Leavenworth Truck Accident Attorney
Leavenworth Truck Accident Lawyer Helping Fight Trucking Companies with Negligent Truck Drivers to Get Financial Compensation for Injury Victims.
Our Leavenworth truck accident lawyers help fight trucking companies with negligent truck drivers by getting financial compensation for truck injury victims in Leavenworth, 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 tremendous. We have settled hundreds of millions of dollars of car-truck accidents over the past four decades.
Truck Accident Lawyers Group (TALG) is associated with Bull Attorneys®. This association of experienced truck accident injury attorneys help families with rebuilding their life after a car accident with a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). Our network of lawyers work mainly with car-truck crashes and insurance companies know our ability to win.
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.
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.
The 2021 Kansas Traffic Crash Book reported that Leavenworth had 554 car accidents and motor vehicle crashes resulting in 199 injuries and 2 fatalities. Leavenworth County had 1,294 motor vehicle crashes with 435 injuries and 10 fatalities.
Leavenworth is part of the Kansas City Metro area making it a connective outer edge of the larger Kansas City area. Leavenworth is known for its military base at Fort Leavenworth and the large group of prisons in Leavenworth County. The military trucks and vehicles provide danger to area passenger vehicles.
Leavenworth has a substantial number of large employers which increases the density of the vehicle and truck traffic in Leavenworth County. Fort Leavenworth is the largest employer. Northrop Grumman is in the aerospace industry and its products are mainly sold to the military. This means that there is a constant flow of parts and materials coming in and out of the area on semi-trucks.
Our Leavenworth truck injury attorneys are specially trained to understand the FMCSR and CSA BASICs. These regulations and behavioral categories are used by the DOT to determine unsafe motor carriers. Our trucking attorneys use the same regulations and standards to prove negligence of the motor carrier.
When you hire our truck injury lawyers you are getting lawyers who have learned specialized proprietary case development methods which increase the likelihood of winning.
Proprietary case development methods.
Our proprietary case development methods have been learned through mentoring relationships with truck litigation lawyers who have handed down secret methods that are only passed on to a few skilled tractor-trailer trial attorneys. Some of the methods are:
- Safety management questions for management.
Trucking cases are won or lost by the ability of your lawyer to use the Company Safety Profile to develop specific admissions by upper management in the motor carrier. - Investigative techniques are designed to establish negligence.
The investigative techniques we use are designed to increase fault of the motor carrier and prove their level of negligence rises to a much greater level of wrongful conduct referred to as reckless conduct, gross negligence, wanton conduct or willful, fraudulent or malicious conduct. This helps add punitive damage claims. - Rapid prevention of destruction of evidence.
Critical evidence is lost after the very first day following your car-truck accident. The trucking companies move swiftly to destroy and conceal evidence. Your personal injury attorney must move with equal speed. This requires the use of spoliation letters, rapid lawsuits and other legal maneuvers. - Study of employment, criminal, and violation rate of truck drivers. This study is not just for the truck driver who caused your accident. We evaluate the entire hiring process of the motor carrier because unsafe motor carriers usually have a pattern and habit establishing a lack of concern for safety and federal regulations.
Once you have a car accident with a large truck you must talk to a Leavenworth trucking lawyer immediately. You call us for a free consultation at 913-702-0700. Our personal injury lawyers answer the phone 7 days a week. You can also write on our contact page.
What are Common Types of Semi-Truck Accidents?
The motor carrier industry is extremely broad so there are a multitude of common types of semi-Truck Accidents.
The most common types of semi-truck accidents are:
- Jackknife accidents.
Jackknife accident occurs when the tractor and trailer start to fold and the trailer swings or swivels around the side of the tractor at a 90 degree angle or a complete V angle. This usually happens from truck driver error in braking. Death and severe trauma results to occupants of nearby passenger vehicles. - Rollover accidents.
Rollover accidents happen when the truck or tractor-trailer tips on its side and begins to rollover. The FMCSA Cargo Tank Rollover Prevention Brochure informs truck drivers they are preventable. Most are caused by driver error with behaviors like drowsiness, inattention, and incorrect turning. The size of the load is a factor in 63% of rollovers - Blind spot accidents.
