocates for you and your case. We provide unrivaled legal representation to those injured through no fault of their own and are now dealing with lost wages, medical bills, and other related damages.
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Personal Injury Cases We Handle
Thomas Law Offices handles a wide range of injury cases. Our legal team is prepared to handle claims in the following practice areas:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Birth injuries
- Nursing home abuse
- Brain injuries
- Sexual assault
- Product liability
- Premises liability
- Spinal cord injuries
- Slip and fall accidents
- Negligent security
- Wrongful death
We handle most injury accident cases that occur in Lexington. If you don’t see your specific accident or situation listed above, do not hesitate to reach out to our law office to discuss whether we are the right fit for your case.
Why Choose Thomas Law Offices?
The personal injury attorneys of Thomas Law Offices have dedicated their careers to advocating on behalf of injury victims in Lexington. We know that the physical, emotional, and financial toll created by a preventable accident can leave victims with a lifelong burden if the at-fault party is never held accountable for their actions. That’s where we come in.
We Offer a Free Initial Consultation
Deciding which personal injury law firm to work with is a big choice, and we want you to make the right one. That’s why we offer free consultations to injury victims and their families. During this no-cost meeting, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the details of your case with an actual injury lawyer.
We believe a free consultation is an excellent opportunity to determine whether our personal injury attorneys fit your case. We want every client to feel confident in their choice to work with our law firm.
We Investigate Your Case
Your job is to rest and recover from your injuries. Our job is to recover compensation on your behalf. To do that, we first conduct a thorough, in-depth investigation into what caused your injuries. We rely on multiple resources when investigating injury claims, including:
- Security footage
- Dashcam footage
- Eyewitness statements
- Medical bills
- Medical records
- Pictures or videos of where the injury occurred (such as a car accident scene)
Our Lexington personal injury attorneys approach every case with steadfast attention to detail. If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, contact us today to learn how we can help investigate the accident that caused your physical injuries.
We Value Your Claim
Most personal injury lawsuits strive to hold the at-fault party responsible for their actions and seek compensation for resulting damages. Financial compensation is often a key component of a person’s recovery.
At Thomas Law Offices, an attorney will correctly value the worth of your claim to ensure it reflects the full extent of your damages, including your lost income, property damage, emotional trauma, future medical expenses, and more. In all that we do, we strive to secure the best possible settlement or jury award for our Lexington clients.
We Deal with the Insurance Company
In most injury lawsuits, settlements are paid by the at-fault party’s insurance company. It is not in the best interests of the insurance company’s bottom line to pay out settlements to injury victims, though, so you should expect to be repeatedly offered low-ball settlements that do not accurately reflect the harm you’ve suffered.
Working with one of the personal injury lawyers from Thomas Law Offices shows the insurance company that you are taking personal injury litigation seriously.
We Work with Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses can help build the veracity of your claim. Your Lexington personal injury attorney will be prepared to call on expert witnesses to provide testimony as needed, such as accident reconstructionists for cases involving auto accidents or medical professionals for medical malpractice claims.
We Seek to Settle but Prepare for Trial
The majority of civil claims for serious personal injuries are settled outside of court. However, as your legal counsel, we will never discount the possibility of going to court. While we strive to secure just compensation for your injuries through negotiations, we also prepare for the possibility of your case going to trial. With this approach, we are always prepared to help accident victims navigate our complex legal system.
We Treat You as a Whole Person
When you work with Thomas Law Offices, you’ll have the backing of an experienced personal injury attorney who sees you as more than just an accident victim. We’ll get to know you on a more personal level to learn how your injuries have truly impacted your life.
Compensation Available in a Lexington Personal Injury Case
The amount of compensation you are entitled to will vary depending on a few factors, including the type of accident you were involved in and the extent and severity of your injuries. The typical legal claim for serious injury will encompass both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages seek to cover your tangible financial losses. These are the verifiable monetary losses you have suffered due to your injuries. Your personal injury lawyer will help you collect evidence and verify how much you are owed for economic damages, including:
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity if you cannot perform the same job duties
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Past, current, and future medical bills
- Property damage (including vehicle damage caused by automobile accidents)
- Household services
- The cost of renovating your home or vehicle to accommodate a new disability
Non-Economic Damages
Your non-economic damages are the losses you’ve suffered that do not necessarily have a financial component. This can make it exceptionally difficult to determine what fair compensation looks like in your case.
Our Lexington personal injury lawyers have the legal experience necessary to correctly determine what non-economic damages our clients are owed for their serious injuries, including for:
- Mental anguish
- Psychological distress (such as PTSD)
- Physical pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Do not leave the job of calculating your non-economic damages to an attorney who does not understand what is at stake. Contact Thomas Law Offices today to speak with an experienced attorney at our firm.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are only awarded in a small number of personal injury claims. These types of damages are not intended to compensate victims for their severe injuries but rather to punish the at-fault party. In this way, punitive damages are used as a financial deterrent to discourage individuals from engaging in similar behavior in the future. Compensation for these types of damages may only be awarded in addition to economic and non-economic damages, never on their own.
Determining Liability in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
You must be able to prove that the other party was at fault for your accident and the resulting injuries and damages, or you will be unable to recover compensation. Our personal injury lawyers in Lexington can walk you step-by-step through the process of proving that the person who caused your injuries is legally liable.
Establishing a Duty of Care
Whether your injuries were caused by a car accident, medical negligence, or a dangerous product, your injury claim will hinge on the at-fault party’s duty of care. A duty of care is a legal obligation that a person has to act in a way that will not cause foreseeable harm to others.
This means that we must prove the following:
- That the defendant owed you a duty of care.
- That the defendant failed to uphold their duty of care.
- That you suffered injuries as a result of that failure.
