Paris Personal Injury Lawyer

Sitting 20 miles north of Lexington, the sprawling town of Paris, KY, is large enough to have all the amenities and small enough to feel like home. When you need a Paris personal injury attorney, you can find one at the Maze Law Offices. Whatever the nature of your claim, we’re here to help you get the compensation you deserve.

It is always advisable to get in touch with a dedicated and experienced injury attorney to ensure you get the maximum settlement for your accident. Personal injury lawyers can help you navigate the complex legal system and ensure that you get the compensation you deserve.

Maze Law Offices offers same-day confidential appointments for our clients. If you can’t meet us during regular office hours, we can visit you at your home, in the hospital, or wherever is most convenient. Call Maze Law Offices when you need a Paris personal injury attorney for a free consultation about your case.

If you need a dedicated legal representative, we can help. Maze Law Offices is here to help you find hope and seek justice after your accident.

WHY YOU NEED MAZE LAW OFFICES

If you or a loved one have been injured due to another person’s carelessness or negligence, you deserve compensation. Personal injury claims range from minor slips on wet floors to catastrophic multi-car collisions on the highway. These are some of the most common cases where you need an attorney to help you:

• Vehicle accidents. Vehicle accidents are the number-one type of accident people think of when they call a personal injury lawyer, and for good reason. Accidents happen daily with millions of cars, trucks, and other vehicles on Kentucky highways.
  • Car accidents. From fender-benders at the grocery store to speeders barreling through red lights, car accidents cause serious injuries and major damage. Distracted driving and drunk driving make accidents even worse.
  • Motorcycle accidents. Motorcycles are popular and fuel-efficient modes of transport. They’re also small and hard to see on the road. Electric scooters are useful in the city, but riders may not obey traffic laws. These types of accidents always result in serious injuries or fatalities.
  • Truck accidents. The size difference between cars and trucks means that cars always lose when they collide. In addition, more parties are involved than the driver. The trucking company, the shippers, and sometimes other companies may all be part of a legal claim if you are hit by a commercial truck.
  • ATV and off-road vehicles. ATVs are popular recreation vehicles, but they require caution and proper safety equipment. Even if you are a safe rider, mechanical failure or another person’s carelessness can lead to injury.
• Workplace accidents. Falls, equipment injuries, and other workplace hazards are frequently the causes of injury. Sometimes worker’s compensation insurance will cover your bills, but sometimes you may need to bring in a third party or even sue your employer. We will advise you on the right course of action after a workplace accident.
• Premises Liability. Property owners and landlords have a duty to keep common areas of buildings safe for visitors. They may be liable for poor maintenance that results in injury to tenants or customers in their buildings.
• Dog bites. Owners who allow their dogs to roam, or know their pets tend to bite, are responsible for any injury their animals inflict. If another person’s dog bites you, you may have a case against them for your injuries and pain and suffering.

You have the right to just and fair compensation for your injuries. At Maze Law Offices, we will help you file your insurance claim and represent your interests with the insurance companies and other parties.

FINDING A PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY

When it’s time to look for a personal injury attorney, you want the representation you can find that’s right for you. These tips will help you decide which attorney has what you need to help you win your case.

• Communication is key. At Maze Law Offices, your attorney will always be available when you call. No matter what questions you have, your legal team will make sure you know what is happening in your case.
• Regular updates. Personal injury cases take time. We will keep you up to date throughout the process. Even if nothing is going on, someone will let you know if your attorney is waiting to hear from the other side or if we haven’t gotten all the information we need.
• You make the decisions. At Maze Law Offices, we want you to have the outcome you desire. We will explain the possible outcomes of your case, but the final say is yours. We will never pressure you to accept a settlement or go to trial.
• Our clients can tell you: We will work tirelessly on your case. If you need to speak to us late at night or want an explanation of what we’re doing, our team will always give you our best efforts.

WHY SEEK PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS IN PARIS, KY?

There are so many emotions involved after a car wreck. The last thing you want to have on your mind is money and insurance worries. Road accidents can be devastating. They can leave the victim of a car accident not only injured but also unable to work. In the aftermath of a vehicular incident, there is often a domino effect. The victim may not be able to work, and they may face exorbitant hospital bills. Insurance companies also make getting compensation difficult. All of this can leave
many car accident victims in a bind.

Sometimes, the only light at the end of the tunnel after an accident is receiving a settlement. Alleviating money worries can ensure that the accident doesn’t damage your life more than it already has.

