Personal Injury FAQs

In Kentucky, you have to have more than $1,000.00 in medical bills before you can file a personal injury claim related to a car wreck. Generally, the amount you get for a personal injury case is determined by the amount of medical treatment necessary to treat you. One doctor’s visit isn’t going to make a large personal injury claim, but multiple visits that cause you to miss time from work certainly will. If you have to have surgery or have to be hospitalized, that almost certainly merits a call to a reputable personal injury attorney. If you have unpaid medical bills or lost time from work, remember that insurance is there for a reason. Let Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC take a look at your case and we will let you know if it is a good idea to move forward.

A good personal injury attorney knows what evidence he or she needs to gather and authenticate to prove to the insurance company that you deserve compensation for your injury. The attorney should also know all the kinds of compensation that are available to you, so you don’t leave a category out and get shortchanged as a result. An attorney knows the law and can answer your questions. And a good personal injury attorney is a threat to the insurance company in a way that non-attorneys can never be. We represent a watchful eye for illegal or unethical insurance practices and a strong arm to force insurance companies to pay an honest amount for your claim. Anyone can mail a police report to the insurance adjuster, but only a good attorney can force the insurance company to do what’s right.

No, case expenses are separate, but usually minimal. All personal injury attorneys charge fees that are separate from expenses. We pay the expenses up front so you don’t have to, but they will be taken out of the settlement.

In Ohio, this is allowed. In Kentucky, an attorney is not allowed to contact you in any way within the first thirty days after a car accident. After thirty days, an attorney may contact you in writing, but not by phone or in person. As with anytime you hire an attorney, be careful of accidentally hiring a law firm that provides little in the way of expertise or customer service, but instead processes a large number of cases as if they were widgets in a machine. Be sure to research your choice carefully first, using websites such as Avvo or Justia. At Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC, we think our clients deserve more than to be processed. We won’t contact you unless you’ve asked us to do so through our website or another person.

Usually the check will come to our office within thirty days of settlement. After the check comes in and is signed, it has to pass through an escrow account. It can take three or four days for the check to clear the escrow account. At that point, you get your money.

An amateur handling their own personal injury claim is like an amateur working on their own car or fixing their own computer. You might get the job done, but it’s going to be a lot harder and take a lot longer than it would if you have a professional take care of it for you. Like all professionals, attorneys charge fees for their work. Generally, having an attorney on your personal injury claim raises the settlement value of the claim by far more than what the attorney takes as a fee. The insurance industry has concluded that those who have hired attorneys settle for an average of fifty percent higher than injured people without an attorney.

At Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC, you never have to pay up front for a personal injury case. We know that many injured people have interruptions in employment and higher medical costs than normal, so we always take a contingency fee rather than setting an hourly rate. This kind of fee allows you to hire a great lawyer without having to be rich to afford it. You don’t have to pay our fees unless we win a verdict or settlement for you. However, if you win your case, attorney’s fees, all case expenses – including court costs – will be the responsibility of the client.

Generally, no. Under section 104 of the Internal Revenue Code, a taxpayer’s gross income does not include any damages that are received on account of personal physical injuries or sickness. It does not matter whether the damages have been obtained by a court order or through a negotiated settlement. It also does not matter whether the damages are paid in a lump sum or in accordance with a structured settlement that provides for periodic payments (although in a structured settlement, interest on the settlement will also not be taxed, giving structured settlements an extra benefit). Therefore, any monetary payments to a plaintiff for the plaintiff's physical injuries are not taxable to the plaintiff. However, you should be sure to mention these proceeds to your accountant at the end of the year in which you receive them. The accountant may have additional information that affects your tax liability.