If you are injured in a School Bus or City Bus in Kentucky, will you receive Kentucky No-Fault Benefits and why does it matter?
If you are injured in an accident while occupying a city bus or a school bus, you are not guaranteed to receive Kentucky no-fault benefits. Kentucky law requires every owner of an automobile to purchase Kentucky no-fault insurance. However, Kentucky law does not require school buses or city buses to purchase Kentucky No-Fault insurance for its riders. KRS 403.39-080 says that city buses and school buses may purchase Kentucky no-fault benefits, but it is not required. Of course, with no requirement of providing the benefits, it is normally not provided.
KENTUCKY NO-FAULT BENEFITS ARE IMPORTANT.
What are Kentucky no-fault benefits and why are they so important? Kentucky no-fault benefits provide $10,000.00 of insurance to pay for medical expenses, lost wages and other expenses. Many people injured in a bus accident are unable to work due to their injuries and they need the lost wage benefit provided by no-fault insurance. Most people will have health insurance to pay for their medical expenses, but they will have no source of replacing the wages lost due to time off work as a result of their injuries. Although Kentucky no-fault does not provide full replacement of wages ($200 per week limit unless you buy extra coverage), it can provide $800.00 a month, which can allow people to survive financially while they recover from their injuries.
Additionally, no-fault insurance pays for medical expenses and many people need this to help pay for their medical expenses. There are some medical providers, like many chiropractors, that will not accept health insurance because it pays only a portion of their bills. The medical expense benefit can also be used to pay health insurance liens, which increases the net settlement for personal injury claims.
A final important reason the bus accident victim needs no-fault insurance is because it extends the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim in Kentucky. If the bus accident victim has access to no-fault benefits, then his or her statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the last no-fault payment. Otherwise, it is one-year. This can be critical if the injured party has not recovered from their injuries quickly or they delay in hiring a lawyer.
If you own a car, at the time you are in an accident in a city bus or school bus, then you can use that no-fault coverage to provide the insurance benefits you will need even though you were not in your automobile at the time of the accident. This will help students riding on a school bus because their parents likely own a car and have insurance on it. However, most people riding on a city bus do not own a vehicle and are not living with someone who does and, therefore, they will not have any no-fault benefits available to them in the event of an accident.
Contact Kentucky Bus Accident Lawyer
A bus accident will require the services of an experienced Kentucky bus accident attorney to investigate the cause of the accident and maximize all benefits available to the victims. Matthew Troutman, a Kentucky bus accident lawyer, of the Troutman Law Office has been handling bus accident claims, since 1986 and has the experience and talent to obtain the best result for the victims in a bus accident. It is very likely that the at-fault driver will not have enough insurance to fully compensate the victims in a bus accident, and, therefore, it will be important for there to be underinsured motorist benefits available.
If you need legal assistance due to any type of motor vehicle accident, contact Kentucky bus accident attorney Matthew Troutman directly at 859-696-0001 or 502-648-9507 and he will meet with you in the hospital, your home or wherever is convenient for you. He will give you direct access through his cell phone and guide you through the difficult process necessary to obtain the best result possible for you in your car accident claim. To learn more about Lexington car accident attorney Matthew Troutman and the Troutman Law Office, click here.