Winning a settlement will not buy back the losses you have suffered, but it can help. You can claim back something to compensate if you cannot work or pay bills because of your accident. If you, a family member, or someone you know has sustained an injury in a car or motorcycle accident in Paris or Morehead, call us. You may qualify to file a personal injury claim and receive compensation for damages and personal losses.

Damages You Can Recover After Your Accident a Car Accident in Paris, KY When filing a personal injury claim, you can pursue financial compensation for various damages. You can file a claim to cover the medical fees from the time of the accident, including the ambulance and emergency room bills. You can also seek compensation for medical bills in the months that follow. With payment, you may recuperate some of the financial losses of paying for therapy, rehabilitation, and treatment to address general chronic pain and suffering.

Besides medical bills, you can claim insurance in property loss and damages. You also can file to cover wages lost due to being unable to work, not being able to work for the foreseeable future, or having to leave your work permanently because of your injuries. Also, wrongful death entitles a spouse or family member to seek financial compensation. We understand that no amount of money can ever bring a person back, but it can be a mode of pursuing justice. You shouldn’t have to worry financially after the death of a loved one, and compensation can mitigate some of that stress. Punitive Damages may also be sought for a wrongful death accident. These types of claims are added when it is discovered that the at fault driver or trucking company behaved in an extreme or grossly negligent manner.

WHAT EVIDENCE DO YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE?

If you have been in an accident and seek to file a claim, you will need to declare some items before seeking compensation. The first item you will need is evidence of the crash. It will help your attorney build a convincing case, which will give you a stronger chance of winning your case. This can be in the form of a police report or collision report. You will also have to prove that the other person was at least somewhat at fault in causing the wreck. This can be seen in the written narrative of the police report that indicates, for example, that the other driver ran you off the road or rear-ended you at a stop light. Finally, you will need records of medical bills, lost wages, and other financial damages associated with the accident.

Providing evidence is a tricky and time-consuming process. But that situation is where Maze Law Offices steps in to help. Our attorneys can collect the evidence you need to present a winning case.

WE ONLY GET PAID IF YOU GET PAID

The primary contingency fee definition is a fee arrangement that allows you to avoid out-of-pocket costs entirely. It is a percentage of the settlement that you receive if you win your case. That’s right; your lawyer only gets paid if you win. During the stressful period after suffering an injury, the last thing you should have to worry about how much an injury lawyer costs. Our law practice completely avoids any upfront costs for you. This also gives us an incentive to ensure we devote full effort to your case and get the settlement that you deserve.

PARIS PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS

With the 2020 Census indicating a population of 9,846, Paris would not be considered a large city, but compared to many other towns in Kentucky, it is by no means small. The city is the county seat for Bourbon County.  Located less than 20 miles northeast of Lexington, it is both deep in the heart of the Bluegrass, bourbon, and horse breeding region of Kentucky and close to the big city lights of the state’s second-largest city. Located on the banks of the Stoner Fork of the Licking River, Paris was founded in 1789 and named Hopewell, after founder Joseph Houston’s hometown of Hopewell, New Jersey.  In 1790, the town was renamed Paris in honor of the assistance given by the French to the American colonies during the American Revolution.

These days, the city is known for small-batch bourbon, arts and crafts, a great drive-in movie theater, and a vibrant downtown shopping district. While the city is not known for a great number of accidents causing personal injuries, Paris is no less susceptible to such injuries than anyplace else. Accidents and personal injuries happen everywhere, and if they happen to you in Bourbon County, you should seek a free consultation with Paris injury lawyers at Maze Law Offices to learn about your options for recovering damages.

The following are some of the more common personal injury accidents that occur in Paris, Kentucky:

CAR CRASHES

Paris might not be small as Kentucky cities go, but it certainly is not a big city. Traffic accidents happen in cities large and small, in rural areas and urban — wherever there are cars on the road. Paris residents know well that car crashes happen all the time. Such accidents all too often result in wrongful death and serious injuries. The federal government cites human error as the primary cause of most traffic accidents, including drivers being distracted, driver inattention, and not paying enough attention to driving conditions, such as weather and traffic. Other sources list top accident causes, including:

• Drunken driving
• Being distracted while driving
• Speeding
• Driving while tired
• Driving through red lights

In alignment with the nationwide trend focusing on cell phone use behind the wheel as the top form of distracted driving, Kentucky law does not allow texting while driving, regardless of the driver’s age. At the same time, drivers who are not yet 18 are banned from any kind of cell phone use while they are driving. Despite the legislative focus on the activity, cell phone use is hardly the only reason for distracted driving. There are many activities that lead to distracted driving, some of which have been with us since the first cars took to the roads, some of more recent vintage. These include any activity that takes a driver’s attention off the road. Among the top factors in distracted driving are eating, drinking, conversations with passengers, adjusting stations or volume on the car’s radio, changing settings on the car’s sound system, adjusting climate control settings, or entering information into a navigation system.

