When you hear about personal injury cases, you usually hear about compensation, often referred to as ‘damages’. People can get compensation for medical expenses, lost wages if they can’t work, and pain and suffering. The last one doesn’t seem as concrete as the others, so it’s natural for someone to be confused as to how someone can get compensation for pain and suffering.

Seeking compensation for someone else’s negligence can be difficult to handle on your own. With the aid of a personal injury lawyer, you have a better chance of getting compensation. The Law Office of Todd W. Burris in Lexington, Kentucky, wants to help you recover what is rightfully owed to you.

Todd W. Burris, personal injury lawyer in Lexington, Kentucky, loves to climb mountains. After he married his wife Lindsey in 2010, the couple made a goal to climb one mountain each year.

One year their mountain of choice was Mt. Whitney in California. Its highest peak reaches 14,496 ft. The mountain requires rigorous training and dedication, and Todd and Lindsey faced it head on. They trained for months. Their goal was to climb the mountain and get back down within 24 hours.

When it was finally time to hike Mt. Whitney, Todd and Lindsey weren’t going as fast as they had planned. The mountain included a lot of long trails that were difficult to navigate. Their route included vertical climbing of 1200 ft. Once they started the route, they could only continue to climb upward.

Negligence is a concept that’s crucial to all types of personal injury cases. Car accident claims, truck accident claims, and wrongful death claims, for instance, all rely on proving that negligence was in place when the incident that caused injury or death occurred. Negligence, as defined, is any conduct that does not meet the reasonable standards for protecting a person from foreseeable risks of harm. In the cases of auto accidents, negligence can be defined as any reckless or careless driving behaviors or actions.

Inside the broader definition, there are many different forms of negligence that fit under the same umbrella. Here are three of the most common elements that define negligence in Kentucky and some examples of how each apply to certain situations:

In 2015, 35,200 people were killed in car accidents in the United States. This was a 7.7% increase from 2014 and the worst death toll we’ve seen since 2008. During that same year, we also saw a huge rise in the number of pedestrian and cyclist deaths. There were almost 5,400 pedestrian fatalities in 2015 compared to the 4,800 we saw during 2014. This is a 10% jump.

In 2016, the numbers looked even worse. According to the 2016 report, there were almost 6,000 pedestrian deaths during that year. This is an unprecedented jump. This statistic was enough to make news headlines nationwide and even be reported on TV shows like the Today Show.

Motorcycles are without a doubt a fun and exciting way to travel.  However, when involved in a crash, motorcyclists are at a much greater risk of suffering catastrophic injuries or death.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcycle deaths occur 30 times more than fatalities in other vehicles and motorcyclists are 5 times more likely to be injured.

There are many myths that surround the increased crash risk that motorcyclists face.  Debunking these myths is important to improving motorcycle safety.  If drivers of all vehicles on the road have a better understanding of motorcycle driving laws and techniques, we can better share the road and keep everyone safe.

There were almost 8,000 truck crashes in the state of Kentucky alone in 2013. Over 2,000 of those accidents resulted in injuries or fatalities. After looking at these numbers, there’s no denying the fact that semi and commercial truck accidents cause a lot of devastation on Kentucky’s roadways.

Many of the deadliest trucking accidents are crashes involving the underride of a semi-truck. These collisions happen when a passenger vehicle strikes a tractor trailer from the side. In worst-case scenarios, the top of the car becomes sheared off, often instantaneously decapitating the passengers inside. It’s estimated that at least 200 people are killed every year in the U.S. from underride crashes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 70,000 pedestrian accidents happen every year in the United States.  Nearly 5,000 of these accidents are fatal.  Pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely to be killed in a vehicle collision than a vehicle passenger.  Additionally, thousands of pedestrians are injured every year due to poor parking lot maintenance, sidewalk defects, and construction debris.

Whether the accident involves a vehicle or a property defect, injured pedestrians may recover damages if someone else’s negligence caused the accident to occur.  This money can be used to help pay for medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional suffering.

Personal injury law allows an injured person to be financially compensated when someone else’s negligent or intentional behavior caused them harm.  There are many types of personal injury cases involving many types of injuries.  Here are a few of the most common:

Car, truck, or motorcycle accidents are the most common personal injury case in the United States.  This is because these accidents are often the result of an at fault driver who was not following the rules of the road or was driving recklessly.  Careless drivers legally can be held financially responsible for injuries that result from an accident that their behavior caused.

Riding a bicycle is a fun and healthy form of transportation. It is a great way to get exercise and help the environment by reducing the amount of toxic motor vehicle emissions released into the air.  But riding a bicycle can be dangerous because there is nothing to protect you if you crash.  Practicing good habits when you ride can help make riding a bicycle a safe and enjoyable way for you to travel.

Wear a properly fitted bicycle helmet.  A helmet is your most important protection and best defense in an accident.  A properly fitted helmet can protect your brain from the dangerous impact of hitting the hard ground.  Bicycle helmets have been estimated to reduce the odds of head injury by 50 percent and the odds of head, face, and neck injury by 33 percent.  Should you find yourself in a crash, a helmet can sav

Simple physics dictates that a crash between a large object and small object will result in greater damage to the small object.  The size of semi trucks makes them extremely dangerous when they are involved in an accident with a smaller vehicle.  Big trucks are substantially heavier than cars.  The average passenger car weighs 3,500 pounds.  The average pickup truck weighs 8,500 pounds.  And the maximum weight in the United States is 80,000 pounds over 18 wheels.  That differential is often the difference between life and death in a crash between a car and a semi truck.

Semi trucks are also much longer than cars.  The length of an 18-wheeler means it takes longer for a passenger car to pass it, increasing the risk of accident.  Some even pull two trailers, further increasing their length and weight.  These double semi trucks have a 11 to 15% higher crash rate than single trailer semi trucks.