Fort Scott Truck Accident Attorney
Fort Scott Truck Accident Lawyer Helping Fight Trucking Companies with Negligent Truck Drivers to Get Financial Compensation for Injury Victims.
Our Fort Scott truck accident lawyers help fight trucking companies with negligent truck drivers by getting financial compensation for truck injury victims in Fort Scott, Kansas that have had a truck accident with smaller cars, pickups, vans, or motorcycles. Injury victims can get increased financial compensation when dealing with serious semi-truck crash cases.
We legally represent car accident victims who have been in large truck accidents. We have been helping Kansans with car-truck crashes since 1983. Our client results are excellent representing some of the top settlements in the State of Kansas. Several past cases range between 1 and 9 million dollars.
Truck Accident Lawyers Group (TALG) is associated with Bull Attorneys®. Our offices are in Wichita and Garden City. We will drive to your home or hospital room. Our office in Wichita is at 10111 E. 21st Street North, Suite 202, Wichita, Kansas 67206. In Western Kansas, our office is at 3102 E. Kansas Avenue, #100, Garden City, KS 67846.
Our Fort Scott truck accident injuries have handled thousands of car and truck accident cases since 1983. When you hire TALG we provide the very special attention you need from your trucking lawyer. You get the personal cell phone of the lawyer you work with. You can call during the day, at night or on weekends.
You can trust our work ethic and track record of success. Know that all attorneys are not the same. Our semi-truck personal injury attorneys study your case so all you have to do is lay back and get better.
2021 Kansas Traffic Crash Book reported that Fort Scott had 500 motor vehicle crashes resulting in 198 injuries and 47 injuries and 1 fatality. Bourbon County had 308 motor vehicle crashes with 73 injuries and 4 fatalities.
Bourbon County is known for historic Fort Scott and Bleeding Kansas arising out of the civil war. Today, it is a bustling smaller city between Kansas City and Tulsa providing a major cattle hauling route from the Kansas City stockyards to more southern areas in Oklahoma which makes the number of cattle haulers making Bourbon County dangerous to local traffic.
Our Fort Scott truck injury attorneys are specially trained to understand the FMCSR and CSA BASICs. These federal regulations apply to all DOT licensed commercial motor vehicles including cattle hauling trucks outside of the 150 air-mile radius. For most tractor-trailers hauling livestock they are always outside of this radius because of the distance from Kansas City to Tulsa.
What are some of our case truck accident case development methods?
Witness interrogation procedures.
We have developed a unique set of specific questions for witnesses including trucking company management that interrogates them to bring out admissions against their company for failing to follow required safety plans.
Letters to motor carriers to stop destruction of evidence.
We use a specially written spoliation letters to the motor carriers and their insurance company to preserve evidence because of their tendency to delete, alter and destroy critical evidence that can make you win your trucking claims.
Employment screening of truck drivers.
Our Fort Scott personal injury attorney know that many trucking companies just hire the first applicant, whether qualified or not. When they do not screen them, road test them and check out driver citation histories and length at jobs, they end up hiring the bad apples.
Background checks of unsafe motor carriers.
All trucking companies who synonymously are called commercial motor carriers are required to comply with the CSA BASICs which are a guide to trucking companies on how to follow the minimum industry standards of safety. Seldom do motor carriers completely comply with federal regulations and crashes, injuries and fatalities happen.
Unique investigation techniques.
Our big rig lawyers understand fault and negligence and can prove you were not at fault to help increase your financial compensation claims to be fully paid. The methods we use place blame where it appropriately should be, on the truck driver and trucking company. The techniques took 40 years of suing trucking companies to develop.
After your motor vehicle collision with a tractor-trailer or semi you need to talk to a Fort Scott trucking lawyer immediately. You call us for a free consultation at 620-690-0600. If unable to call, simply write your questions on our contact page and we will respond quickly.
What Common Injuries Happen from a Big Rig Accident?
Big rigs are extremely heavy tractor-trailers that weigh 80,000 pounds. When the truck moves faster its destructive force to passenger vehicles is worse. Even smaller impacts can cause massive damage to a passenger car leaving the occupants injured for a long period of time.
The most common injuries caused by a big rig are:
- Broken Bones.
The force of the impact with a large truck can cause broken bones and fractures to your entire body and especially where you have connective skeletal and muscles with tendons like shoulder, hips, and knees. - Head Injuries, Concussions and Traumatic brain injuries.
