The adjuster is about to ask, "When did you first know a defective part caused or worsened your injury?" Your answer matters because Kentucky usually gives you 1 year to file a personal injury lawsuit, and the date that clock starts can decide whether the claim survives.

Situation 1: the defect was obvious on the day of the crash. If a brake failure, tire blowout, hitch failure, or steering component broke during a crash on I-75, US-25, or a rural Madison County road during harvest season, the usual deadline is 1 year from the injury date under KRS 413.140(1)(a). That can apply whether you sue the manufacturer, the seller, or another company in the product's chain of distribution under Kentucky product-liability law, KRS 411.300.

Situation 2: you did not learn it was a defective product until later. If everyone first treated this as an ordinary wreck, but later inspection showed a failed wheel assembly, airbag, seatback, or other part caused your back or neck condition to get dramatically worse, Kentucky's discovery rule may push the start date to when you knew or reasonably should have known the product defect caused the injury. That is heavily fact-specific. A later recall can matter, but a recall does not automatically reset the clock.

Situation 3: the installer or repair shop created the danger. If the part itself was not defective but was installed wrong - bad brake work, wrong lug torque, improper suspension repair - the claim may be against the installer or shop for negligence, not just the manufacturer. The same 1-year injury deadline usually controls, but the evidence is different: invoices, work orders, inspection reports, and the failed parts themselves.

If the vehicle or part is still available, preserve it immediately. Do not let the truck, trailer, or component be scrapped. If you were treated at UK Chandler Hospital or elsewhere after the crash, the records tying the new trauma to the worsening of your pre-existing condition are often central to proving when the defect became knowable.