Coffeyville Truck Accident Attorney

Coffeyville Truck Accident Lawyer Helping Fight Trucking Companies with Negligent Truck Drivers to Get Financial Compensation for Injury Victims.

Our Coffeyville truck accident lawyers help fight trucking companies with negligent truck drivers by getting financial compensation for truck injury victims in Montgomery County, 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.

The Montgomery County truck accident attorneys in our boutique law practice have been specially trained to help victims of commercial motor carriers and negligent truck drivers. We provide free legal representation until we win. Our trucking personal injury attorneys have settled thousands of car-truck crashes since 1983.

Our client results are some of the best settlements in Kansas for injured trucking clients. We have dozens of cases that are between one and nine million dollars and hundreds in the high six figures having settled 50 million dollars in settlements in 2021 alone.

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.

We help truck injury victims get financial compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, disability, past and future medical bills, past and future wage and economic loss and for wrongful death when an injured loved one passes from a truck crash.

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. We deal with the property damage, your bodily injuries and lost income.

2021 Kansas Traffic Crash Book reported that Coffeyville had 95 motor vehicle crashes resulting in 17 injuries and 1 fatality. Montgomery County had 460 motor vehicle crashes with 93 injuries and 6 fatalities. This tells us that the County is far more dangerous than the city for driving.

Coffeyville is known for the infamous failed bank robbery with the Dalton Brothers Gang where most of them died. The area is a large industrial area drawing tractor-trailer and large business trucks on a daily basis making roadways dangerous to passenger cars.

Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing is an oil refinery providing oil products to Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota which means that trucking traffic comes from the entire Midwest in all directions through Coffeyville and Montgomery County.

Our Coffeyville truck injury attorneys are knowledgeable and experienced in federal regulations like the FMCSR and CSA BASICs. These federal regulations apply to all DOT licensed commercial motor vehicles. Under DOT and FMCSR crude oil and its products are considered a hazardous substances when transported by truck.

Whenever you have a car or motor vehicle accident with a large truck or semi you need to hire a Coffeyville trucking lawyer immediately. You call us 24/7 for a free consultation at 620-690-0600 or write on our contact page.

What Types of Procedures do Truck Accident Attorneys Use?

True truck accident attorneys know how to build car-truck wreck cases in a different way than normal personal injury attorneys. They must know the following procedures:

Rapid Scene Evaluation.
The trucking company arrives at the scene within a short period of time after any major crash with injuries. The accident scene can be altered by moving debris, changing the area for photographs and can make it look like the driver of the car or smaller vehicle was at fault. This means you need a trucking attorney to immediately investigate the scene to preserve evidence.

Witness questioning.
Trucking attorneys are trained to ensure that the first statement taken is usually the best. It is highly important to make sure that your attorney gets to the witnesses quickly so you need to hire a lawyer the same day of your accident. The right questions bring out admissions against the truck driver and company.

Spoliation letter to stop destruction of evidence.
Semi-truck attorneys develop lengthy spoliation letters that prevent trucking companies and insurance companies from destroying, altering, and losing critical evidence like drivers logs, maintenance records, black boxes, trip records and other required documents like bills of lading.

Background screening of truck drivers.
Big rig lawyers understand that the trucking company is required to perform back grounds screening of new hires. Your own lawyer must find the truck driver’s past employment history, criminal history, and accident history along with their list of lifelong driving violations to prove they are unsafe to drive.

DOT motor carrier files.
18-wheeler attorneys obtain the entire motor carrier profile and safety record along with their violation history of the FMCSR. They look for safety Alerts, past safety audits, fines and civil penalties which can show the motor carrier is a bad apple that fails to comply with federal laws and regulations.

Deposition Skills.
There are two types of lawyers who handle trucking cases. The first are highly experienced trial attorneys who use questions to establish a habitual pattern of safety violations. The second type are the normal lawyers who walk in unprepared and ask simple questions without studying to prepare for the deposition. When you hire the second type you will normally receive a small settlement or lose the case entirely.

Trial Skills.
Not all lawyers are the same. Ask your chosen trucking attorney about their million dollar plus cases from an actual verdict. If they cannot describe several then you have the wrong attorney.

What are the Most Common Injuries Arising from Trucks?

Trucks that qualify as DOT licensed commercial motor vehicles (MMV) are the deadliest vehicles on the earth with the exception of trains which have even higher weight and force of impact. The weight differential between an 80,000 pound semi-truck and a 5,000 pound or lighter passenger car means the occupants of the car are at great risk of injury and death. The NHTSA reported that in their 2021 CrashStats that 5,788 people died from crashes with large trucks. The increase was 17 percent more than in 2020 meaning our nation’s highways are becoming more dangerous for people to drive on.