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS

About 80% of the time, collisions between a motorcycle and a second vehicle end with the motorcyclist dead or injured. By contrast, occupants of any other vehicles in such accidents often suffer minor injuries or no injuries at all. In 2018, nearly 5,000 motorcyclists were killed in traffic accidents, while 89,000 riders were injured. Each year, motorcyclists face odds that make them 28 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than are people in passenger vehicles.

Published in the early 1980s, The Hurt Report still is widely viewed as the authoritative examination of motorcycle accidents. The Hurt Report followed a multi-year study of motorcycle accidents, and its findings that about three-fourths of motorcycle accidents involved a collision with another vehicle, in most cases a passenger vehicle, still stand today and are supported by current federal statistics. Further, many other findings of the report remain supported by modern accident statistics, including the finding that the top cause of fatal two-vehicle motorcycle accidents is collisions at intersections where a  passenger vehicle turns left into the path of a motorcycle travelling straight. A recent industry media site report on the 10 leading causes of motorcycle accidents likewise closely mirrors both the report and current federal statistics. That media report’s list of top causes included:

• A motorcyclist running into a vehicle turning left into the motorcycle’s path at an intersection
• A motorcycle being hit by a vehicle making a lane change
• A motorcyclist being hit from the rear
• A motorcyclist striking a vehicle door opened into the motorcycle’s path by someone in a parked vehicle

DOG BITE INJURIES

America is a nation of pet-lovers, but they seem to love dogs most of all. That explains why more than two out of three American households have at least one dog, including nearly half of all Kentucky households. Nationwide, people have more than 78 million pet dogs. Most of those dogs never bite anybody, but “most” is nowhere near “none” in this case. Roughly 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs nationwide every year. About 800,000 of those people require professional medical attention annually. Sadly, 59 people died from dog bites across the country in 2019, with two of those deaths happening in Kentucky. Further, even non-fatal dog bites can be quite serious, as well as expensive. In 2019, insurance claims for dog bite injuries in the U.S. topped $797 million, hitting an average of more than $44,000 per claim.

TRUCK ACCIDENTS

When large commercial trucks collide with passenger vehicles, the results tend to be pretty one-sided. There were 531,000 large commercial trucks, including tractor-trailers, involved in traffic accidents in the U.S. in 2018. Those accidents led to nearly 5,000 deaths and 151,000 people injured. For the accidents that involved a passenger vehicle, almost three out of four of the people killed or injured were occupants of the passenger vehicles involved. If you think about the difference in size between 18-wheelers and passenger vehicles, the disparity makes sense. An 18-wheeler can legally weigh up to 80,000 pounds. Passenger vehicles, on the other hand, weigh an average of a little more than 4,000 pounds, while the smallest weigh less than 2,500 pounds. The physics of such a collision tend to favor the 18-wheelers in such collisions, with the occupants of passenger cars likely to suffer more as a result.

THERE ARE MANY OTHER CAUSES OF PERSONAL INJURIES IN PARIS

These types of accidents cause a large percentage of personal injuries, but there are many other causes of personal injuries, as well. These include:

