Free Legal Assistance For Kentucky Flood Survivors

Kentucky is again facing the fallout after dangerous flooding. The flooding in Eastern Kentucky in 2022 has resulted in the death of 37 people and significant loss of homes and property.

There are a variety of different ways for Kentucky flood survivors to get assistance. We detailed those after the flooding in 2021 and discussed relief options through insurance, FEMA, SBA loans, and State and local municipalities.

A free legal help hotline is now available for Kentucky flood survivors following the 2022 floods. The hotline is a service provided through the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The hotline is available to connect survivors to free legal services in qualifying counties who cannot afford an attorney. Survivors can call 1-844-478-0099 Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm EST. If after business hours, messages can be left and calls will be returned on the next business day.

Hotline callers may get help with legal issues like:

• FEMA and SBA relief
• Home repair contracts and property insurance claims
• Re-doing wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the disaster
• Price gouging, scams, or identity theft
• Landlord or tenant problems, or threats of foreclosure
• Disability-related access to federal, state, and local disaster programs

Hotline partners cannot help in all cases. For example, hotline partners cannot take cases where a settlement could include legal fees or an award. But they can refer those cases to other legal help. At this time the hotline is only providing services in English.

The Disaster Legal Services (DLS) program works with state and local partners to provide free legal help for low-income disaster survivors. The service is a partnership between the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, the FEMA, AppalReD Legal Aid, Kentucky Bar Association, Louisville Bar Association, American Red Cross, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Northern Kentucky Bar Association, and Lawyers Mutual of Kentucky.

Qualifying counties can be found at: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4633/designated-areas#individual-assistance