How a Criminal Conviction Accelerates Your Personal Injury Claim
There are many areas of the law. They sometimes intersect in personal injury cases. The person causing your accident may also have committed a related crime. If they’re convicted or admit guilt, it can greatly improve your chances of recovery. Satterley & Kelley, PLLC represents accident victims seeking compensation for the harm they suffer.
Satterley & Kelley, PLLC, advocates for our clients injured by others’ negligence, including those causing accidents while committing crimes. We will provide you with the skilled, aggressive legal representation you deserve. Learn more by calling our Louisville office at (855) 385-9532.
What Is Negligence?
Kentucky personal injury lawsuits are part of the state’s civil law. Other than those involving intentional harm, these cases rely on the legal concept of negligence. To establish negligence, you, the plaintiff, the person harmed, must prove four elements:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care because of the relationship between the two of you
- The defendant breached or violated that duty
- The breach caused your injuries both factually and legally
- You suffered harm (or damages) as a result that requires the defendant (or their insurance company) to pay you compensation
Let’s say you’re injured in an accident with a commercial truck. The driver owed other motorists on the road, including you, a duty to drive reasonably safely, to follow the rules of the road, and to operate a reasonably safe vehicle. Crossing the center line and sideswiping you would breach that duty.
The breach caused the collision, and the collision caused your injuries, which you can document. With physical evidence, your testimony, and expert testimony, you may win your negligence case.
What is Negligence Per Se?
Negligence per se is codified under Kentucky’s KRS §446.070, which, although it doesn’t directly say so, states that a person injured by the violation of any state statute may recover from the other party damages they sustained by reason of the violation. This is true even if the party had to pay a fine or forfeit property.
If the truck driver was intoxicated, for example, by alcohol or illegal drugs and is criminally charged, convicted, or admits guilt, your case is greatly simplified. The fact that they are found to have violated Kentucky criminal law means the lawsuit is down to negligence’s fourth element – damages. If you can establish to the court your injuries and how they affected you (physically, emotionally, financially, socially), you should be awarded compensation.
Negligence per se isn’t limited to vehicle accident cases. If you’re injured in any situation and a party’s legal violation played a role in causing the harm, negligence per se may be part of your case.
You could be sickened by food poisoning at a restaurant violating health codes, punched by a fellow bar patron who was served even though he was visibly intoxicated, or suffer severe burns in a fire when the structure you were in breached fire codes.
Usually, if an insured driver is guilty of a related crime and our client has solid, documented damages evidence, the driver’s insurance company will be more open to settle a case.
What are Punitive Damages?
Based on the underlying facts, what the other driver did before the accident, their motivation, and that they were convicted of a crime, you may have a good argument that the court should award you punitive damages. They aren’t meant to compensate you for your losses. They’re to punish the defendant and discourage them, and others, from committing similar acts in the future.
Under Kentucky law, these damages may be imposed if you can prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant acted towards you with at least one of the following:
- Oppression: The defendant’s conduct was specifically intended to subject you to
“cruel and unjust hardship” - Fraud: An “intentional misrepresentation, deceit, or concealment of material fact known to the defendant” with the intent of causing you an injury
- Malice: Either the defendant’s conduct was specifically intended to cause you injury, or it was carried out with a “flagrant indifference” to your rights and with a “subjective awareness” that the conduct will cause death or harm
For example, it could be argued that the gas station robber driving recklessly and at high speed to escape arrest acted with malice towards you. Punitive damages are rarely awarded, but they may be applicable in your case.
Your Case May Not Be So Simple
There are a couple of wrinkles that may prevent you from getting all the compensation you seek.
Kentucky is a pure comparative negligence state. That means the compensation you received is reduced by your share of the blame for it. If you didn’t yield the right of way, were distracted, or fatigued or drowsy when the accident happened, and that was a partial cause of the crash, your portion of the accident’s cause is taken out of your recovery.
Another issue impacting your recovery is that nearly all personal injury claims are paid by the defendant’s liability insurance. If the person lacks insurance and doesn’t have the resources to pay the verdict, you may get very little for your case. This is why it is important to carry uninsured/underinsured coverage (UIM) as part of your auto insurance policy.
Most, if not all, vehicle insurance policies exclude coverage for harm caused while committing a crime. Driving while intoxicated by alcohol is illegal, and the crash happened while the person was drunk, but that’s usually covered. Insurance companies normally see the harm caused by the person’s negligent decision to drink before driving.
If you’re struck by someone who’s being chased by police after robbing a gas station, for example, an insurance company may not be so forgiving and deny the claim. These insurance decisions are based on the facts of the situation, an insurance company’s policies and procedures, and applicable Kentucky insurance law.
Speak To a Satterley & Kelley, PLLC Car Accident Injury Lawyer Today
As you can see, even if the other party is arrested, your case could get complicated. If you’re the victim of an accident caused by a driver guilty of a related crime, Satterley & Kelley, PLLC, can protect your interests and rights to compensation. Schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your case. Call our Louisville office at 502-589-5600 (toll-free at 855-385-9532) or contact us online.