Big rig accidents from the rear or front can cause a rapid jerking motion of the head, neck or back. This is due to acceleration and deceleration forces where your body is jerked back and forth. The severity of force can damage small nerves in your brain called axons and can cause areas of brain death. - Internal injuries.
Strong force can damage interior organs like the lungs, kidneys, liver, spleen, and gall bladder or worse. Most internal injuries require hospitalization with surgery.
- Whiplash.
Whiplash injuries, like head injuries are usually caused from change of acceleration and deceleration forces whipping your head, neck, and spine back and forth. Injuries can range from strains and sprains to much more severe straightening of the normal lordotic curve. Treatment can include hospitalization, physical therapy, medications, and electrostimulation with a TENS unit.
- Back injuries.
Big rigs and large trucks usually will cause damage to the occupants because of the weight differential between the huge truck and the smaller cars and pickups. Treatment is more significant than for whiplash because you can have damage to your vertebrae, discs, nerves, and connective tissue including surgery, RFA, and placement of internal titanium parts.
- Neck injuries.
Semi-trucks routinely cause damage to the neck because it is smaller in circumference than the lumbar spine and can get damaged easily where you may need discectomies, laminectomies, and cervical fusions. - Shoulder injuries.
The human shoulder is strong yet delicate. It allows the human body to hold, lift and push as well as other functional needs that require upper extremity strength. Injuries can include fractures, nerve damage, broken clavicles, rotator cuff injuries and brachial plexus nerve injuries.
- Knee injuries.
Knee injuries can occur from direct impact with dash and the steering wheel or from the sheer force of the impact. The knee can be fractured or you can have tears to the meniscus, ACL, PCL, and collateral ligament tears or worse.
- Spinal Cord Injuries.
A spinal cord injury is where nerves in your spinal cord are damaged and quit sending appropriate signals to the brain and can cause your body to lose function and become paralyzed.
- Psychological injuries.
The trauma of a big rig crash can easily cause psychological injuries to the occupants like mental harm, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), inability to function in life or work and other types of severe long term mental suffering. - Wrongful Death.
A wrongful death is where a person dies from negligent, wanton, reckless, or intentional conduct of another driver that causes the injuries leading to the death.
What are Damages in a Big Rig Wreck?
Damages in a big rig wreck are a form of financial compensation to provide a remedy to an injured person when negligent or reckless actions of a truck driver or motor carrier caused their injuries.
Types of damages include:
- Noneconomic damages for pain and suffering.
Noneconomic damages are for subjective and non-monetary losses like pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and disfigurement, inconvenience, emotion distress, loss of society and companionship along with other similar types of losses. - Economic damages.
Economic damages are for actual financial damages that are a direct result of a negligent truck driver or motor carrier causing harm and injury to a person for medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, future medical bills, future wage loss and future medical needs.
- Wrongful death.
Wrongful death damages are financial damages meant to compensate the family for lost financial support, suffering and loss of services, guidance, and counseling. This can include a survival claim for the conscious pain and suffering of your loved one after the accident but prior to death. It includes funeral expenses and many other types of losses from your loved one dying.
- Punitive damages.
Punitive damages are called exemplary damages and are meant to punish a wrongdoer and deter other people in society from recklessly injury or killing other people.
- Psychological damages.
Psychological damages arise from mental trauma like PTSD following a traumatic accident and can be for mental anguish, pain, and suffering. They are dependent upon having an underlying physical injury in Kansas and cannot normally be recovered unless you have a physical injury in addition to your psychological injury.
Are Truck Accidents Difficult to Settle?
The answer is that if a truck accident causes physical injuries, they can be difficult to settle without an experienced truck accident injury attorney. The state and federal regulations applying to most truck accidents make the cases difficult.
The 8 reasons that truck accidents are difficult to settle are:
- Multiple parties may be at fault.
Big rigs and semi-trucks involve the trucking company and other entities related to the trucking company. In many cases, more than two separate businesses are at fault for causing your crash and injuries making the cases difficult. - Driver background.
Investigation of the prior employment history, accident history and criminal history of the driver is absolutely essential to help win your case. The investigation tells the trucking attorney whether negligent hiring is a potential claim against the motor carrier. - Compliance history.
When motor carriers fail to follow the FMCSR and CSA BASICs they can be out of compliance with federal law. When you obtain their motor carrier file and monthly safety violation history if they are out of compliance, it makes your case much better. - Disciplinary Policies.
