What to Do After a Car Accident in Kentucky

Kentucky runs a no-fault (BRB) system with a $1,000 threshold to sue, a two-year injury deadline that can extend with PIP payments, and pure comparative fault. Here is what those rules mean after a crash, cited to the statutes.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jul 17, 2026
6 min read

Getting hit on I-75 near Lexington or on a back road in Pike County lands you in the same place: you're hurt, and you're facing a set of rules that are specific to Kentucky. The Commonwealth runs one of the more unusual auto injury systems in the country, and a few of its deadlines and dollar thresholds decide whether you get paid at all. Here is what actually applies here.

Kentucky is a "choice" no-fault state

Kentucky is one of a small number of states that runs a no-fault auto system, and one of the few that lets drivers choose whether those rules apply to them. When you register or drive a car on Kentucky roads, you're treated as having accepted the no-fault rules unless you formally opt out (KRS 304.39-060).1 Under those rules your own insurer pays your early medical bills and lost income first, no matter who caused the crash.

That coverage is called Basic Reparation Benefits, or BRB, and it's Kentucky's version of PIP. Kentucky's no-fault law provides at least $10,000 per person, per accident, for medical expenses, lost wages, and replacement services like childcare or housekeeping you can't do while hurt (KRS 304.39-020).2 That same $10,000 pool covers up to $5,000 toward funeral and burial costs in a fatal crash.2

BRB is supposed to pay quickly. Once your insurer has reasonable proof of a loss, a payment is overdue if it isn't made within 30 days (KRS 304.39-210).3 Overdue BRB earns 12% annual interest, and if the company held back payment without reasonable foundation, that rate climbs to 18% plus your attorney's fees.3 Keep every bill and wage record, because that paperwork is what starts the 30-day clock.

When you can step outside no-fault and sue

No-fault limits your right to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, but the limit lifts once your case crosses a threshold. In Kentucky you can bring a tort claim when your medical expenses top $1,000, or when the injury is a bone fracture, permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, permanent loss of a bodily function, or death (KRS 304.39-060).1 Many crash injuries clear that $1,000 bar with a single ER visit and imaging.

You can also step outside the system before you're ever hurt. Kentucky lets any driver reject the no-fault tort limitations in writing, on a form prescribed by the Department of Insurance, as long as it's filed before the accident (KRS 304.39-060).1 Most people never do, so plan around the threshold instead.

The deadlines that can quietly end a claim

Kentucky's injury deadline is unusual, and it tends to work in your favor. You generally have two years to file a car-accident injury lawsuit, measured from the date of the crash or from the date of the last BRB payment your insurer made, whichever is later (KRS 304.39-230).4 Because ongoing PIP payments can push the start date forward, Kentucky drivers often have more time than the flat "two years from the wreck" you'll read elsewhere. A replacement check reissued for a lost or expired payment does not extend the clock, though.4

This motor-vehicle deadline overrides Kentucky's general one-year limit for personal injury cases, so don't let anyone rush you on the assumption you have only a year.

Vehicle damage runs on its own timeline. A claim for damage to your car or other personal property has to be filed within two years of the loss (KRS 413.125), and unlike the injury deadline, insurance payments don't extend it.5 If your car lost resale value even after a solid repair, that's a separate diminished value claim, and Kentucky's rules for it are covered on our Kentucky diminished value page.

How your own share of fault affects the payout

Kentucky follows pure comparative fault. In Hilen v. Hays the Kentucky Supreme Court threw out the old rule that any fault of your own wiped out your claim, and replaced it with a system that divides damages by percentage of blame.6 If a jury finds you 30% responsible, your award drops by 30%, but you still recover. Even a driver found 90% at fault can collect the remaining 10%.6

There is no ceiling on what a Kentucky jury can award. Section 54 of the Kentucky Constitution bars the legislature from capping the amount recoverable for injury to person or property or for wrongful death, which is why the state has no damage cap, not even in medical cases.7

Insurance minimums and the gaps they leave

Kentucky's required liability limits are low: $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, usually written as 25/50/25 (KRS 304.39-110).8 A driver can meet the requirement instead with a single-limit policy of at least $60,000 covering everything from one crash.8 Those numbers run out fast in a serious wreck.

That's where your own coverage matters. Uninsured motorist coverage is built into every Kentucky auto policy at your liability limits unless you signed a written rejection of it, so if you were hit by an uninsured driver, check your declarations page before assuming you're stuck (KRS 304.20-020).9 Underinsured motorist coverage, which fills the gap when the other driver's limits are too low, isn't automatic, but your insurer has to make it available on request.

Distracted and drunk driving raise the stakes

Texting behind the wheel is illegal for every driver in Kentucky, and it's a primary offense, meaning an officer can pull you over for it alone (KRS 189.292).10 The fine is $25 for a first offense and $50 for each one after (KRS 189.990).11 Kentucky still has no full handheld ban for adults. A 2026 bill to add one, the Phone-Down Kentucky Act (SB 28), passed the Senate but died in a House committee before the session adjourned. If the driver who hit you was texting, their phone records can become the strongest evidence in your case.

Drunk-driving crashes carry their own wrinkles. Kentucky's dram shop law is narrow: a bar or store that served the drunk driver is liable only if a reasonable person would have known the customer was already intoxicated when served, and the rule doesn't reach private social hosts (KRS 413.241).12 Primary liability sits with the intoxicated driver, and only rarely with the seller.

Motorcyclists face one more Kentucky-specific rule. Helmets are mandatory only for riders under 21, permit holders, and anyone licensed less than a year, so experienced adult riders may legally ride without one (KRS 189.285).13 Riding bare-headed is legal, but it can turn into a comparative-fault argument if you're hurt.

First steps and getting the report

Get medical care even if you feel fine, because the record ties your injuries to the crash and starts your BRB payments. If police responded, the Kentucky State Police is the custodian of the collision report, and if no officer came, you can file a civilian report yourself.14 How to pull your report is walked through on our Kentucky crash reports page.

Once you're stable, and especially if your injuries clear the tort threshold or the other driver was uninsured, it's worth talking to a Kentucky attorney before you give a recorded statement or accept an early offer. You can find one through our legal directory.

This article is general information about Kentucky law, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 304.39-060, Acceptance or rejection of partial abolition of tort liability. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=30030

  2. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 304.39-020, Definitions for subtitle (Basic Reparation Benefits). https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57854

  3. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 304.39-210, Obligor's duty to respond to claims. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57856

  4. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 304.39-230, Limitations of actions. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45816

  5. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 413.125, Actions relating to personal property. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=17867

  6. Hilen v. Hays, 673 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1984). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2455891/hilen-v-hays/

  7. Kentucky Constitution, Section 54, No restriction on recovery for injury or death. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/KYConstitution/58_54.pdf

  8. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 304.39-110, Required minimum tort liability insurance. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=46758

  9. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 304.20-020, Uninsured vehicle coverage. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45815

  10. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 189.292, Use of personal communication device prohibited while operating motor vehicle. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=39750

  11. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 189.990, Penalties. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57417

  12. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 413.241, Limitation on liability of licensed sellers or servers of intoxicating beverages. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=42540

  13. Kentucky Revised Statutes, KRS 189.285, Headgear requirements for motorcycles. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=6361

  14. Kentucky State Police, Civilian Collision Reports. https://www.kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov/civilian-collision-reports

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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