Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog

This is Part II of an earlier post on PIP benefits and a medical facilities refusal to treat a client simply because of greed.

Why would Jewish do something as heartless as this? The answer is really very simple. Typically, when a hospital bills a patient, that bill is sent to a health insurance company. Sometimes the health insurance is a private company and sometimes it is a government funded plan (Medicaid, Medicare, etc.). As an example, let’s say the bill is for $100. If the hospital sends that bill to Medicaid or Medicare, it can typically expect to receive back something like $20 0r $30, if that much. If the $100 bill goes to a private health insurance company, the hospital might get back more like $55 or $70. Sometimes the patient doesn’t even have any health insurance in which case the hospital might get next to nothing in return for the service. However, and here’s what the hospitals are figuring out, if they send the bill to the auto insurance carrier (the PIP or No Fault company) they get back, you guessed it: the entire $100. The hospital thinks that if they can’t force the patient to promise this money to them, apparently prior to even being seen by a doctor, that they will never see it. Well, in this case, the hospital got nothing. We told the client to seek treatment elsewhere, even though it took longer to be seen and cared for.

Before all of you responsible folks out there start complaining that I am counseling people to be irresponsible and ignore and even not pay their medical bills, what a minute. That is absolutely NOT what I am saying. What I am saying is that clients have a legal right to direct the benefits in a way that is most advantageous to them. They can also promise to pay back the hospital at a later time. They can do more than promise, they can legally and contractually obligate themselves to pay by signing what is called a "medical lien." This is a promise by the client to instruct his or her attorney when the case is resolved to pay the medical expenses before giving the client and of the money. All of these compromises were offered in this instance, but none of them was good enough for Jewish. It is unfortunate, This client could have gotten the treatment he needed, when he needed it. The hospital could have gotten paid, and gotten paid well (100% on the dollar as explained above, which is rare in the medical world). But it didn’t happen because this facility chose to put profits ahead of patients.

If you are having trouble understanding PIP or No Fault benefits or want to know more about your rights with regard to insurance after you have been in an automobile accident, contact me, Brian D. Cook, and I would be happy to help walk you through it.

There was another tragic car accident on Thursday -- this one in Lexington, Kentucky. The accident resulted in the death of a 26 year old Georgetown resident.

They young man, 26 year old Charles Garrett, was taken to University of Kentucky hospital where he was pronounced dead by UK medical staff at 2:31 p.m. Friday, according to a published report int the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The wreck happened near the intersection of Georgetown Road and Kearney Ridge Boulevard. The details are still sketchy, but early reports are that the car Garrett was in swerved to avoid a tractor-trailer and collided with a rock wall.

According to reports, another occupant of the vehicle was hospitalized with serious injuries. Police are saying that neither were wearing a seat belt, but this is often unreliable information, and an independent accident reconstruction should be conducted in any cases involving a fatality or serious injury.

It's too early to tell who was a fault for causing this accident.

I want to share with you a recent unfortunate experience with the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Healthcare network of healthcare facilities in the greater Louisville area. To understand why this experience was so ridiculous, you need to understand how PIP (Personal Injury Protection) or No-Fault insurance coverage works in Kentucky. For an explanation of how PIP works, see our post here. What is important about PIP for purposes of this post is that the client, though his or her attorney, has the right to "direct benefits." That means that the client and their attorney can tell the PIP carrier which healthcare facility to pay, when to pay them, how much to pay them, or even to not pay them at all and to reserve the benefits for lost wages or some other more pressing matter.

Why is this direction of benefits so important? Because, often people have no other insurance (health insurance for example) to help pay for these medical bills. Or, they have little or no savings and have been involved in an auto accident that is so serious that they can't work for some significant period of time. If all of their PIP money was used to pay medical bills and could not help pay the client's lost wages, they would very quickly be put in a position where they were not able to pay bills, buy food, or provide for their families.

