Questions people ask us after a wreck.

No. We offer free consultations on personal injury cases. Call the office at (606) 264-5955 and tell us what happened.

No fee unless we win on contingency fee cases. Contingency fees are charged only if there is a recovery. Clients may still be responsible for court costs and case expenses regardless of outcome. Fee arrangements are explained in a written agreement.

Generally, a lawsuit against the driver who caused the wreck has to be filed within two years after the injury, or two years after the last PIP payment, whichever comes later (KRS 304.39-230). Claims for PIP benefits themselves, and other kinds of claims, can have different deadlines. Don't wait to call.

Kentucky is a no-fault state. Personal injury protection, or PIP, can pay certain economic losses no matter who caused the wreck: medical expenses, lost wages, and replacement services. Basic PIP benefits are capped at $10,000 for one person in one accident, and some people carry added coverage (KRS 304.39-020). Our car wrecks page explains more.

In a Kentucky wreck case, you can recover for pain, suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience from the at-fault driver if your medical expenses are more than $1,000, or the injury includes a broken bone, permanent disfigurement, loss of a body member, a permanent injury within reasonable medical probability, permanent loss of a bodily function, or death (KRS 304.39-060).

Often, yes. Kentucky uses pure comparative fault. Being partly at fault doesn't automatically end your claim; what you can recover is reduced by your share of the fault (Hilen v. Hays; KRS 411.182).

Call us before you give a recorded statement or sign anything for the other driver's insurance company. You should still report the wreck to your own insurer.

When a wreck causes a death, a known or visible injury, or leaves a vehicle unable to be driven, Kentucky law requires the driver to notify 911 or law enforcement right away if they're able to. Drivers also have to stop, check on anyone hurt, give reasonable help, and give their name, address and registration number if asked (KRS 189.580).

Kentucky State Police crash reports can be requested through the online service linked from the Kentucky State Police website. If a city police department or sheriff's office worked the wreck, ask the officer or the department how to get a copy. If you can't find it, we can help.

Getting checked out is a good idea. Tell the doctor everything that hurts, follow the care they recommend, and keep every record and bill. Those records are a big part of any injury claim.

Truck cases can involve the driver, the trucking company, and sometimes other businesses. Federal rules limit how long most truck drivers can drive, and require carriers to keep drivers' duty-status records for at least six months (49 CFR 395.8; FMCSA). Call early. Our truck wrecks page has more.

Many injury claims settle. When one shouldn't, because the insurance company won't pay what it's worth, we don't hand your case off to another firm. We take it to trial ourselves.

On wreck cases, our Personal Injury Division (Michelle Bailey-Wells, Kimberly Scott, and Hailey Caudill) works alongside Brad Teeters and Brandon May. If a case goes to trial, Brandon May's trial team, with paralegals Heather Ray and Sandy Blair, takes it.

Whatever you have: the crash report or report number, your insurance card and the other driver's information, photos, medical bills and records, the names of your doctors, and the dates you missed work. If you don't have it all, come anyway.

Please don't. We don't take case details through the website, and you shouldn't send confidential information through Facebook or any other website. Call the office at (606) 264-5955 during office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or stop by 228 College Street in Paintsville.

Yes. We serve people throughout Eastern Kentucky, not only Johnson County. Our areas we serve page features Floyd, Pike, Boyd, Lawrence, Martin and Magoffin counties, but that isn't the full list. If you're anywhere in Eastern Kentucky, call us.

For most of it, no. We can handle most of a case by phone, video, and electronic signing, so you don't have to make the trip for every step. Some court dates, like a hearing or a trial, may require you to be there in person. When one does, we'll tell you ahead of time. And you're always welcome to stop by the office on College Street.