12 Common injuries from truck crashes are:

Paralysis. Due to the massive force of impact, the occupants of passenger vehicles who have a wreck with a semi-truck in a rollover, jackknife or underride collision and the injuries can range from decapitation to death and if the occupant lives, they become paraplegics or quadriplegics and require lifetime medical care and assistance.
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.
Hip, pelvis, and femur fractures. Pelvic injuries occur in approximately 25% of trauma patients who have had polytrauma. The three most common causes of high energy pelvic trauma are motor vehicle collisions (truck accidents), pedestrian injuries and falls from height. Death is a frequent complication of polytrauma.
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. When multiple internal organs are damaged in a truck wreck the chance of death drastically increases.
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.
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.
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.

How do you Calculate Financial Damages in a Semi-truck Crash?

Calculating financial damages is an extremely complicated task that is not capable of being written down as an exact mathematical formula. This is because every case with a semi-truck crash is different. The total calculated amount is based upon multiple factors.

Financial damages available to a truck accident victim include:

Property damages.
Property damages are awarded to the person that is not at fault in the truck accident. You can also get reimbursement from your own car insurance if you carry full coverage insurance.
Noneconomic damages for pain and suffering.
Noneconomic damages are for subjective and nonmonetary 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. These damages typically have no mathematical calculation and must be assessed either by the insurance adjuster and managers or by a jury at trial.
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. These damages can be calculated by using experts like medical doctors, economists, lifecare experts and nursing experts.
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. Wrongful death damages are not arrived at by a particular mathematic formula.
Punitive damages.
Punitive damages are meant to punish a wrongdoer and deter other people in society from recklessly injuring other people. This type of court awarded damages are the most difficult to keep on an appeal. The US Supreme Court in BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, used a ratio analysis to reduce a punitive damage award.
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. They are not normally calculated with mathematical certainty.

What makes Big Rig Wrecks Complicated?

Big rig accidents are complicated because they are personal injury cases that involve the analysis of federal and state laws and regulations. The federal regulatory system is filled with complex federal regulations like the FMCSR that most truck drivers do not know or understand. Even worse, safety directors in trucking companies rarely understand them correctly.

The 10 reasons that big rig cases become complicated are.

Choice of law and forum shopping.
All cases depend on jurisdiction and venue. Jurisdiction is the power of a court to make decisions and judgments. Venue means the place where something happens. Smart trucking lawyers can change the forum where the case is filed pulling the case in or out of federal court.
Types of negligence allegations.
Experienced truck accident lawyers bring legal claims for more than violations of a traffic ordinance. More allegations makes it difficult for the trucking company to win a motion to dismiss the case.
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. Recognition of all negligent parties takes experience with prior big rig litigation.
Driver background.
Very few motor carriers follow the correct background investigation of drivers required under Parts 391.21, 391.23, 391.25, 391.43, and 391.53 which includes prior employment, driving, and accident history as well as other relevant facts about the driver.
Analysis of 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. Too many violations results in Alerts from the FMCSA.
Progressive disciplinary policies.
The FMCSA recommends the use of progressive disciplinary policies. These policies are part of the safety management cycle for motor carriers and include written warnings, suspensions, work restrictions, monetary penalties and ultimately termination for noncompliant unsafe truck drivers.
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.
Big rig attorneys try to evaluate the accident scene quickly after an accident. Multiple sources are used including personal inspection, use of accident reconstruction experts, review of law enforcement investigations and when capable of being obtained, inspection of the insurance company’s own investigation.
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. The regulatory system created by the DOT and their agency, the FMCSA, has created sophisticated plans to comply with all trucking industry regulations.
Crash Preventability Determination Program.
A Crash Preventability Determination Program allows a motor carrier with an eligible crash to submit a request for data review by the government. It allows the trucking company to enter data so that the DOT and FMCSA can monitor all causes of large truck accidents to help create plans to reduce injuries and fatalities.

What is the Statute of Limitations for a Car-truck Accident?

When cars have a crash with a large truck there is only a limited period of time to settle the case and file a lawsuit against the truck driver and motor carrier. In Kansas, the time to file suit is limited to a two year statute of limitations under Kansas statute 60-513. Minors have a longer period of time depending upon their age.

What are The Dangerous Roads and Intersections in Coffeyville and Montgomery County?

