Does Kentucky have any caps on damages in injury cases?

On Behalf of | Apr 12, 2024 | Personal Injury

If someone was careless and injured you, you have the right to sue for your damages. Naturally, you want to be able to get full compensation for your financial losses, as well as your mental and emotional anguish.

However, many states limit how much an injured party can recover. Therefore, you need to know Kentucky’s rules about how much you can claim.

Kentucky’s standard rules for personal injury claims

Kentucky seeks to safeguard the rights of injured plaintiffs by having no caps on personal injury claims. As a result, you can pursue full compensation for both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages cover tangible losses like medical expenses, lost wages and property damage. Noneconomic damages, on the other hand, include intangible losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.

You should also note that Kentucky does not even have caps on medical malpractice cases. Some states might not set caps in general but still put a maximum on what you claim from a health care practitioner. However, Kentucky has no such limits.

Caps on claims involving a government entity

While Kentucky does not impose caps on personal injury damages, there is one notable exception. Claims against the government or government employees fall under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Claims Commission. This commission sets limits on the amount of compensation in such cases.

For these cases, there is a cap of $250,000 for a single claim. If multiple claims arise from a single incident, the cap increases to $400,000. These caps exist to manage liabilities for government-related injuries while still providing some level of compensation to an injured person.

Bear in mind that Kentucky balances the general lack of caps with a shorter statute of limitations than many other states have. You typically only have two years for auto accidents and one year for all other personal injury claims.

With this stricter timeframe, you have to act quickly to prepare a strong case with relevant evidence and documentation. Then, you can pursue the compensation you deserve after suffering harm due to someone else’s negligence.