Medicine Lodge City Truck Accident Attorney

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

Our Medicine Lodge truck accident lawyers help fight trucking companies with negligent truck drivers by getting financial compensation for truck injury victims in Medicine Lodge and Barber 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.

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 and are in the hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements, 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 Medicine Lodge truck accident attorneys have had hundreds of cases for semi-truck crashes with cars and pickups over the past 40 years and we have always worked for free with no charges unless we win. Most insurance companies for large trucking companies know and respect us as true trucking lawyers.

The 2021 Kansas Traffic Crash Book reported that Medicine Lodge had 43 car accidents and motor vehicle crashes resulting in 9 injuries. Barber County had 133 motor vehicle crashes with 24 injuries and 1 fatalities.

Medicine Lodge is a unique historical location for the 5 tribes. They are the Commanche, Kiowa, Plains Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Southern Arapaho Indian tribes. In 1867, the 5 tribes signed the Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty.

Medicine Lodge is largely known for being the home of Carrie Nation also known as Hatchet Granny who was known for her temperance movement against alcohol, attacking her first saloon in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. She began her crusade against alcohol before prohibition began.

Medicine Lodge is southwest of Wichita and is in rural Kansas where grain elevators and farming trucks, grain trucks and agricultural vehicles rule the roads. All of these large trucks are dangerous to passenger cars and motor vehicles.

Our Medicine Lodge truck injury attorneys are highly educated on how to understand and use the FMCSR and CSA BASICs. Our understanding of how the DOT and FMCSA study and audit motor carriers for violating the 7 behavioral categories of safety make our trucking attorneys uniquely qualified to handle commercial motor vehicle accidents.

What are 7 proprietary case development methods for truck accidents that our trucking lawyers use to win cases?

Accident scene review with accident reconstruction experts.
Our trucking personal injury attorneys know that we must evaluate the accident scene to properly understand negligence of all parties who caused the accident. We use well known accident reconstruction experts who can prove which side of the road the semi was on at the point of impact.
Unique questioning techniques.
We have developed a unique set of specific questions for drivers, witnesses, law enforcement, safety directors, dispatch personnel and hiring personnel from the trucking company.
Use of trucking and safety experts.
We have a network of highly trained trucking safety experts who have worked most of their life either for the trucking industry or the Federal Government auditing the safety of trucking companies. These experts work with our lawyers to build your case to its highest potential.
Spoliation Letters.
We use specific spoliation letters to the motor carriers and maintenance companies to prevent destruction of critical evidence necessary to prove their negligence like maintenance records, the black box data, trip logs, fuel receipts, toll both receipts and other necessary pieces of critical evidence. Motor carriers destroy this evidence exactly 6 months from the accident.
Background checks of truck drivers.
Our trucking attorneys understand that many truck drivers hop from job to job. The turnover rate of new hire truck drivers can be as much as 150% per year. When trucking companies change drivers and fail to properly train them in defensive driving rules of the road, they care crating a dangerous situation.
OP-1 Oath.
We use the OP-1 oath and safety certification in a manner that will clearly prove the company did not abide by their oath by implementing a proper safety plan required by the DOT and federal regulations.
Motor carrier safety file.
The way that we prove the trucking company is negligent is by studying its monthly safety file with the DOT and FMCSA to see if it is complying with the CSA BASICs. When the safety violations are bad enough, the FMCSA issues Safety Alerts to the trucking company. These help us prove reckless disregard for human life and wanton conduct which can help increase the value of your case.

When you need legal representation because of a truck accident with a passenger vehicle rash you can write to us on our contact page or call us day or night for a free consultation at 620-690-0600. You are able to speak to a live truck accident injury attorney 24 hours a day, even at night and on weekends and holidays to obtain free legal advice about your case.

What Kind of Compensation Can I Get from a Commercial Motor Carrier for My Car-Truck Accident?

