Losing a family member can leave you searching for answers while dealing with financial and practical decisions you never expected to face. If someone caused that death, you want justice. Kentucky law allows families to pursue a wrongful death claim when another person or company causes a death through negligence or other wrongful conduct. It can’t bring them back, but it can help you with the aftermath.
A Kentucky wrongful death lawyer needs to have SUBSTANTIAL experience. These can be complicated cases. Look for a lawyer that has real experience leading these cases. The right lawyer can investigate what happened, identify who may be responsible, develop and implement strategies to uncover the truth, and pursue max compensation under Kentucky law. At McCoy & Sparks, our attorneys represent families in wrongful death and serious injury cases throughout Kentucky. We have real experience in these matters. We understand what needs to be done. We get it done, with compassion for your loss, and focus on your wants.
Our lawyers have represented clients where the evidence told a different story than the initial investigation. In a recent wrongful death case, the surviving family members came to us after the investigating police agency found their loved one to be the “at-fault” party. We hired experienced fatal-accident reconstructionists, filed suit, took depositions, and ultimately obtained a very favorable settlement for the family.
If you lost a loved one because of a fatal crash, medical negligence, or another preventable event, we can investigate what happened and explain the legal options available to your family. Call McCoy & Sparks or contact us online for a free consultation.
How Can a Kentucky Wrongful Death Lawyer Help Your Family?
A wrongful death case requires more than showing that someone died in an accident. You must have evidence connecting the death to another person’s or company’s negligence or wrongful conduct. Kentucky also has specific rules governing who can bring the lawsuit, how long they have to act, and who receives the compensation recovered.
At McCoy & Sparks, we investigate the circumstances surrounding the death and build the evidence needed to pursue the responsible parties. We have represented families in Eastern, Western, and Central Kentucky on Wrongful Death cases. Experience is pivotal on these claims.
The investigation needs to be prompt and thorough. Understanding exactly how the how the injury and death occurred requires diligence. A fatal highway collision may require vehicle data, photographs, witness statements, surveillance footage, and accident reconstruction. A medical malpractice case may require an extensive review of medical records, diagnostic testing, treatment decisions, and testimony from qualified medical experts. A product liability case will likely require multiple experts in the subject matter.
Our attorneys have handled Kentucky wrongful death cases involving disputed fault, complicated insurance issues, and serious questions about what actually caused the fatal event. We can take over the investigation, deal with the insurers and opposing parties, and give your family a clearer understanding of what happened and what comes next.
What Is Considered Wrongful Death in Kentucky?
Kentucky allows a wrongful death action when a person dies because of an injury caused by another person’s negligence or wrongful act.
Depending on the circumstances, a Kentucky wrongful death claim may arise from:
- A driver causing a fatal car or truck accident;
- A doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider providing negligent medical care;
- A dangerous or defective product causing fatal injuries;
- A property owner failing to address a dangerous condition; and
- Another person or company whose negligent or wrongful conduct causes a death.
In a negligence-based case, it is not enough to show that someone made a mistake. The evidence must establish the elements of the underlying negligence claim and connect that negligence to the person’s death.
What Types of Wrongful Death Actions Does McCoy & Sparks Handle?
A wrongful death claim can arise from many of the same circumstances that support a personal injury claim when the injuries prove fatal. The underlying legal requirements vary depending on how the death occurred and who may be responsible.
Fatal Car and Truck Accidents
Serious car accidents, commercial truck crashes, motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian collisions can lead to wrongful death claims when another driver or company is responsible.
These cases may involve speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, unsafe passing, or other dangerous behavior. Commercial vehicle cases can raise additional questions about the trucking company, driver qualifications, vehicle maintenance, and other parties that may share responsibility.
Medical Malpractice
A patient’s death may support a wrongful death claim when a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider fails to meet the applicable standard of care and that negligence causes the death.
Examples may include a failure to diagnose a life-threatening condition, surgical errors, medication mistakes, or unreasonable delays in treatment. A poor medical outcome alone does not establish malpractice. Medical evidence and qualified expert review often play an important role in determining whether negligent care caused or contributed to the death.
Dangerous Property and Defective Products
Fatal injuries can also result from unsafe property conditions or defective products. Depending on the circumstances, a property owner, business, manufacturer, distributor, or another party may bear responsibility.
These claims often require an investigation into who created or controlled the dangerous condition, what the responsible party knew or should have known, or why a product failed.
Workplace Accidents
A fatal workplace accident requires careful evaluation because Kentucky’s workers’ compensation laws can affect the family’s right to bring a lawsuit against the employer.
