KENTUCKY MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS AT WORK

Work injuries from a motor vehicle accident in Kentucky can involve several different types of benefits and insurance policies.

In Kentucky, workers compensation insurance is considered the primary coverage for personal injuries from a work related car accident. This means the workers’ compensation insurance carrier pays medical expenses and lost wages before any other insurance pays. Other insurance policies available can include the workers’ own health insurance, the policy of the driver that may have caused the accident, no-fault benefits from the workers’ own vehicle’ s insurance, and short term disability benefits.

Even though workers compensation is primary, other insurance policies can become involved quickly. For instance, if the worker’s average weekly wage is high, lost wages paid by workers compensation can be supplemented by no fault benefits from the injured workers’ own vehicle. Also, if the workers compensation insurance carrier disputes medical treatment, no fault benefits or health insurance may be used for payment of medical treatment.

If another driver caused the accident, damages not paid by workers compensation, such as pain and suffering, can be recovered from the other driver. If the other driver did not have car insurance, the workers’ own uninsured motorist coverage may pay the damages instead. If the other driver who caused the accident has insurance, but not enough to pay all the damages, the workers underinsured motorist coverage may apply.

Short term disability and long term disability policies may also pay money. In addition, Social Security and Medicare can pay benefits in some circumstances. A thorough review of all available policies should be made. You may have to read the entire policy to see if it applies, especially short term disability policies. The more serious the injuries, the more thorough the review needed.

If benefits are paid by an insurance carrier under any policy, that carrier will have a subrogation claim to be reimbursed for those payments. That subrogation claim will need to be resolved before the claim is closed. Subrogation claims can be very complicated and depend a lot on the policy language of the insurance policy.

So, if you have a work related Kentucky car accident, you might have several different insurance policies that can pay benefits. You need to investigate them all.