Hiring a Workers' Compensation Lawyer in Kentucky
The limits on workers' comp lawyer fees in Kentucky, filing deadlines, how to check a lawyer's license, and free state help for injured workers. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Kentucky: fee rules
| If you disagree with a lawyer's bill | The Kentucky Bar Association offers Legal Fee Arbitration under Supreme Court Rule 3.810 for disputes between a lawyer and client over the fee for particular legal services. It is free, and panel members are unpaid. It is voluntary: either side may start it, and the other side has 20 days to agree. Once both agree, the panel's award is binding and enforceable under KRS 417.180. |
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| If a lawyer takes your money | The KBA Clients' Security Fund, paid for by Kentucky lawyers' dues, provides discretionary partial restitution to clients who lost money through a Kentucky lawyer's dishonesty, fraud or other unethical conduct (such as theft, embezzlement or conversion) within the attorney-client relationship; malpractice losses are not covered. Caps: $50,000 per claim and $150,000 total per attorney (prorated if claims exceed the cap); only actual financial losses are paid. File no later than two years after you knew or should have known of the dishonesty. There is no fee, and no lawyer may charge to file a claim for you. |
Kentucky rules to know first
| Lawyer fee limits | In Kentucky all workers' comp attorney fees must be reviewed and approved by an Administrative Law Judge. For fee contracts signed on or after July 14, 2018, the fee is limited to 20% of the first $25,000 of the award, 15% of the next $25,000 and 10% of the remainder, up to a maximum of $18,000 (older contracts have a $12,000 cap); the employee pays the fee from the award or settlement. Free help is available from the Department's Ombudsman/Specialist Division (800-554-8601), whose specialists help with forms but cannot represent you. |
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| Deadline to file a claim | An Application for Resolution of Claim must be filed with the Department of Workers' Claims within two years after the accident (or within two years after the death). If income benefits were paid, the deadline is two years after payments stop or two years after the accident, whichever is later. For cumulative trauma, the deadline is two years after a doctor tells the worker the injury is work-related, but no later than five years after the last injurious exposure. Claims for work-related HIV exposure must be filed within five years after the exposure. Occupational disease claims have separate time limits under KRS 342.316. Source: KRS 342.185; KRS 342.270(1) |
| Deadline to challenge a denial | If the worker and employer do not agree, either may file an Application for Resolution of Claim with the Department of Workers' Claims, generally within two years after the accident, death or last voluntary payment; the claim is assigned to an administrative law judge. A party unhappy with the judge's final award, order or decision may file a notice of appeal to the Workers' Compensation Board within 30 days after it is filed. The Board decides within 60 days after the last brief is filed. KRS 342.270: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=47619 ; KRS 342.285: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=32465 |
| Can you sue your employer? | If an employer has workers' compensation coverage, the employer's liability under the workers' comp law replaces all other liability to the worker and family for the injury or death; the protection also covers the insurer and co-employees, officers and directors. Exceptions: a co-employee, officer or director can be sued when the injury was caused by their willful and unprovoked physical aggression; if the employer deliberately intended to injure or kill the worker, the worker or dependents may sue the employer instead of taking compensation; and if the employer failed to secure compensation, the worker may claim compensation and also sue for damages. KRS 342.610: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=47623 |
| Suing someone other than your employer | When someone other than the employer is legally liable for the injury, the worker may claim compensation, sue the other person, or do both, but may not collect from both. A worker who sues must give due and timely notice of the suit to the employer and the special fund. The employer, its insurer and certain state funds that paid or are liable for compensation may recover from the third party, up to the income and medical benefits paid and payable, less a pro rata share of the worker's legal fees and expenses. Source: KRS 342.700(1) |
| Filing a claim online | In Kentucky, report a work injury or occupational disease to your employer as soon as possible; the employer reports it to its workers' compensation insurance carrier. If the claim is denied, you can file an Application for Resolution of a Claim (Form 101) with the Department of Workers' Claims; the statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury. The Department's Ombudsman/Specialist staff help workers with questions and forms: 800-554-8601 or 502-564-5550. |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Kentucky Bar Association does not run a referral service; as a public service it lists regional lawyer referral services that are "not affiliated with the Kentucky Bar Association": Central Kentucky Lawyer Referral Service, (859) 225-8644, weekdays 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Scott and Woodford counties); Kentucky Lawyer Referral Service, (502) 583-1801, weekdays 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Jefferson and surrounding counties, plus several southern Indiana counties); and Northern Kentucky Bar Association Lawyer Referral Services, (859) 781-1525 (Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen and Pendleton counties). The KBA also offers a Directory of Kentucky Attorneys. |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Kentucky Bar Association's Find a Lawyer page (Directory of Kentucky Attorneys) lets the public search for Kentucky attorneys; the KBA also posts a list of currently suspended and disbarred lawyers. |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints about Kentucky lawyers go to the KBA's Office of Bar Counsel on its sworn complaint form, which must have a notarized signature; complaints cannot be submitted by phone, email or fax. Use one form per attorney (not a firm), state specifically what the lawyer did or failed to do, list witnesses, and attach copies (not originals) of documents. Complaints are first reviewed to see whether they allege an investigable ethics violation; the complainant is a witness, not a party, and the matter is confidential at this stage under SCR 3.150. To have a form mailed, call (502) 564-3795 ext. 723. Kentucky Bar Association: 514 W. Main St., Frankfort, KY 40601. Attorney discipline: https://kybar.org/For-Members/Office-of-Bar-Counsel/Attorney-Discipline |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Kentucky's LSC-funded legal aid organizations give free civil legal help to eligible low-income people by region: Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky (AppalReD), Kentucky Legal Aid, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass and Legal Aid Society (Louisville). The Kentucky Bar Association notes, "If you cannot afford an attorney, a legal aid program may be able to help." |
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All legal help in Kentucky · Background guide
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.