Some workplace deaths, however, involve third-party negligence. A defective machine, negligent motorist, property owner, subcontractor, or another company may have contributed to the fatal accident. In those situations, the family may have a third-party claim in addition to any benefits available through the workers’ compensation system.
Intentional Acts
Intentional conduct can also give rise to a civil wrongful death action. When a death involves assault, homicide, or another criminal act, the criminal case and wrongful death lawsuit serve different purposes.
A criminal prosecution determines criminal guilt and punishment. A civil wrongful death case seeks to establish civil liability and recover damages available under Kentucky law. A family may therefore have a civil claim even when authorities also pursue criminal charges.
Common Examples of Wrongful Death Claims in Kentucky
- Motor vehicle crashes: A drunk, distracted, speeding, or reckless driver causes a fatal car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, or bicycle accident.
- Medical negligence: A doctor or hospital fails to diagnose a serious condition, makes a surgical or medication error, or unreasonably delays necessary treatment.
- Dangerous property: A property owner or business fails to address a serious hazard that results in a fatal injury.
- Defective products: A dangerous vehicle, machine, medical device, or consumer product causes a preventable death.
- Workplace incidents: A third party, defective equipment, unsafe property, or another responsible party causes a worker’s death.
- Intentional acts: An assault or other intentional wrongful act results in death and creates grounds for a separate civil claim.
Wrongful Death Settlements McCoy & Sparks Has Recovered for Kentucky Families
There is no standard or average wrongful death settlement in Kentucky. A case’s value depends on factors such as the circumstances of the death, the financial losses involved, the available insurance coverage, the ability of the defendant to pay a judgment, the strength of the evidence, and the parties who may be held responsible.
Past results cannot predict what another family may recover, but they can show how different wrongful death cases can unfold. McCoy & Sparks has obtained the following settlements and recoveries for families in Kentucky wrongful death cases.
$5,000,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
In a case involving the death of a young mother in a motor vehicle collision, we secured a $5 million settlement for her husband and two daughters.
$3,000,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
A husband and father was killed in a Central Kentucky accident. Liability was contested, but we proved our clients’ claims and recovered the policy limits for his wife and young daughter.
$1,030,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
Our client’s young wife was killed by a negligent driver on a Kentucky roadway. We filed suit and worked with a fatal accident reconstructionist to prove that she was not at fault, ultimately recovering more than the policy limits.
$3,500,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
This case arose after a company and its driver caused our client’s death. The family’s wrongful death claim was denied based on an assertion that the applicable insurance policy had been canceled.
We obtained a judgment against the driver’s company and then pursued the insurance carrier over its denial of coverage. After we prevailed on the coverage issue before the trial court, we obtained a settlement for the family.
$500,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
In a case involving the death of a young father in Louisville, we addressed multiple factual and legal issues and secured a $500,000 judgment.
$425,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
This case involved multiple parties responsible for our client’s death, including the Commonwealth of Kentucky and another motorist. The claim involved violations of highway maintenance policies as well as our client’s underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. We recovered $425,000.
$350,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
Our client suffered serious injuries in a crash and later died from complications related to those injuries. We recovered all available insurance coverage for her surviving family members.
$300,000 Wrongful Death Settlement
Our client’s surviving family members came to us after the investigating police agency found him to be the “at-fault” party. We hired experienced fatal-accident reconstructionists, filed suit, and ultimately settled the case within the available insurance limits.
Does the Personal Representative File a Wrongful Death Claim in Kentucky?
The personal representative of the person who died generally brings the wrongful death lawsuit. This is an important distinction because the family members who ultimately receive compensation are not necessarily the people who file the case.
The personal representative is typically an executor named in a will or an administrator appointed to handle the estate. If no personal representative has been appointed, opening the estate and obtaining that appointment may be an important early step in pursuing a wrongful death claim.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Wrongful Death Claim in Kentucky?
Kentucky wrongful death deadlines can be more complicated than simply counting from the date of death. KRS § 413.140 provides a one-year limitations period, while KRS § 413.180 affects how that deadline applies when the personal representative of the estate is appointed.
Generally:
- If the personal representative is appointed within one year of the death. The representative generally has one year from the date of appointment to file the wrongful death action.
- If no personal representative is appointed during that first year. The law generally treats the representative as having qualified on the first anniversary of the death for limitations purposes. This can effectively create an outside period of two years from the date of death in many wrongful death cases.
