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Tort Reform in Kentucky
In Kentucky, personal injury laws have changed over the years.  These changes belong to a greater ‘tort reform’ movement throughout the United States.  As the so-called compensation culture has become a fact of life for many Americans, a need has emerged for stricter guidelines about who can be held responsible for damages and how compensation should be administered to victims. Since the 1980s, Kentucky has reformed several key points in personal injury litigation in Louisville.

Joint and Several Liability
In 1996, Kentucky prohibited the application of joint and several liabilities in personal injury cases in favor of the concept of modified joint and several liabilities.  Modified joint and several liability applies to cases in which more than one person is found liable for damages and requires that each defendant be held liable in proportion to the fault attributed.

This is a major departure from the former system of joint and several liabilities, in which a victim was able to recover damages from all of the defendants or just one defendant, depending on the defendants’ ability to pay the compensation.  While the former concept of joint and several liability, as practiced in Kentucky, sought to ensure that victims receive full compensation, it placed an unreasonable burden on the liable parties.

Collateral Source Payments
In the past, Kentucky juries were not informed about victims receiving payments for their damages from other sources.  It was possible for victims to receive compensation from their insurance company for a medical malpractice case, and then receive redundant compensation from a court decision.  Now, Kentucky has reformed the system so that juries must be advised of collateral source payments.

Punitive Damages
The state of Kentucky requires that plaintiffs show “clear and convincing” evidence of oppression, fraud, or malice in order to collect punitive damages.  Punitive damages assert that the pain and suffering was not a result of negligence, but of some form of malicious or deceptive behavior.

Appeal Bond Reform
In Kentucky, the limit to the amount a defendant can be required to pay to appeal a ruling is $100 million.  In the past, multi-million dollar cases sometimes required that defendants pay more than 100% of the verdict in order to appeal.

If you are unsure about how the laws apply in your state, do not hesitate to contact an experienced personal injury attorney in louisville.

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John H. Ruby & Associates
2950 Breckenridge Lane Suite 13
Louisville, KY Jefferson Co. 40220-1462