• Bicycle accidents: There are increasing numbers of people on bicycles using the roadways these days. Whether commuting, exercising, or out for a little recreation, there are more bicyclists on the roads than ever before. Surprisingly, traffic deaths of bicyclists are declining. While there were 871 traffic fatalities among bicyclists in 2018, that number fell to 846 in 2019. Each year there are about 450,000 injuries among bicyclists in the U.S., although not all are the result of traffic accidents. No matter what activity draws bicyclists to the roads, all bicycle riders on the roads have the same rights and responsibilities as any motor on the road with them.
• Swimming pool injuries: Swimming pool accidents are tough on young children. Nationwide, roughly 350 children younger than 15 drown each year in swimming pools, with about 75% of those children being younger than 5 years old. Further, close to 6,600 children wind up in hospital emergency rooms to be treated for non-fatal drowning injuries, poolside falls, and diving accidents. Overall – not just among children — drowning is fifth among causes of unintentional deaths nationwide annually. The injuries often are quite significant, with non-fatal drownings resulting in brain damage. Anoxic brain injuries, which happen when the brain is deprived of oxygen for too long, can cause brain damage that is severe and permanent. Such injuries can cause cognitive issues, memory loss, blindness, paralysis, or comas. Poolside injuries also can be severe, including poolside falls resulting in head injuries. Diving accidents, such as diving into a pool and hitting your head on the bottom of the pool, are the fifth-leading cause of spinal cord injuries.
• Slips and falls: Falls happen all the time, and the consequences can be painful and expensive. Statistics show that about one-fifth of all falls results in a serious injury. These injuries include spinal injuries, broken bones, head injuries, and brain and other neurological injuries. Falls are among the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries, or TBI, including concussions. Each year, upwards of 800,000 people are hospitalized as a result of injuries suffered in a fall, with head injuries and broken bones topping the list. More than 95% of all broken hips are the result of falls.
• ATV accidents: ATVs, or all-terrain vehicles, are involved in accidents that cause hundreds of deaths as well as thousands of injuries each year. Over the period from 1982 through 2018, ATV accidents resulted in almost 16,000 deaths. There were 264 ATV-related deaths in 2018 and 463 in 2017. In addition to deaths, almost 82,000 people suffered ATV-related injuries in 2018. A little less than 20% of those injuries resulted in hospitalizations.
• Boating accidents: Anyone who has ever ridden in a boat, particularly a motorboat, knows that brakes are not part of the standard equipment on a boat. In fact, brakes aren’t even optional equipment for a boat. If you want to stop a boat, you have to plan ahead. Stopping on a dime is not one of your possibilities. Given that, paying attention and avoiding excessive speed for the conditions are key elements of safe boating. Unfortunately, many boaters fail at one or both of those tasks. There are thousands of boating accidents each year The Coast Guard recorded nearly 4,200 recreational boating accidents for 2019, resulting in 613 fatalities, an additional 2,559 injuries, and more than $55 million in property damage. Only one of those recorded 2019 accidents took place in Kentucky, with one death. However, many boating accidents are not reported to the Coast Guard, either because of reporting requirements or because there were no local news reports about an accident. As a result, federal reporting on recreational boating accidents does not even approach being comprehensive. Based on the information it has, however, the Coast Guard has compiled statistics indicating the top causes of boating accidents. These causes include excessive speed, operator inattention, failing to adequately monitor other boating traffic, consuming alcohol while boating, and operator inexperience. Even with the high potential for deaths and injuries as a result of boating accidents, most states, including Kentucky, have no training or licensing requirements for adults to operate a boat, likely contributing to accidents caused by operator inexperience. Kentucky does require a safety course certification, but only for boat operators between 12 and 17 years old. Even then, though the safety course requirement only applies if the teen is operating a motorized vessel and is not accompanied by an adult.

DO I REALLY NEED A LAWYER?

We all want to think we can do everything ourselves in our DIY culture. Filing an insurance claim seems simple enough. Why go to the extra expense of hiring a lawyer?

Some cases are straightforward: filling out a form and sending it in. However, before deciding to handle your case alone, consider these tips:

• Paperwork and deadlines. Insurance claims are rejected primarily due to improperly completed forms and missed deadlines. Insurance companies have varying requirements on when you must notify them of an accident and an intent to file a claim. They also have specific requirements for supporting documents. The layperson can overlook any of these, especially if you suffer from injuries.
• Delayed injuries and treatment. Some injuries, such as neck and back injuries and closed head trauma, can take weeks or even months to develop. If you have already filed a claim, you may be unable to get compensation for these injuries. Your attorney knows how to document your treatment so that everything will appear on the claim.
• Proving fault. Insurance companies and their attorneys never want to admit that their client was at fault in an accident. Unless you know how to read the police reports and talk to witnesses, you can easily overlook the evidence you need to prove your case.

Call a Personal Injury Attorney in Paris for Help With Your Case

If you have suffered a personal injury in Bourbon County and believe another person might have been at fault, you should seek advice from a local attorney to help find out what options you may have. It is possible there are provisions within a liability insurance policy which may be able to pay for your injuries and other damages, depending upon the circumstances of how you were hurt.

At Maze Law Offices, we will help you complete all your forms properly the first time. We’ll be sure you send everything the insurance companies need to process your claim. When it comes time to negotiate with their lawyers, our legal team will do the arguing, not you.

If you need a Paris personal injury attorney to review your case, call Maze Law Offices. The first consultation is free. We’re waiting to hear from you so we can help you get the compensation you deserve. Unlike many larger attorney offices you may see on TV, we live here and know this area, its people, and its laws. Contact us today to schedule a free, no obligation consultation.