- That you suffered losses as a result of your injuries.
We build upon each of the above points until we have created the strongest possible case for our clients. If you are ready to take action against the person or entity that caused you harm, contact our law office today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
Possible Liable Parties in a Personal Injury Claim
Having more than one liable party in a personal injury claim is possible. For example, medical malpractice cases frequently name multiple defendants, such as doctors, nurses, and hospital facilities. An insurance claim for a truck accident could allege negligence by the trucking company and an auto parts manufacturer.
You should work closely with your personal injury lawyer to determine who can be held responsible in your case.
Questions To Ask Our Personal Injury Lawyer
When deciding whether to work with a personal injury law office in Lexington, you should first schedule an initial free consultation. During this meeting, ask questions about both your case and the lawyer’s experience. A good law office will not shy away from answering your questions and will welcome any and all queries.
If you’re not sure what to ask, we recommend starting with some of the following:
- Have you successfully handled personal injury cases like mine before?
- Do you think I have a legal standing to file a claim?
- Do you see any potential difficulties with my case?
- How can I contact you?
- Who will keep me updated on the status of my case?
- Do you have any references from past clients?
- What is your trial success rate?
- What might my case be worth?
- What are your legal fees, and when and how do you collect payment?
Write down all your questions and bring them with you to your consultation. You can also bring copies of your medical expenses and other financial losses, giving your lawyer a deeper understanding of your case.
Frequently Asked Personal Injury Questions
Thomas Law Offices understands how overwhelming the period of time immediately following an accident can be. If you are not ready to speak one-on-one with an attorney just yet, we hope that the answers to the following questions will prove helpful.
Do I Need a Personal Injury Attorney?
Although it is possible to file an injury claim without the guidance of a personal injury attorney, doing so is inadvisable if:
- You have particularly severe injuries
- You suffered significant financial losses
- Liability is in question
- There is more than one at-fault party
- The insurance company is not taking you seriously
- Your claim involves a government entity
Can I Still Collect Compensation if I Was Partially at Fault for My Accident?
Kentucky is one of only 13 states that have pure comparative negligence rules in regard to personal injuries. This rule allows you to pursue compensation for your damages even if you were partially at fault for the accident and your injuries. Anyone who is not 100% at fault for an accident may seek compensation.
If you are found to be partially at fault, your overall settlement will be reduced by your percentage of fault. This means that if you were 10% at fault, your award would be reduced by 10%.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Case?
Kentucky state law applies a statute of limitations to most personal injury claims. You will need to speak directly with your lawyer to determine what statute of limitations applies to your case.
Keep in mind that statutes of limitations vary based on the type of case you are filing. Car accident victims have two years to file their claims, whereas Kentucky Revised Statute 413.140 limits victims of medical malpractice to just one year to take legal action.
How Long Do Personal Injury Cases Last?
The answer to this question will depend on the type of injury lawsuit you are pursuing. A premises liability claim could take anywhere from several months to longer than a year. On the other hand, a nursing home abuse lawsuit could take as long as two years before reaching a conclusion.
Several factors will impact the timeframe of your specific case, including how much evidence you have and whether the at-fault party admits responsibility for their actions.
What if I Was in a Hit-and-Run Accident?
It is entirely possible to recover compensation for a hit-and-run accident. Kentucky is a no-fault state for auto accidents, meaning victims typically file a claim with their insurer regardless of fault. A claim is only filed against the other driver’s insurer if the cost of medical treatment and other damages exceeds the victim’s own policy limits.
When a driver flees the scene of an accident, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance should cover the following damages:
- Bills for medical treatment
- Lost wages
- Expenses of daily life
- Funeral and burial expenses
Do not be fooled into thinking that your own auto insurer is on your side. At Thomas Law Offices, we have seen time and time again how big insurance companies will do anything to protect their bottom lines. If your insurer is denying your claim or trying to limit your settlement, reach out to our law office today.
What if More than One Person Caused My Injuries?
It is not uncommon for a claim seeking compensation for a serious personal injury like a birth injury to involve more than one liable party. As your legal team, we will work to identify all possible liable parties in your case. If you were injured while on the job and are filing for workers’ compensation benefits, we can also help determine if any liable third parties can be held responsible for their actions.
How Much Is My Case Worth?
The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Your settlement amount varies depending on the circumstances of your case. However, there are a few factors that influence settlements:
- Severity of injuries
- Amount of medical expenses
- Your lost wages
- Established liability
- The at-fault party’s insurance coverage
While each case differs, personal injury settlements can range from modest amounts in minor cases to major payouts in more serious accident claims. Also, some subjective factors, such as pain and suffering, can affect the settlement. These non-economic damages are harder to quantify but can increase the total compensation if the injuries have caused a major disruption in your quality of life.
While no exact figure can be provided for the “average” personal injury settlement, knowing these factors that influence your compensation can provide a better sense of what to expect. A consultation with our Lexington personal injury lawyer can help you clarify your possible settlement amounts.
Is It Affordable to Work with Lexington Personal Injury Lawyers?
Whether you were injured because of a dangerous product or are seeking justice for an instance of medical malpractice, we believe that the cost of securing legal representation should never be a barrier to recovering the compensation you deserve. That’s why Thomas Law Offices takes most cases on a contingency fee, which allows us to provide our services without requiring any upfront payment. Instead, we only get paid if we win your case, at which time we collect our fees as a small percentage of your total award.
Ready to Talk to a Lexington Personal Injury Lawyer? Thomas Law Offices Is Here for You
If another person’s negligent actions harmed you, you may be owed compensation for your damages. The journey to recover full and fair compensation is not one you have to take on your own, though.
When you reach out to Thomas Law Offices, we’ll match you with a Lexington personal injury lawyer for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. Contact us today so that we can get to work on your case.