So, what do Jewish do? Well, after a bad accident in which a client of ours was forced off of the road by a large delivery truck and into a ditch, they needed to find treatment out in the state in a fairly rural area. A Jewish clinic is one of the only medical facilities with the ability to see this client for his injuries. However, they refused to even set up an appointment for him or see him on an emergency basis as a patient until his auto insurance company promised to pay the bill.

Well, what's so bad about that? First, it shows an absolute disregard for the health and well being of this man who had been seriously injured in an accident and had few if any other options for treatment. But Jewish should be entitled to be paid for their services, you might argue. Well, no one, including me, is saying that they shouldn't be. And this client was more than happy to pay. However, he has no control over what his PIP insurance is willing to pay or not pay. That is, he can AND HE DID, tell his PIP carrier to pay any bills that it got from this Jewish facility. However, the PIP carrier has a right to get the bill, get the medical records, review all of that, and decide whether it is something that is related to the accident and that they are obligated to pay. There is nothing this client could do to force them to agree to pay prior to even knowing what the treatment was or what the bill was for. Remember, Jewish would not even set up an appointment for him without the promise to make the PIP carrier pay the bill; a promise that the client had no control over – despite his instruction to the company to not put any hold on the bill.

Click here to continue reading this post.

Ronnie G. Hacker of McKee and Elizabeth M. Denman of Big Creek were killed in a car accident after being ejected from their vehicles.

According to police, Hacker's pickup truck crossed the center line of Ky. 11 in Clay County and struck Denman's sedan head-on. While police say the occupants were ejected because they didn't wear their seatbelts, that may just be speculation by the police.

Police said alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor in the crash.

Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones attorney Larry Jones, who is experienced representing victims of drunk drivers, says "This is a real tragedy. Crossover wrecks like this are usually tragic. However, when alcohol is added to the mix, it makes an unfortunate situation even sadder. I hope the drunk driver is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

For more information about the rights of those injured or killed by drunk drivers, contact Larry Jones directly at the toll free number 1-866-587-0002 or by email: click here to email Larry.

There was a scary injury accident in Madisonville, Kentucky involving a piece of scrap metal that flew off a truck and struck another vehicle.

Mark Tucker was hauling a load of scrap metal on a flatbed trailer behind a Ford F150 north on the Pennyrile Parkway. Scottie Sacre was behind Mr. Tucker in a 1999 Buick Park Avenue.

Mr. Tucker lost control of the truck and trailer and struck the guardrail on the east side of the road. The truck then crossed both lanes and entered the median causing it to jackknife. The truck rolled onto its passenger side dumping the contents of the truck and trailer onto the parkway. A piece of the scrap metal from the truck struck Mr. Sacre's vehicle causing minor damage.

Both, Mr. Tucker and his passenger, Michael Wells, were transported to Regional Medical Center for treatment. It is unclear whether Mr. Sacre was injured in the wreck.

There was a two car accident near Lebanon, Kentucky that resulted in injuries to one of the drivers. The injured driver, 58 year old David Isaacs, is from Campbellsville, Kentucky. According to reports, the injuries were not life-threatening.

State Police in Liberty, Kentucky investigated a two car wreck that occurred on Highway 208, approximately 2 miles west of Lebanon. According to the report, Joseph Brady, 82, of Lebanon, was attempting to pull from a private driveway in a Ford car when he pulled into the pathway of another Ford, driven by Mr. Isaacs.

Isaacs was transported by private vehicle to Springview Hospital. Brady, as well as a passenger in his vehicle, Goldie Brady, 82 years of age, also of Lebanon, were reportedly not injured. All involved, according to KSP, were wearing seatbelts.

There was a tragic single-car accident on US31 near Elizabethtown (Hardin County), Kentucky that resulted in the senseless death of three young people. Two others in the car, including the driver, were seriously injured.