Commercial motor carriers are responsible for their truck drivers. When they cause a commercial motor vehicle truck accident you have the ability to bring legal claims against both the driver and the motor carrier. We bring legal claims for actual compensatory damages on your behalf for the following:

Noneconomic damages like pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of time, disfigurement, and psychological damages.
Economic losses for wage loss, medical bills, future medical and economic loss, vocational treating, rehabilitation treatment, medications, and other forms of economic losses.
Exemplary damages are called punitive damages. Whenever we can prove the truck driver or motor carrier acted willfully, recklessly, wantonly, fraudulently, or maliciously and caused you harm we can usually get a court to allow an additional claim for punitive damages to punish the driver and trucking company for egregious conduct.
Wrongful death damages including conscious pain and suffering for the period of time after the accident but prior to death where your loved one was consciously suffering. This additional claim is called a survival claim. We also bring claims for Wentling damages.

Are pain and suffering and noneconomic damages capped in Kansas?

Kansas found caps on pain and suffering to be unconstitutional in the case of Hillburn v. Enerpipe, Ltd. and they are not normally capped in Kansas. However, in a wrongful death case there is still a cap of $250,000 on noneconomic wrongful death damages but not on economic losses.

Are Commercial Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Difficult to Prove?

Commercial motor vehicle accident claims are extremely difficult to prove. Only seasoned highly trained truck accident attorneys should help a trucking injury victim. This is because the regulatory analysis requires a lawyer that actually studies and understands the FMCSR and CSA BASICs. Without this knowledge, your claim will be worth much less.

The 7 reasons that commercial motor vehicle accident claims are difficult are:

Multiple parties can be sued.
Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) require analysis of hiring, training, and supervision policies of the motor carrier. This analysis looks for additional at fault people or businesses to increase the insurance coverage for the case.
Employment history of the truck driver must be investigated.
To prove the commercial motor carrier negligently hired the truck driver it requires that the entire employment history, criminal history, and motor vehicle driving citation history of the truck driver be obtained.
Motor carrier compliance history.
Commercial motor carriers must comply with the FMCSR and CSA BASICs which are tracked by the FMCSA . It requires study of their compliance history. When they are out of compliance with too many violations, they can lose their DOT license to operate. Obtaining their complete motor carrier file is complex and requires a skilled attorney.
Analysis of Disciplinary Policies.
Many motor carriers negligently fail to set up a proper disciplinary policy to prevent accidents, injuries, and deaths. Our trucking attorneys will obtain all company policies, handbooks, and training materials to analyze hiring and termination policies to prove they have a disciplinary policy.
Insurance coverage analysis.
Insurance policies for commercial motor vehicle trucking companies are much higher than an ordinary car insurance policy. Some motor carriers have excess and umbrella policies. The insurance companies and their defense attorneys go to great lengths to conceal or hide the higher limits of insurance.
Scene investigation is critical.
Commercial motor vehicle accidents with injuries are investigated by the insurance company investigators, adjusters, and defense lawyers within minutes or hours of any serious accident. It is essential to have a truck accident injury attorney who understands the same need for speed. Our trucking lawyers have had several cases where an insurance company investigator changes the scene evidence to avoid fault.
Understanding the CSA BASICs.
The CSA BASICs were only implemented by the FMSCA in 2010 and many unskilled attorneys do not understand their purpose or how to use them to the client’s advantage. Only hire a trucking attorney that can fully explain these rules in the very first meeting. Otherwise, they do not understand them.

How long is the Statute of Limitations on a Commercial Motor Vehicle Truck Accident?

In Kansas, an accident caused by a commercial motor vehicle truck driver only has a two-year statute of limitations under Kansas statute 60-513. Minors have a longer period of time depending upon their age.

No matter what the statute of limitations is in your state, you need to hire a commercial motor vehicle accident lawyer the same day that you have your accident.

What are The Dangerous Roads and Intersections in Medicine Lodge and Barber County?

