Skip to content
MyClaimWorth
KY
★ Kentucky · workplace

Workplace settlements
in Kentucky.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Kentucky workers’ compensation pays two thirds of your average weekly wage while you cannot work, capped by a share of the state average wage that is reset every year. If someone other than your employer caused the injury, you can also sue them, but you cannot collect twice.

Facts that decide a workplace claim in Kentucky

Temporary or permanent total disabilityTwo thirds of your average weekly wage, no more than 110% and no less than 20% of the state average weekly wage.KRS 342.730(1)(a)
Permanent partial disabilityTwo thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at 82.5% of the state average weekly wage, multiplied by your impairment rating and a statutory factor.KRS 342.730(1)(b)
Suing a third partyYou may claim compensation, sue the third party, or both, but you cannot collect from both. You must notify your employer when you file suit, and the employer or its insurer can recover what it paid.KRS 342.700(1)
Damages caps in a third party suitNone. The Kentucky Constitution forbids limits on recovery for injury.Ky. Const. § 54
Railroad workersCovered by a federal statute instead of state compensation, so they sue the railroad for negligence.CSX Transportation v. Moody (Ky. 2010)
united states · sister site
Your workplace claim in Kentucky. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own workplace case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ KY · reported workplace outcomes

What Kentucky courts have awarded.

Real Kentucky decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • CSX Transportation v. Moody
    Kentucky Supreme Court · 2010
    $2,740,000 verdict affirmed

    A railroad worker exposed to solvents in the 1970s and 1980s developed toxic encephalopathy, a permanent brain injury that left him unable to work. His federal railroad claim produced $540,000 for future lost wages, $200,000 for future medical costs, and $2,000,000 for pain, which the Supreme Court upheld.

  • Boland-Maloney Lumber Co. v. Burnett
    Kentucky Court of Appeals · 2009
    $2,268,878.20 verdict against the property owner and others

    After a ten foot fall through a collapsing stair rail onto concrete, the injured man recovered against Boland-Maloney Lumber and others, with fault split among three parties. A claim against a party other than the employer is how injuries like this reach full tort damages.

★ KY · workplace · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a workplace settlement in Kentucky.

  1. 1

    Know which maximum applies to you. Total disability benefits stop at 110% of the state average weekly wage and partial disability at 82.5%, and the state average is recalculated each year, so the dollar maximum depends on the date of injury. The Department of Workers’ Claims publishes the figures annually.

  2. 2

    A third party claim is the only way to reach pain and suffering. KRS 342.700 lets you pursue compensation and a lawsuit at the same time, as long as you notify your employer, and the employer’s insurer is repaid from the recovery.

  3. 3

    Some workers are outside the state system entirely. Railroad employees sue under federal law, as in Moody, where a jury valued a disabling occupational brain injury at $2.74 million.

★ KY · statute of limitations
1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 413.140

★ KY · fault rule
Pure comparative negligence

Pure comparative negligence, recovery available at any fault percentage.

★ workplace · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Kentucky's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for workplace claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWorkplace page
Kentucky · you are herePure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)—
LouisianaModified comparative, 51% bar1 year (la prescription), extended to 2 years by Act 423 (2024) for tort claims accruing on or after July 1, 2024LA · workplace →
MississippiPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryMS · workplace →
North CarolinaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryNC · workplace →
South CarolinaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injurySC · workplace →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · workplace →
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · workplace →
MissouriPure comparative negligence5 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeMO · workplace →
New MexicoPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryNM · workplace →
New YorkPure comparative negligence3 years for personal injury; 2 years 6 months for medical malpracticeNY · workplace →
Rhode IslandPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryRI · workplace →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · workplace →
MarylandPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryMD · workplace →
★ KY · workplace · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt at work in Kentucky? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-28.

★ all of KY
Kentucky overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Kentucky as a whole.

★ national frame
Workplace in United States

Workplace band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Workplace · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of workplace bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Kentucky. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.