Motor vehicle owners in Kentucky who are also parents need to pay attention to whether or not it’s appropriate to let their children drive. Even though a parent who signs the application for a minor to obtain a driver’s license accepts liability for any damage caused by the teen, a…
Some people find the name Varellas difficult to pronounce and spell. The name of our law firm is pronounced Va-Rel-iss (rhymes with trellis) and is sometimes misspelled as Varella, Varela, Varelas, Verallas, Varallas, Varillas, Varilla, Valera or Varallis. The misspellings are understandable since reports periodically appear in the news concerning…
Georgetown, Scott County, Kentucky The Georgetown News-Graphic reports that Anthony Scott Ryman, 30, from Cocoa, Florida, the driver of a car on U.S. 25 in Scott County, Kentucky, lost control of his car on July 14, 2013 and struck a culvert, killing his passenger. Ryman was driving northbound on U.S.…
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2011, 3,331 people were killed and 387,000 were injured in motor vehicle accidents involving a distracted driver. The NHTSA further reports that for drivers under the age of 20 who were involved in fatal accidents, 11% were reported to be…
In Kentucky, as in other states, personal injury lawsuits may seek compensation for another person’s negligence that causes injury. However, these compensatory damages are not meant to punish the negligent person. Punitive damages may be awarded only where a party is found to have acted with “gross negligence.” It is…
Fatalities involving motorcycle wrecks increased by more than 200 percent from 1997 to 2009 even though fatalities involving passenger cars and light trucks decreased by 27% during the same period. Concerned about this trend, Congress funded a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) research project to provide insight into the factors contributing…
A “statute of limitations” is a law which sets a specific deadline for filing legal proceedings. Statutes of limitations can apply to civil cases or criminal cases and are adopted primarily to prevent the filing of claims or criminal charges after evidence has been lost and witnesses have disappeared. Statutes…
As summer arrives and Kentuckians take to the roads for vacations and outdoor activities, drivers need to be careful to avoid car wrecks and other motor vehicle accidents. Holiday weekends are especially dangerous, and the Independence Day and Labor Day holidays were the two deadliest in Kentucky in 2011 according…
Due to the vulnerability of nursing home residents, Kentucky has enacted statutes aimed at protecting them from nursing home abuse and neglect. Kentucky law mandates in KRS 216.515 that all residents shall be free from mental and physical abuse, and they must be free from restraints by physical or chemical…
As lawyers who handle wrongful death as well as other car accident cases, we are keenly aware of the effect that motor vehicle accidents can have on insurance premiums. Every motor vehicle owner is required by Kentucky law to carry insurance for each vehicle owned, or severe penalties will be…