Medicine Lodge and Barber County are southwest of Wichita and are in the lower southwest quadrant of the state. There are basically two different highways running north-south and east-west.

The most dangerous roads and intersections in Medicine Lodge and Barber County are:

US-160 highway.
US-160 highway runs east-west and intersects with US-281 in two separate locations making both intersections dangerous to smaller motor vehicles.
US-281 highway.
US-281 highway runs north-south heading clear up to Hasting and Grand Rapids, Nebraska making this a heavily traveled cattle hauling route. The highway runs south into Oklahoma.
Fowler Avenue and US-281.
Fowler Avenue is US-160 and it intersects to the north and the south with US-281 which creates two points of danger for passenger cars.
West Stolp Avenue is also called River Road.
West Stolp Avenue becomes River Road running adjacent to the Farmers Co-op grain elevator making the area dangerous becomes of large train trucks.

Do I need a Truck Accident Lawyer?

If you or a loved one has had a car accident with a large truck and were injured you always need a truck accident lawyer to help manage your case, build your claim for injuries and damages and to prove negligence and fault of other drivers and companies.

Seven reasons why you need an experienced truck accident lawyer are:

Insurance company 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.
Identifying the right parties who are liable.
Trucking cases are complex and many different parties may be liable. It requires an experienced truck accident attorney to properly identify who is at fault for your injuries.
Understanding the maximum hours of service rules.
Western Kansas has dozens of truck routes that cattle haulers and fatigued truck drivers use. The cattle haulers believe they do not need to comply with maximum hours rules. They are wrong. Experienced trucking lawyers know how to get around the agricultural exemption for logging driving time. We can prove fatigued and unsafe driving from reviewing trip documents.
Higher insurance coverage makes insurance companies fight more.
As insurance limits rise in their amount, the insurance company has much more to fight about. They want to pay as little as possible for your injuries. The greater the amount of coverage, the harder they fight.
Trucking litigation is based upon federal regulations.
The truck accident attorney must not only be aware of but study the FMCSR and CSA BASICs to properly represent a truck injury victim. When lawyers do not understand the complex regulations and their effect it is impossible for them to provide adequate legal representation.
Critical evidence disappears rapidly.
Weather and traffic can erase evidence at the scene that can help properly locate the point of impact location to prove which vehicle was in the right. Adjusters, investigators, and attorneys for the trucking company will arrive at the scene within an hour or two of any injury accident. You need your own truck accident lawyer to do the same to obtain critical evidence needed to win your case.
Black boxes must be accessed immediately.
Black boxes are small data recorders in the truck and motor vehicle that record speed, braking information and other critical evidence which can be erased and written over if not immediately taken out of the truck. You will need a truck crash lawyer and an accident reconstruction expert to make sure the evidence in the black box is not destroyed.

What are the 7 Common Injuries Caused by Commercial Motor Vehicles?

Commercial motor vehicle accidents cause common types of injuries that happen routinely. The reason they are common is because the commercial motor vehicles weigh up to 80,000 lbs. and a normal car may only be 3,000 to 4,000 lbs. When an impact happens, the car may be crushed because the weight disparity transfers the force of the accident into the car occupants.

The seven common injuries caused by commercial motor vehicles are: Whiplash and neck injuries.