According to KSP, Nathan A. King was driving a 1998 Mazda 626 south on US31 at what witnesses say was a high rate of speed. Mr. King's vehicle entered a slight left curve, sideswiped the wall, and traveled across both lanes, exiting on the right shoulder and striking a guardrail. The vehicle flipped over the guardrail and overturned numerous times before coming to a final rest on its roof.

Mr. King, 21 of Ekron, Kentucky, was stat-flighted to University of Louisville hospital with life threatening injuries. According to KSP, three of the passengers were ejected from the vehicle. 22 year old Brian Butt, 23 year old Michael Butt, both of Ekron, Kentucky, and 23 year old Dereke Chism of Guston, Kentucky, were pronounced deceased at the accident scene. A fourth passenger, 22 year old Bruce Butt of Radcliff, Kentucky, was transported to the University of Louisville hospital where he was treated and released.

The accident is still under investigation by Kentucky State Police. KSP is reporting that they believe alcohol and/or drugs may have been a factor in causing the wreck.

From a legal perspective, it sounds like Mr. King was driving negligently and, therefore, would be legally responsible for what happened to his passengers. There are defenses, however. I would want to have an experienced accident-reconstructionist investigate in addition to what KSP is doing.

There was an injury accident in Hickory, Kentucky this week that illustrates the extremely serious and, unfortunately, growing problem with distracted drving--specifically using a cell phone while driving.

Kentucky State Police are reporting that Rodney Hall was traveling east bound on US 60 when his attention was diverted while he attempted to answer his cell phone. Mr. Hall, who was driving a 1995 Buick Lacrosse, crossed the center line striking Matthew Wright head on. Mr. Wright was driving his 199 Ford Taurus west bound.

Mr. Hall was life-flighted to St. Mary's Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. Both Mr. Wright and his passenger, Shanna Loften were transported by the Livingston County Ambulance Service to Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky.

Commentary by Kentucky auto accident attorney, Shawn Cantley: "Driving while using a cell phone can be as dangerous as driving drunk. Please do not do it. We are attempting to get strong legislation passed that would make driving while using a cell phone a crime, but until that happens, offenders who drive while on their cell phones and hurt people will have to be held accountable in the civil justice system."

For more information on how the civil justice system works to help shift the burden from the innocent victim to the negligent person, please contact Shawn Cantley at 502-587-2002 or send him an email by clicking here: email_shawn.

Steven Haworth, age 57, of Charlestown, IN, and Troy Anderson, age 40, of Louisville, both died of injures from an auto accident on Friday 3/5/2010. The accident occurred around 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon near Hansberry Road. The accident is still under investigation, but initial reports indicate that one of the drivers crossed the center line, which caused the crash. Both men were taken to University Hospital, where they died of their injures.

Auto accident & wrongful death attorney Brent Ackerson stated: “This is a tragedy for both families. It’s a case where the families look to determine what happened and who was at fault. Fault is the driving factor that will afford a recovery for their loss through the legal system. Due to the nature of this crash, an accident re-constructionist will likely need to get to the scene of this accident quickly to preserve the evidence and help the families proven what happened.”

For more information on the rights of people injured or killed in car crashes, call Brent directly (502) 587-2002 or email Brent. (Click here to email Brent).

Two victims in a head-on collision Friday afternoon in Clark County were identified Saturday by authorities as Troy Anderson, 40, of Louisville, and Steven Haworth, 57, of Charlestown.

The wreck happened on Ind. 160 when one of the two vehicles crossed the center line, but there is no information at this time about which vehicle did so. Anderson and Haworth, who died at University Hospital in Louisville, were the only occupants of the vehicles.

Indiana trial attorney Vanessa Cantley comments: "It is extremely important that an experienced accident reconstructionist be dispatched immediately so that Mr. Anderson's and Mr. Haworth's families can get answers about how exactly this tragedy happened."

For more information about the rights of victims injured or killed in Indiana automobile collisions, please contact Vanessa Cantley directly by calling (502) 587-2002 or e-mailing her by clicking here: e-mail Vanessa.