Large trucks and semi-trucks have blind spot areas. Blind spots are called “No Zones” around the front, back and sides of the vehicle. The truck driver cannot see you in these no zones. To prevent injury to you and your family, never linger in a blind spot. - Underride accidents.
The NHTSA defines a truck underride crash as a collision where a car slides under the body of a truck like a tractor-trailer due to the height difference between the vehicles from the rear or side. Part 393.86 of the FMCSR requires trailers to have rear impact guards to meet the standards in Sections 571.223 and 571.224. - Wide turn accidents.
Wide turns and U-turns by truck drivers are common and occur when the truck driver is turning from the wrong lane of travel. The truck driver is usually at fault for making these turns without proper space or assistance from safety persons helping direct them. Be cautious when near semi-trucks who are attempting to turn. - Head-on accidents.
The DOT warns passenger vehicles about vehicle head-on because they are the most harmful event in 14 percent of all traffic fatalities each year and cause 27 percent of all roadway departure fatalities. Between 2016 and 2018 the DOT and the FHA identified 5,248 fatalities which were a result of head-on crashes.
What are Common Injuries from Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV)?
The most common injuries from commercial motor vehicles are:
- Broken Bones and Fractures. Heavy weight of CMVs is responsible for breaking bones and causing severe fractures to skeletal system of the occupants of passenger vehicles in accidents with large trucks.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries. Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are so prevalent that the NHTSA reports that 1.7 million TBI related deaths, emergency room visits and hospitalizations happen annually resulting in approximately 124,626 people with long-term impairment and disability from their brain injuries. Many are from traumatic car-truck accidents.
- Internal injuries. Large truck crashes commonly result in internal injuries to the occupants of the smaller motor vehicles. These injuries can require long term hospitalization, organ removal and death.
- Back and neck injuries. Large truck crashes with other motor vehicles result in medium to severe back and neck injuries with more severe injuries requiring surgical stabilization and hospitalization.
- Shoulder and Hip injuries. Shoulder and hip injuries often result from the force of impact of larger trucks weighing up to 80,000 pounds. These injuries cause months of disability and for some, lifelong disability. Surgery is common in most of these injuries. Functional loss of parts of the human body occur frequently.
- Wrongful death and survival claims.
Semi-trucks that crash crashes with passenger vehicles normally cause death to the people in the smaller vehicle. When the injured person lives for a period of time after the accident before dying it allows the family to bring both a wrongful death claim and a survival claim.
What Kind of Damages Can I Collect After a Car-truck Accident?
Lawyers call compensation for injuries damages. The payment of damages are supposed to repay the injured person for their losses. This is not always the case. Some injuries are so bad that there is no amount of money that will compensate the person for their losses.
Damages available to injured persons in car-truck accidents in Kansas are:
- 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. - 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.
Why are Car-truck Accidents Complex?
Car-truck accidents are complex because of the types of evidence that a trucking lawyer must find to prove the negligence and fault of other parties.
Five reasons that car-truck accidents are complex:
- Identifying everyone at fault is not easy.
Car-truck crashes always require evaluation of the negligence of every possible party. Sometimes, all parties may not be readily identifiable until a lawsuit is filed and discovery is issued to see who other potential negligent parties are. - Company Safety Profiles are not readily public.
While 5 of the 7 behavioral categories in a safety management cycle are available online to the public, the most important categories are only available to the trucking company management and to truck accident attorneys that send FOIA requests to the DOT and FMCSA. - Employment history of all drivers.
When a car-truck crash is evaluated the trucking attorney must not just study the employment history of the at fault driver, but must obtain hiring, training, and supervision procedures, new hire rates and training evidence for all truck drivers. When a routine business pattern of negligent hiring and training evolves, punitive damages may be available to the injured person. - Scene evaluation.
The scene evidence may be the most important evidence in the case. When this evidence is not obtained immediately after the accident the job of your personal injury lawyer is much more complex because it must be put together through analysis of police investigations, insurance company investigations and accident reconstruction experts. - Disciplinary Policies.