The disciplinary policy of the trucking company will identify standardized safety rules to follow and put in place levels of punishment for violating the disciplinary policy. Not all companies put the policy in writing but all should do so and follow the rule of 3 which requires warning, then suspension and finally termination for noncompliance. - Insurance coverage from all liable parties.
The amount of total coverage from all negligent and liable parties must be considered. The truck driver may have $750,000 of coverage while the trucking company can have a higher amount and may carry excess and umbrella coverage. Other liable parties can have insurance that adds to the base insurance so you can get a higher financial recovery. - Scene evaluation.
Large heavy trucks leave gouge marks and critical evidence on the roadway or adjacent shoulders helps the trucking lawyer identify the correct at fault party. This includes personally evaluating the scene, law enforcement records, investigations by the other parties and can be extremely time consuming. - Regulatory violations.
Experienced big rig attorneys will be able to use the FMCSR and CSA BASICs to your advantage by establishing that the trucking company did not comply with federal mandates that all commercial motor vehicles and drivers must follow. - Medical evidence.
An 18-wheeler case value is dependent upon how bad your injuries are which requires the trucking expert lawyer to evaluate EMS records, emergency room records, and progress notes of nurses and physicians. It also requires caring and compassionate doctors who can draft reports about the extent of your injuries and determine the future costs associated with your lifetime needs for medical care.
What is the Statute of Limitations for a Semi-truck Accident?
Semi-trucks and other large business vehicles causing an accident with a passenger vehicle are limited to a two year statute of limitations under Kansas statute 60-513. Minors have a longer period of time depending upon their age.
Some states have longer periods of time for the statute of limitations but it is never advisable to wait for any period of time to hire an experienced semi-truck injury lawyer because evidence fades, memories are lost, and witnesses die. You need a personal injury attorney immediately after a semi-truck crash.
What are The Dangerous Roads and Intersections in Fort Scott and Bourbon County?
Fort Scott and Bourbon County have two major highways passing through the city. Both highways are major truck routes for semis and tractor-trailers which makes the entire area inherently dangerous to motorists and passenger cars. US-69 runs from Albert Lea, Minnesota all the way south to Port Arthur, Texas. US-54 runs from Griggsville, Illinois to El Paso, Texas.
The most dangerous roads and intersections in Fort Scott and Bourbon County are:
- US-54 highway.
US-54 highway runs east-west through the city and county. This is one of east-west highways traveling across the United States that allows truck drivers to escape toll roads, weigh stations and law enforcement. This helps them speed, exceed the maximum hours of driving limits and travel while overweight. - US-69 highway.
US-69 highway runs north-south and goes directly through Fort Scott and Bourbon County bringing a significant amount of danger to Bourbon County residents in cars, pickups, and vans. More importantly, it is a route for cattle and livestock haulers to run from north to south and vice versa. Cattle haulers usually violate the FMCSR causing accidents. - Wall Street and US-69 highway.
Wall Street is also US-54 and intersects with US-69 making it an area of Fort Scott that needs to be approached with extreme caution due to the large trucks driving through both roads. This is in town and a little north of the town where the two split. - Maple Road.
Maple Road to the west of the town is near the Fort Scott Livestock Market which demands caution because of the cattle hauling tractor-trailers and agricultural vehicles.
Do I need a Semi-Truck Lawyer?
Any person involved in a motor vehicle crash with a tractor-trailer that is injured needs to hire an experienced semi-truck lawyer.
The top 7 reasons why you need an experienced Fort Scott Semi-truck lawyer are:
- Insurance company bad faith tactics.
Insurance companies use sophisticated psychological tools to teach their adjusters how to keep truck accident injury victims from hiring experienced trucking attorneys because it helps them keep their payouts and settlements much lower than a represented client will receive. Adjusters learn how to role play with unrepresented clients to convince them not to hire a lawyer in order to reduce payouts. - Finding at fault and liable parties.
Fault and negligence is not clearly apparent in all cases. Skilled big rig injury lawyers know how to find each and every party that may be liable to pay for your injuries. - Part 395 and maximum hours driving limits.
Part 395 regulates the number of hours truck drivers can drive per day and for a 7/8 day period. Tracing their real driving path and hours is a difficult task that requires a lawyer’s expertise. - Rising insurance coverage makes for a tougher fight.
Insurance companies tend to fight less with small policies like $25,000 or $50,000 but when truck insurance limits are at $750,000 or in the millions of dollars, it gives added incentive to fight truck injury victims. - All lawyers do not understand trucking regulations.
