What Kentucky Residents Injured in Indiana Car Wrecks Need To Know

Today's Courier Journal had an article about a horrible car wreck that occurred in Indiana and injured several Kentucky residents and killed one.  According to the article, two people were killed and five others were injured in a multivehicle crash yesterday on Ind. 111 in Floyd County.  The wreck -- initially a collision of a sport utility vehicle and a minivan -- just before 8:30 a.m. shut down the two-lane highway, the main route to the Horseshoe Casino in Harrison County, for about four hours. Authorities said the road was wet from rain and that likely contributed to the series of collisions.  The two drivers who died were identified as Rosalind Bethea, 45, of Louisville, and Morris "Mo" Weldon Jr. , 46, of Scottsville, Ky.  The injured were taken to University Hospital in Louisville, where they were reported in stable condition.  They were identified as Bocchichio Henegar, 28, Bethea's daughter and a passenger in the SUV; Teresa Collard, 46, of Scottsville, Weldon's passenger; Ruth Clephante, 71, of Wilder, Ky., the driver of the minivan; and her passengers, husband David Clephante, 75, and Bob McCoy, 84, also of Wilder.
 
Even though Kentucky and Indiana share a border, that's about all they share when it comes to personal injury law, especially when it comes to car wrecks.  As a lawyer licensed in both Kentucky and Indiana, I often get frustrated with the Indiana laws.
Here are some of the differences between Indiana law and Kentucky law:
Kentucky has pure comparative fault.  This means that if the jury finds the plaintiff partly at fault for the wreck, the plaintiff can still recover for the fault apportioned to the other driver, even if it's on 1%.  Indiana, has modified comparitive fault, meaning if the plaintiff is 50% or more at fault, the plaintiff recovers nothing.

In Kentucky, if the at fault driver doesn't have enought insurance to compensate the plaintiff for her injuries, the plaintiff can make an claim against her own insurance if she has purchased underinsured motorists coverage.  The plaintiff can recover 100% of the at-fault driver's insurance and up to 100% of their own underinsured coverage.  However, in Indiana, a driver's underinsured coverage is reduced by the amount of liability coverage carried by the at-fault driver.  For example , in Kentucky if the at-fault driver has $100,000 in coverage and the injured person has $200,000 in underinsured coverage available, the injured person has up to $300,000 in coverage available.  In Indiana, you would only have $200,000 in coverage available because the underinsured coverage is set off by $100,000 liability coverage available.
In Kentucky, an injured party can recover 100% of the medical bills.  In Indiana you can only recover for the amount of medical bills that were actually paid.

These are just a couple of differences between Indiana and Kentucky auto accident and injury law.  We hope the victims of this wreck hire a lawyer experienced with Indiana law.