Shoulder injuries.
The great difference in weight of farm and grain trucks leaves cars and pickups heavily damaged after impact. The occupants suffer shoulder injuries frequently. Shoulder injuries to the rotator cuff, brachial plexus nerve branch, clavicle and scapula usually require extensive surgery.
Knee injuries.
Knee injuries happen from crush injuries to the passenger compartment. Knees can also be injured by the dashboard. These injuries often create meniscal tears, ACL and PCL tears, patella fractures and other significant damage that normally requires surgery to repair.
Back injuries.
When a heavier semi-truck or other large truck strikes the smaller motor vehicle it can cause damage to the back including, vertebrae, discs, and ligaments. Many back injuries require epidurals, physical therapy, surgeries, and radiofrequency ablations.
Traumatic brain injuries.
Truck accidents can cause head injuries from a brain bleed or fractured skull to concussions and traumatic brain injuries. Most are lifelong medical problems that stop a person from normal functioning in life.
Spinal Cord Injuries.
Spinal cord injuries often lead to paralysis of part or all of the body and are life disabling creating a need for medical care over an entire lifetime.
Fractures and Broken Bones.
The force of the impact with a large truck can cause broken bones and fractures to your extremities like shoulders, hips, arms, hips, knees, and elbows. It can also cause severe fractures to the pelvis in the lower extremity or the humerus and clavicle in the shoulders.
Wrongful Death.
Internal injuries, fractures, infection, and injuries from the force of the impact from a large truck can result in death to the occupants creating a tremendous loss to the remaining family members and spouse.

Who Must Pay for My Injuries in a Truck Accident?

When a truck driver is negligent the main two parties to pay for your injuries will be the truck driver and their employer, the motor carrier.

Other parties who may pay for injuries for a truck accident are:

Parent company.
Larger transportation companies will enter into leases or contracts with smaller motor carriers. In certain factual situations both companies can be equally responsible to pay for your injuries.
Leasing company.
Leasing companies providing the tractor or trailer to the motor carrier may be responsible to pay for your injuries, depending upon their knowledge of a known crash history or unsafe violation history of the person or company leasing their tractor-trailer.
Maintenance and repair companies.
When a trucking company uses an outside business to maintain and repair their tractor-trailers and they have improperly repaired the semi-truck that hits you, they can be responsible to pay for your injuries.
Manufacturing Companies.
Brake and tire manufacturers or other manufacturers who provide a defective safety part to the truck can be responsible for your injuries.
Cargo Loading companies.
Cargo loaders make negligent mistakes in loading the cargo onto the trailer making the weight uneven where the cargo and the trailer can shift may cause the trailer to leave the correct lane of travel and often cause the trailer to jackknife or rollover. Improper loading can make the loading company responsible to pay for your injuries.
Brokers and shippers.
Brokers and shippers who negligently select unsafe drivers and motor carriers to transport their cargo can be responsible to pay for your injuries.

Who is the Best Lawyer for a Commercial Motor Vehicle Accident Claim?

The best lawyer for a commercial motor vehicle accident claim will be truck accident lawyer who has years of trying and winning trucking cases. You will need a lawyer who has won more than one million dollars on a case for an injury client. You need a lawyer who has regulatory knowledge and knows how to apply the regulations to your case. The best lawyer will have a combination of all these qualities.

What are 4 Common Causes of Commercial Motor Vehicle Accidents?

Four common causes of commercial motor vehicle cases are:

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.
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% of truck crashes occurred when the commercial motor vehicle driver was following the lead vehicle too closely.

Frequently Asked Questions

What questions should I ask my Kansas Truck Accident Lawyer?
The main questions to ask your Kansas Truck Accident Lawyer are to inquire as to their past experience in trucking cases, their win rate, their knowledge of the FMCSR and CSA BASICS and what type of trucking library of textbooks and training manuals they have in the office. Ask to see the library.

What is a large or heavy truck?
A large or heavy truck generally refers to a truck that weighs more than 10,000 pounds and consists of a single axle truck or can be multiple axles puling a trailer. The FMCSA performs a study called the Large Truck Crash Causation Study or (LTCCS). This study looks at how to prevent large truck crashes resulting in injury or death.

Who usually is injured in a car-truck crash with heavy trucks, 18-wheelers, and tractor-trailers?
The National Safety Council (NSC) Injury Facts reported that 71% of people injured in large truck crashes were in the other vehicle while only 27.1% of the truck occupants were injured in 2021 large truck crashes.

Contact Medicine Lodge Office

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

(620) 690-0600