Just because a lawyer claims to be a personal injury attorney means absolutely nothing. If they do not constantly study the FMCSR and CSA BASICs it will harm your case. The attorney you hire must understand federal regulations with complete knowledge. - Destruction of evidence.
Trucking companies and their defense attorneys are clever and some are underhanded and will allow the motor carrier to lose or destroy critical evidence. Once the evidence is lost it is too late to get it back so hire a real truck accident attorney immediately. - Black boxes in trucks can be overwritten.
The black box in the tractor records data about the truck driver’s last actions prior to impact. If the tractor is able to be driven from the scene, the evidence can be overwritten and lost. You need a trucking lawyer the same day as your accident to protect the evidence.
Who is Held Liable for a Semi-truck Accident?
The parties who are usually held liable following a semi-truck accident are the truck driver and the motor carrier for which he/she was working.
Who are other parties that can be held liable after a semi-truck accident?
Even when both the truck driver and motor carrier are liable there can be other parties who may be liable:
- Parent transportation company.
Huge transportation companies usually act as the parent to many smaller motor carriers and transportation companies. Depending upon the amount of control they exercise over the smaller company and how unsafe that company is, the parent can be held liable to pay for your injuries. - Leasing company liability.
Leasing companies may set up contracts with truck drivers to lease the tractor, trailer, or both to the drivers. That normally does not get them out of liability. If they exercise control like requiring certain pickup dates with an on-time delivery they are controlling the driver and can be liable. - Maintenance companies.
Some smaller motor carrier employ outside maintenance companies and when they act negligently and fail to properly maintain and repair a tractor-trailer, they can be liable. - Product manufacturers.
Manufacturers who provide defective parts for tractors and trailers like tires, brakes and safety equipment which can make them liable for a large truck crash. - Improper loading.
Anytime a truck driver picks up a trailer that has been preloaded and the load is off center, too heavy, or too light on one side, it can cause the truck to jackknife or rollover and make the loading company liable. - Brokers and shippers.
Broker-shipper liability is an evolving legal doctrine that is now real. When brokers exercise too much control over delivery schedules or pick unsafe motor carriers to transport their shipment, they are liable.
What are 7 Common Causes of Large Truck Crashes?
The 7 common causes of large truck crashes are:
- Abrupt and improper lane changes.
Abrupt and improper lane changes are a sign that the truck driver is fatigued. The 2019 LTCCS FMCSA study reported 3 percent of fatalities with large trucks were from improper lane usage. - Fatigued driving.
The National Institutes of Health and NCBI reported that truck driver fatigue is associated with 13 percent of large truck crashes. - Speeding.
According to the FMCSA speeding was the most frequent driver related factor in fatal crashes with commercial motor vehicles (CMV) making up 7.3 percent of all CMV fatalities. - Right of way.
The FMCSA published the 2019 Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts finding that 4.6% of fatal crashes involving large trucks were due to failing to yield right of way. - Distracted Driving.
An FMCSA study from 2009 found that 71 percent of large truck crashes happened with the truck driver was doing something besides driving the truck and was not focused on the task of driving. - Following too closely.
The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) found that 5 percent of truck crashes occurred when the commercial motor vehicle driver was following the lead vehicle too closely. - Careless driving.
Careless driving was reported to be a cause of 4.4 percent of fatalities involving large trucks by the 2019 LTCCS study.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a commercial motor vehicle (CMV)?
Part 390.5 of the FMCSR defines a commercial motor vehicle as any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when:
- Has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, or
- Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers including the driver for compensation, or
- Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation, or
- Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding.
What is an Alert?
An Alert is when a motor carrier’s score in one or more of the 7 categories of behavioral characteristics is above the FMCSA threshold for intervention which means there violation rate of the CSA BASICs is too high and deemed unsafe.
What is a Safety Audit for a new entrant?
A safety audit is a review of a motor carrier’s records to verify that the carrier has basic safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the FMCSR and Hazardous Materials Regulations including record keeping requirements.
Contact Fort Scott Office
- Truck Accident Case Development Methods
- Common Injuries from Big Rig Accident
- Types of Damages
- 8 Reasons Truck Accidents are Difficult to Settle
- Statute of Limitations
- Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections
- 7 Reasons You Need an Experienced Truck Lawyer
- Who is Liable?
- 7 Common Causes of Truck Crashes
- Frequently Asked Questions