The exact deadline can depend on the facts, the timing of the representative’s appointment, and the type of underlying claim. Families should not assume they automatically have two years to act. To determine the limitations period that applies to your case, seek as free consultation as soon as possible.
Waiting can create practical problems even before the legal deadline expires. Video may be erased, vehicles may be repaired or destroyed, witnesses can become harder to locate, and other evidence may disappear. Contacting a Kentucky wrongful death attorney early gives the attorney time to determine the applicable deadline and preserve evidence that may be important to the case.
What Compensation Is Available in a Kentucky Wrongful Death Claim?
Kentucky wrongful death damages depend on the circumstances of the death and the losses the law allows the estate and surviving family members to pursue. Available compensation may also include separate wrongful death, survival, and consortium claims.
Depending on the case, recoverable damages may include:
- Loss of earning power. A wrongful death claim may account for the income and earning capacity the deceased person would reasonably have been expected to have over their lifetime.
- Funeral expenses. Kentucky law provides for funeral expenses to be paid from the wrongful death recovery before the remaining proceeds are distributed.
- Loss of consortium. The law also recognizes certain separate consortium claims for qualifying family members. The availability of these damages depends on the relationship to the deceased and other legal requirements. The claims are technically independent of the wrongful death claim, and can only be asserted by those that “own” the claim.
- Punitive damages. Kentucky may allow for punitive damages in limited scenarios.The availability of these can substantially change the value of the case.
The value of these losses is highly specific to the person and family involved. Age, employment history, earnings, and the circumstances surrounding the death can all become important. Separate claims, such as a surviving spouse’s loss-of-consortium claim, may involve different considerations.
Who Receives the Money from a Kentucky Wrongful Death Claim?
The personal representative does not decide how to divide the recovery. Kentucky law determines who receives it based on which family members survive the person who died.
Before distributing the remaining proceeds, KRS § 411.130 provides for the payment of funeral expenses, costs of administration, and costs of recovering the money, including attorney fees.
Although the exact distribution can be complicated and depends upon a number of factors, the remaining recovery generally passes as follows:
- Spouse but no children. The surviving spouse receives the recovery.
- Spouse and children. One-half goes to the surviving spouse, and one-half goes to the children.
- Children but no spouse. The children receive the recovery.
- No spouse or children. The recovery goes to the surviving parent or parents.
- No spouse, children, or surviving parents. The recovery becomes part of the estate. After the estate’s debts are paid, the remaining amount passes according to Kentucky’s laws of descent and distribution.
These rules apply to the wrongful death recovery itself. A case may also involve survival claims, consortium claims, liens, or other issues that affect how the overall recovery is handled.
What About Medical Bills and the Deceased Person’s Pain and Suffering?
Medical expenses and the deceased person’s conscious pain and suffering require a different analysis.
Certain personal injury claims can survive the injured person’s death. If someone suffered injuries and remained alive for a period before dying, the personal representative may be able to pursue a survival claim for losses the deceased person experienced between the injury and death.
For example, a survival claim may include medical expenses associated with the injury and compensation for conscious pain and suffering when the evidence supports those damages.
The wrongful death and survival claims may arise from the same event and proceed together, but they are not interchangeable. A wrongful death lawyer can determine which claims and categories of damages apply based on how the injury and death occurred.
What Factors Affect a Kentucky Wrongful Death Settlement?
Some of the most important factors include:
- The deceased person’s earning power. Age, occupation, earnings history, education, career trajectory, and expected working years can affect the calculation of lost earning capacity.
- The circumstances of the death. How the death occurred can affect liability, the evidence needed to prove the case, and the damages available.
- The strength of the liability evidence. Witness testimony, medical records, photographs, video, electronic data, expert analysis, and other evidence can influence how strongly the family can establish responsibility.
- Comparative fault. Kentucky follows a pure comparative fault system. If evidence shows that the deceased person shared responsibility for the incident, that percentage of fault can reduce the damages recovered.
- Available insurance and other sources of recovery. Policy limits can have a major practical effect on a settlement. Cases involving businesses, commercial vehicles, multiple defendants, or additional insurance coverage may involve more than one potential source of recovery.
- The family relationships involved. Separate consortium claims may be available to qualifying family members and can affect the overall recovery arising from a death.
- The conduct of the responsible party. If the evidence supports a finding of willful conduct or gross negligence, punitive damages may also become an issue.
A settlement also reflects the evidence the parties can actually prove. For example, calculating lost earning power may require employment records, tax information, and an economist’s analysis. A disputed fatal collision may require accident reconstruction or electronic vehicle data to establish how the crash occurred.