The disciplinary policy of the trucking company will identify standardized safety rules to ensure truck drivers follow safety regulations and policies. The complexity comes from proving that the trucking company negligently fails to discipline drivers with a standardized discipline policy.
How Long Do I Have to Bring a Lawsuit for Injuries from a Car-truck Accident?
Car-truck accidents in Kansas only have a two year statute of limitations under Kansas statute 60-513. Minors have a longer period of time depending upon their age. Never wait for time to elapse. Hire a truck accident injury attorney immediately following the accident.
What are The Dangerous Roads and Intersections in Leavenworth and Leavenworth County?
Leavenworth runs adjacent to the Kansas and Missouri state line. Since it is part of the Kansas City metro area there are multiple dangerous roads coming in and out of Leavenworth.
The most dangerous roads and intersections in Leavenworth and Leavenworth County are:
- US-73 highway.
US-73 highway runs north-south and runs through the eastern side of Leavenworth. The highway intersects with K-92 making the area dangerous to traffic. - K-92 highway.
K-92 highway runs east-west and then heads north towards Platte City and makes its way around the northern side of the Kansas City International Airport and joins briefly with I-29 interstate highway and US-435. This joinder of busy highways means that substantial trucking traffic runs throughout this road. - Leavenworth and 4th Street.
K-92 highway is known as Leavenworth through the city and intersects with 4th Street which is part of US-73 making this a very dangerous intersection for passenger vehicles colliding with trucks. - Eisenhower Road.
Eisenhower Road runs east-west through a business area of Leavenworth where many vehicles are pulling out from streets and private drives making this a high traffic area that has substantial car accidents.
Who are Potential Defendants in a Car-truck Accident?
Almost all car-truck accidents end up with more than one defendant. For example, the truck driver’s employer can normally be a party defendant. This is because of the employer’s responsibility for the actions of its hired or retained driver who is working in the course and scope of employment for the employer.
Other potential defendants in a car-truck accident are:
- Master Shipping or Transportation Company.
Master shipping or transportation companies transport freight across the entire 48 states in the US. The logistics of having this large of a company requires them to hire smaller motor carriers and independent truck drivers. When the Master negligently hires and selects unsafe drivers and motor carriers, the Master can be a potential defendant in the case. - Leasing companies.
Leasing companies enter into contracts and leases with drivers and motor carriers attempting to shift fault away from them. Regardless of the contracts or leases, when they control the actions of the other motor carrier or its drivers, they may be a potential defendant in your car-truck accident case. - Improper maintenance by outside repair shops.
Motor carriers are required to inspect and properly maintain all tractors, tractors, and trucks in good repair. A large number of car-truck crashes happen annually from bad brakes, bad tires, and bad safety equipment. These companies can add a second layer of liability insurance coverage and may be a potential defendant. - Loading companies.
When loading companies negligently load trailers it can lead to truck rollovers and jackknife crashes or head-on collisions. Loading companies may be a potential defendant in your case. - Brokers acting as middlemen.
Brokers arrange for the shipment of freight and take a percentage of the money from the transportation. Many brokers are negligent in the hiring and selecting of truck drivers and motor carriers, making them potential defendants in car-truck crashes.
What are 6 Known Causes of Car-Truck Accidents?
Six known causes of car-truck accidents are:
- Fatigued driving.
The National Institutes of Health and NCBI reported that truck driver fatigue is associated with 13 percent of large truck crashes. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should a truck driver be disqualified from driving for one year?
The DOT and FMCSA require disqualification of truck drivers under Part 383.51 whenever they commit major and serious driving offenses. Major offenses are driving under the influence of alcohol, refusing to take a breath test, leaving the scene of an injury accident, using the vehicle to commit a felony, or causing a fatality through negligent homicide.
How do you report a speeding truck driver?
If you see a speeding truck driver and want to report them you can call 1-888-DOT-SAFT (368-7238) from Monday to Friday at 8 am – 5 pm EST.
How do they stop runaway semi-trucks in the mountains?
When a truck driver is going downhill in the mountains and the brakes are not working there are runaway/escape ramps made of sand or gravel which usually head uphill. The government creates these ramps to help stop the semi-truck by using gravity and sand to slow the vehicle.