Personal Injury Protection & The Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act

When you’re injured in a Kentucky car wreck, the person who causes your accident may not initially be responsible for your medical bills. Kentucky’s Motor Vehicle Reparations Act requires that you submit your medical bills and related expenses to the auto insurance carrier for the vehicle in which you’re a passenger. That coverage becomes the primary resource for reimbursement of your economic losses. You may ultimately have a legal right to recover damages from a responsible party, but that depends on the nature and extent of your injuries.  

What is the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act?

When KMVR went into effect in 1975, it eliminated some of the inequities in the state’s fault-based litigation and liability system. One key goal of the statute is to reduce the number of lawsuits and liability claims. It accomplishes this by limiting your right to sue. You can’t make a liability claim or file a lawsuit unless your injuries meet certain guidelines outlined by the statute. 

When you’re injured in a Kentucky accident, you may recover some economic damages without proving fault. When you submit your bills and wage loss claims, your insurance carrier pays them under your Personal Injury Protection(PIP) coverage. The available benefits encourage injured victims to seek medically necessary treatment. The law requires insurance companies to make prompt payments for medical bills and other economic damages. 

You may be entitled to PIP benefits even if you didn’t sustain the injuries in an auto accident. As the statute provides benefits for your “…use of a motor vehicle…” you may receive payments if you’re injured while entering, alighting from or using your vehicle in other ways. Exclusions apply to certain business incidents and for loading and unloading incidents not related to a vehicle’s use.

Coverage usually applies for residents of your home but you may exclude certain residents from your PIP coverage if you and your insurance company agree to do so. You may eliminate tort limitations imposed by KMVR by filing a rejection form with the Kentucky Department of Insurance.

How Does Personal Injury Protection Coverage Work?

Kentucky law requires that vehicle owners provide $10,000 in “basic reparation benefits.” These are more commonly known as Personal Injury Protection benefits or PIP. The coverage reimburses economic losses that occur due to the “…operation, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle…” It’s considered a no-fault coverage because it pays you regardless of who caused the accident. You may receive reimbursement for these classes of economic losses.

• Medical expense: Reasonably necessary medical products and services, non-medical religious healing methods, $1,000 per person for funeral and related expenses, and services by any Kentucky-licensed “healing arts” professional.
• Work loss: 85% of lost income for work the injured person would “…probably have performed.” A $200 per week benefit cap also applies.
• Replacement services: Expenses incurred to perform services an injured person would have performed for their family.
• Survivor’s economic loss: Economic losses incurred by a family due to an injured person’s death.
• Survivor’s replacement services loss: Expenses to replace services a decedent would have provided.

When can you make a claim against the responsible driver?

When another driver injures you, your right to make a liability claim or file a lawsuit depends on your injuries. You may pursue your legal right to recover damages if your injuries are serious enough to reach what is often referred to as a tort threshold.

• “Medical bills exceed one thousand dollars $1,000., or the injury consists of…  
• A permanent disfigurement
• A fracture to a bone
• A compound, comminuted, displaced or compressed fracture
• Loss of a body member
• A permanent injury
• Permanent loss of bodily function or 
• Death”

If you receive free medical treatment, you may still prove your right to file a tort claim. You must demonstrate that the medical services you received have a value of at least $1,000.

Does Kentucky PIP Apply if I’m From Another State?

The Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act applies to anyone who “…registers, operates, maintains, or uses a motor vehicle…” on Kentucky roadways. If you’re from Illinois, Ohio, or any other state, you are considered to have accepted the state’s laws. By merely driving in Kentucky, you have access to the benefits for your accident-related injuries, even if you’re at fault.

If you’re a Kentucky resident, your PIP benefits also apply if you’re injured in an accident anywhere in the United States, its territories, or Canada.

The Injury Law Firm

At Saladino & Schaaf, we have years of experience representing Kentuckians in personal injury lawsuits. If another driver injured you in an accident, you need to know more about no-fault coverage and how it affects your case. Complete our online contact form or call us at (270) 444-0406 to schedule a free consultation today. You may be entitled to recover additional damages for your injuries but don’t wait as time limits apply.