For these reasons, two wrongful death cases that appear similar at first can produce very different results. The more useful question is not what the average Kentucky wrongful death case settles for, but what the evidence, damages, available coverage, and applicable law support in a particular case.
How Do You Prove a Kentucky Wrongful Death Claim?
To recover compensation in a negligence-based wrongful death case, the personal representative must prove the underlying claim that caused the death. Generally, this means establishing that the responsible party owed the deceased person a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused the injuries that resulted in the person’s death. The claim must also establish the resulting damages.
How you prove those elements depends heavily on what happened.
Evidence in a Kentucky wrongful death case may include:
- Police reports, photographs, and video footage;
- Medical records and diagnostic test results;
- Vehicle data and electronic records;
- Witness statements;
- Employment and income records;
- Business, maintenance, or safety records; and
- Testimony from accident reconstructionists, physicians, economists, and other experts.
Evidence will vary by case. The strength of the evidence can significantly affect how much the other party’s insurance company is willing to offer in settlement negotiations.
Why Choose McCoy & Sparks for a Kentucky Wrongful Death Case?
Wrongful death cases can involve disputed fault, complicated insurance coverage, expert testimony, and significant financial losses. McCoy & Sparks has experience handling these issues for families throughout Kentucky, including cases with contested liability or disputed insurance coverage. We’ve handled cases throughout Kentucky, from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky to the farmlands of West Kentucky.
Our attorneys have recovered substantial compensation in Kentucky wrongful death cases involving fatal motor vehicle accidents, multiple responsible parties, disputed fault, and insurance coverage issues.
We handle wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay an attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. From our Bardstown office, we represent families in Central Kentucky and throughout the state.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kentucky Wrongful Death Claims
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Kentucky?
Under KRS 411.130, the personal representative of the deceased person generally files the wrongful death lawsuit. The personal representative may be an executor named in a will or an administrator appointed to handle the estate.
The person who files the lawsuit is not necessarily the person who receives the recovery. Kentucky law determines how wrongful death proceeds are distributed among a surviving spouse, children, parents, or the estate, depending on the family members who survive the deceased.
How Long Do You Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Kentucky?
Kentucky wrongful death claims are generally subject to a one-year statute of limitations under KRS 413.140, but KRS 413.180 can affect the deadline based on when the estate’s personal representative is appointed. In some circumstances, these statutes can effectively provide up to two years from the date of death. This is a question best discussed specific to the facts of the case.
Is a Wrongful Death Claim the Same as a Survival Claim?
No. A wrongful death claim and a survival claim can arise from the same incident, but they address different losses. If the person survived for a period after the initial injury, the estate may have a survival claim for certain losses incurred before death. These can include conscious pain and suffering when the evidence supports it. Kentucky law allows wrongful death and survival claims arising from the same injury to proceed together, but they remain distinct legal claims.
How Is a Wrongful Death Settlement Calculated in Kentucky?
Kentucky has no formula or standard settlement amount for a wrongful death case. The value depends on factors such as the deceased person’s earning power, the circumstances of the death, the available insurance coverage, the strength of the evidence, and any comparative fault. The damages and claims available to qualifying family members, including certain consortium claims, can also affect the overall recovery.
Can You Sue a Hospital for Wrongful Death in Kentucky?
A hospital may be held liable for a patient’s wrongful death when medical negligence attributable to the hospital caused the death. Depending on the circumstances, a case could involve negligent care by hospital employees, medication errors, failures to respond appropriately to a patient’s condition, or other departures from the applicable standard of care.
What Damages Can Be Recovered in a Kentucky Wrongful Death Case?
Depending on the circumstances, a Kentucky wrongful death case may include damages for lost earning power, funeral expenses, qualifying consortium claims, and, in limited situations, punitive damages.
A related survival claim may allow the estate to recover certain losses the deceased person experienced between the injury and death, including medical expenses and conscious pain and suffering when supported by the evidence. Wrongful death and survival claims can arise from the same event, but they compensate for different losses.
Talk to a Kentucky Wrongful Death Lawyer at McCoy & Sparks
After a preventable death, your family may have questions about what happened, who is responsible, and what Kentucky law allows you to do next. McCoy & Sparks can review the circumstances, explain your legal options, and help you determine the next steps.
Our Kentucky wrongful death lawyers represent families in Bardstown, Central Kentucky, and throughout the state. We have decades of combined experience and handle wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis. You do not pay an attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
If you believe someone else’s negligence or wrongful conduct caused your loved one’s death, contact McCoy & Sparks today for a free consultation.
Legal References Used to Inform This Page
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