Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, represents families who lose loved ones in heartbreaking drowning accidents. An accident along a Kentucky creek can often leave a property owner or a state or federal agency liable after a tragedy forcing them to provide support to grieving relatives. Families can contact our Kentucky wrongful death lawyers to schedule a free, confidential consultation. It’s a no-risk way to learn about every benefit available to family members at such a difficult time.
Creek Drowning Dangers in Kentucky
Kentucky ranks high for those who love getting out on the water. Lakes, rivers, and even creeks can provide hours of fun on hot days. Local creeks can provide beautiful spots for wading, swimming, or paddling.
People can enjoy a dip in Blackwater Creek or Gabe’s Branch Creek and Waterfall. But there are dangers, especially when storms lead to flooding around places near creeks like Beargrass Creek in Louisville or Elkhorn Creek and Town Branch in Lexington.
People sometimes treat creeks and rivers like waterparks but Mother Nature can throw changing conditions at waders and floaters. These risks lead to drownings every year.
These are just a few of the additional risks those who enter creeks must watch out for.
- Lack of lifeguards and drowning safety equipment
- Lack of safety precautions by tubing and paddleboard businesses
- Lack of security to keep people out of creeks in dangerous spots
- Lack of barriers to keep unauthorized visitors out
- Lack of warnings about flood conditions and fast-moving currents
- Lack of warnings about deep water
- Underwater rocks and debris
- Cold water temperatures
- Steep banks and muddy, slippery conditions
Kentucky laws also hold property owners and city and state parks and recreation and wildlife agencies liable when they don’t do enough to keep people safe around creeks.
Families may file a wrongful death claim against anyone found to have contributed to a tragic drowning. However, property owners will have insurance adjusters and governmental departments will have teams of lawyers all working to help them avoid accepting blame. Your Kentucky drowning accident lawyer gets aggressive with liability insurance companies and protects you from government lawyers. Kaufman & Stigger demands that you and your family receive what you all need to protect yourselves from financial harm in the future.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Kentucky Creek Drowning?
Your attorney fully investigates what happened and determines every party that might be liable for the death of your loved one. Your lawyer then uses all the evidence gathered to force owners and operators to accept fault and provide fair support to families who will have to rebuild their lives.
These and other parties will all be investigated after a drowning and could be fully liable for a tragic death:
- Property owners
- Landlords and property management firms who have residential properties along creeks
- Business owners that use the creek such as inner tube and paddleboard rental companies
- City or County departments that operate parks along creeks
- City agencies responsible for stormwater runoff management and flooding mitigation
- Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources (KDFWR)
- Federal agencies
These entities are liable through premises liability laws. They force property owners and government departments to provide a legal “duty of care” to all visitors to parks and creek banks. They must do everything possible to keep people out of dangerous areas and also have resources in place to help those who might get into trouble in the water.
They must post signs with warnings about hazards. Even on private property, landowners are sometimes found responsible if they don’t warn people, especially children, away from dangerous stretches of water. They must do everything they can to keep those at risk away from dangerous and deep currents.
When property and business owners fail in this duty, they can be found liable for a deadly accident and be forced to support family members left behind to try to rebuild their lives.
What Types of Things Can Families Earn Support For After a Drowning?
Your drowning lawyer will submit your claim with a full list of the hardships that your family has experienced and may experience in the future. Families can lose their homes and their possessions when faced with the financial burdens that arise after a loved one is lost.
These and other factors should all be considered when determining the size of a wrongful death settlement check:
- Support for funeral expenses.
- Support for leftover medical bills, ambulance fees, and search and rescue fees.
- Replacement of the income the deceased may have supported family members with.
- The guidance and love that family members will no longer be able to draw from in the future.
- Support for parents who have had a child taken from them in a drowning accident.
Contact a Kentucky Creek Drowning Attorney
Families in Kentucky are usually granted up to a year after a tragic drowning to file a wrongful death claim. However, cases involving a city, state, or federal agency can have a much shorter deadline to file. It’s best to check with a skilled wrongful death lawyer so that you meet these deadlines and don’t have your case rejected.
Contact Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC for a free and confidential consultation on your case. At such a difficult time, we want families to know about every benefit available to them and how to force insurance companies to provide fair support for a death that could have been prevented.
If you decide our Kentucky Lake Drowning Lawyers can help earn your family more in support for the years ahead, you won’t need any money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement you and your family are awarded.
