Lexington Wrongful Death Attorneys

After a Fatal Lexington Crash

This page is for families who lost someone in a motor-vehicle crash in Lexington or Central Kentucky: a car, truck, motorcycle or pedestrian collision. A fatal crash claim in Kentucky has a set structure. One person brings it for the estate, the law decides who receives the money, and the proof of the crash has to be gathered while the family is still planning a funeral.

Fatal crashes are not rare here. Fayette County recorded 34 fatal crashes and 37 deaths in 2024, and 168 people were killed in motor-vehicle crashes in Lexington-Fayette County from 2017 through 2021. Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers handles these cases from its office at 620 W. Main St. in downtown Lexington, led by Managing Partner Jon Hollan.

The Estate Representative

Under KRS 411.130, a wrongful death action shall be prosecuted by the personal representative of the deceased. Family members cannot file it in their own names. Someone has to be appointed first, either the executor named in a will or an administrator appointed by the court.

When there is no will, the court prefers the surviving spouse, then others next in line to inherit. If no family member applies within 60 days, the court may appoint someone else. The person appointed controls the case, signs any settlement, and must give the required notice to an underinsured motorist carrier before settling with the at-fault driver’s insurer under KRS 304.39-320.

Choosing and appointing the representative is usually the first thing the team works on with the family, because nothing can be filed or settled without that person in place.

Proving How the Crash Happened

In a fatal crash, the person who knew the most about what happened cannot tell it. The case has to be rebuilt from the physical evidence, and some of that evidence has a short life.

The team moves to preserve the vehicles before they are crushed or repaired, including any event data recorder data showing speed, braking and throttle in the seconds before impact. It requests the police collision report and reconstruction, searches statewide DOT and TRIMARC camera archives that reach back about six months, and asks nearby businesses for video before it is overwritten. The city’s public camera streams are not recorded, so those requests cannot wait.

Impairment, phone use and speed are recurring issues in fatal crash files. Fayette County had 393 alcohol-related crashes in 2024. When the other driver was drunk or reckless, KRS 411.130 allows punitive damages if the act was willful or the negligence was gross. When the driver was working, or the vehicle was a commercial truck, the employer and its insurer become part of the case through the firm’s truck accident work.

Recoverable Losses

A Kentucky fatal crash case can include more than one claim, and each one belongs to a different part of the family or the estate.

Wrongful Death Damages: Damages for the death itself, recovered by the estate under KRS 411.130. Punitive damages are available for willful conduct or gross negligence.

Pre-Death Injury Claim: If the person survived for a time after the crash, KRS 411.133 lets the representative recover in the same action for the injuries suffered before death, including medical bills and conscious pain and suffering. KRS 411.140 keeps that injury claim alive after death.

Loss of a Child: When the person who died was a minor, the parents may recover for loss of affection and companionship during the child’s minority, in addition to the other damages.

Spousal Consortium: A surviving spouse may claim loss of consortium, the loss of the services, companionship and relationship of the marriage.

PIP Survivor and Funeral Benefits: Kentucky PIP can pay survivor’s economic loss and up to $5,000 for funeral, cremation and burial, subject to a $500 weekly limit on survivor’s loss and the $10,000 basic PIP cap.

Steps in a Family’s Wrongful Death Case

Appoint the Representative

The family decides who will serve, and that person is appointed by the court as executor or administrator. The firm works with the family and the estate attorney so the appointment does not hold up the case.

Preserve the Crash Evidence

Vehicles, event data, camera video, the police reconstruction and witness statements are secured before they are lost or overwritten.

Identify Every Policy

The team identifies the at-fault driver’s liability limits, any employer coverage, PIP survivor benefits and the family’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Measure the Loss

Earnings history, medical and funeral bills, and the spouse’s or parents’ own claims are documented with records, wage history and testimony from the people who knew the person who died.

Resolve and Distribute

After funeral expenses, administration costs and recovery costs, the death recovery goes to family in the order set by KRS 411.130(2): all to a spouse with no children, half to a spouse and half to the children when both survive, all to children with no spouse, then to parents. It does not pass through the person’s will.

Fatal Crash Deadlines

For a motor-vehicle death, a lawsuit against the at-fault driver generally must be filed not later than two years after the injury, or the death, or the last PIP payment, whichever is later, under KRS 304.39-230(6). A claim for PIP survivor’s benefits has its own, shorter clock under the same statute when no benefits have been paid: one year after the death or four years after the accident, whichever is earlier.

Appointing a representative, opening coverage claims and preserving evidence all take time, so the work should start well before any deadline.

Fees and Your Case Team

Every case gets a three-person team: an attorney, a case manager and a legal assistant. You pay $0 out of pocket, and the fee does not go up if the case goes to trial. Under the Bigger Share Guarantee®, you always receive more than the firm after medical bills, liens and case costs are paid. If the numbers would ever put the firm ahead, the firm cuts its fee.

Lost a Family Member in a Lexington Crash?

A Lexington fatal crash claim is an estate claim and an insurance claim at the same time, and crash evidence has a short window once the scene is cleared. Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers coordinates the death claim, the pre-death injury claim and the insurers so your family is not handling them alone. Call today for a free case review.

Frequently Asked Questions

1Who can file a wrongful death claim after a Lexington crash?

Only the personal representative of the estate, under KRS 411.130. That is the executor named in a will or an administrator appointed by the court, often the surviving spouse.

2Who receives the money from a fatal crash case?

The death recovery goes to family in the order the statute sets: spouse, children, then parents, after funeral, administration and recovery costs. It does not pass through the will.

3Can the family recover for what our loved one went through before death?

Yes. KRS 411.133 lets the representative bring the pre-death injury claim, including medical bills and conscious pain and suffering, in the same action as the death claim.

4How long does the family have to file after a fatal car crash?

Generally two years after the injury, the death or the last PIP payment, whichever is later, under KRS 304.39-230(6). PIP survivor’s benefits can have a shorter deadline.

5Do you offer Spanish-language services?

Yes. Hablamos español. Spanish-speaking team members can take your call, run your free case review, and keep your family updated in Spanish. We represent Spanish-speaking families in Lexington fatal crash cases.

Lexington Fatal Accident and Wrongful Death Lawyers