Coffeyville and Montgomery County are in Southeast Kansas to the west of Pittsburg and north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The area is a major route for big rigs and large trucks traveling both east-west and north-south. The industry and oil processing in the county cause thousands of large trucks to travel in or near Coffeyville making the entire county dangerous to passenger vehicles.

The most dangerous roads and intersections in Coffeyville and Montgomery County are:

US-169 highway. US-169 highway
US-54 highway runs north-south and intersects with US-166 in the middle of Coffeyville. This draws truck drivers from all over the country. This highway runs south to South Coffeyville in Oklahoma where the South Coffeyville stockyards are drawing heavy cattle hauling truck traffic.
US-166 highway.
US-166 highway runs east-west and connects with US-169 with two separate areas of intersection and joinder. This highway is a historic remnant of Route 66 and only has 164 miles connecting Kansas and Oklahoma.
North Sunflower Street.
North Sunflower Street runs north-south adjacent to the Coffeyville Resources plant which becomes a dangerous area due to all the hazardous transportation trucks traveling in and out of the plant.

Who Can I Sue to Get Paid in a Car-Truck Accident?

After a car-truck accident the person least at fault can bring a claim against the other driver for their injuries. Most truck injury claims can be settled without going to a trial, but many require a lawsuit to be filed. Normally, your truck crash personal injury attorney will bring a suit against the truck driver and the employer who hired the truck driver. This will help you to be paid for your pain and suffering and financial losses received from the accident.

Who are other parties that can be sued after a car-truck accident?

Other parties in addition to the truck driver and motor carrier who may be sued depending upon negligence are:

Master Services Contract.
In large manufacturing companies they do not want to deal with hundreds of smaller motor carriers so they will normally hire one larger motor carrier as the Master Services Motor Carrier to undertake the shipment of all of the manufacturer’s products. When negligent for hiring an unsafe smaller motor carrier the master carrier can be sued.
Leasing company liability.
Leasing companies may set up contracts under Part 376.11 of the FMCSR. This regulation requires a written lease agreement identifying the equipment leased and records of compliance must be kept or both companies can end up being sued. If they hire an unsafe driver or motor carrier they can be sued.
Systematic inspection, maintenance, and repair.
Part 396 of the FMCSR requires every employee of a motor carrier involved with inspection and upkeep of vehicles to perform systematic inspection, repair, and maintenance. When this is hired out to outside companies, the motor carrier and the maintenance company can be sued for failing to comply with the regulations.
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. These are typical product liability claims for the manufacture of defective products that cause injury or death.
Cargo Securement systems and loading companies.
When an outside company or the motor carrier are negligent in securement methods either can be sued. The FMCSA requires that all cargo securement systems must withstand deceleration forces of:
• 0.8 g deceleration in forward direction.
• 0.5 g acceleration in the rearward direction, and
• 0.5 g acceleration in a lateral direction.
Brokers.
A broker is the middle person between a shipper and a motor carriers and arrange for transportation of property or household goods. Broker 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 9 Common Causes of Large Truck Crashes?

The 9 common causes of large truck crashes are:

Driver error.
The FMCSA reported that 78 percent of rollovers were caused by driver error.
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.
Bad Weather and high winds.
Bad weather and high winds are a primary cause of catastrophic truck crashes. Part 392.14 requires that truck drivers use extreme caution when hazardous weather conditions affect visibility or traction. When weather conditions worsen and become “sufficiently dangerous” the truck drivers are required to cease operations. Truck drivers must be taught this safety rule.
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.

For other major causes of large truck crashes click here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is coercion of truck drivers?
The FMCSA defines coercion against truck drivers to mean when any motor carrier, s hipper, receiver or transportation intermediary threatens to withhold work, take employ action or punish a truck driver for refusing to violate the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR).

What are the recommended steps to take following an accident with a large commercial motor vehicle?
After an accident with a large commercial truck take the following steps:

Check on all occupants of all vehicles to see if injured and call 911.
When calling 911 report all injuries and request an ambulance.
Photograph the scene, roadway, injuries, license tags and business logos on the large truck.
Seek immediate medical attention at a hospital emergency room.
Describe all injuries no matter how small.
Notify your insurance company.
Do not give any statements to insurance adjusters.

How are truck accidents different from car accidents?
The size and weight difference between a commercial truck and a car are substantial. The truck can weigh 80,000 pounds while the car may be as light as 3,000 pounds. Cars can brake quickly while large trucks cannot. The severity of the crash will cause more injury to the car occupants than the truck driver.

Contact Coffeyville Office

Call Brad's cell phone at (316) 706-5020 or visit our Contact Page.

(620) 690-0600