Newton Truck Accident Lawyer
Newton Truck Accident Lawyers Helping Fight Trucking Companies with Negligent Semi-Truck Drivers to Get Financial Compensation for Injury Victims.
Newton truck accident lawyers help car-truck crash victims get financial compensation from traumatic collisions between motor vehicles and semis. We have settled hundreds of millions of dollars in car and truck accidents since 1983. Insurance companies know we get results so most cases are settled without going to trial.
Our experienced Newton trucking attorneys can help get financial compensation for:
- Pain and suffering.
- Mental anguish.
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
- Medical bills and future treatment.
- Wage loss and future lost earnings.
- Disability and disfigurement.
- Scarring and road rash.
- Amputation.
- Spinal cord injuries.
- Wrongful death.
Newton, Kansas and Harvey County is a primary railroad route with the BNSF Railway and Amtrak. The area is home to major trucking routes with agricultural products because of grain elevators like Farmers Grain Cooperative McClain Elevator and flour and wheat milling companies like Horizon Milling. Semi-truck and farm trucks create a dangerous area of roads for residents of Newton.
Tractor-trailer accidents with cars and pickups happen frequently because of the major trucking routes that run through Newton and Harvey County. Interstate I-135 runs north-south connecting Newton to Wichita and Salina as well as smaller towns. This corridor is a favored trucking route for truck drivers hauling freight and goods from Minnesota to Texas.
US-50 is an east-west highway with dangerous two-lane roads crossing from Maryland to California. It runs through Newton and then west to Hutchinson and beyond. Speeding and fatigued truck drivers favor this major route for semis because they can avoid weigh stations, law enforcement and weight scales. It has been called one of the most dangerous highways in the US.
Our Newton truck crash attorneys with Truck Accident Lawyers Group (TALG) are closely associated with Bull Attorneys®. Our Newton personal injury trucking attorneys concentrate our legal practice in car and motor vehicle accidents with tractor-trailers and other large trucks. We understand how to use federal regulations like the FMCSR to prove both the truck driver and motor carrier are liable.
Newton and North Newton had a total of 230 traffic accidents according to the 2021 Kansas Traffic Crash Book. This resulted in 63 people injured and 3 fatalities. Harvey County fared worse with 583 traffic crashes resulting in 133 injured people and 10 deaths.
One of the most helpful ways that we assist truck crash victims in traumatic semi crashes is by finding the best medical care with doctors, hospitals and surgery centers. We use your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits to get you payment for your ambulance and emergency room with the no-fault medical coverage in every car insurance policy in Kansas.
Even when you have no health insurance coverage, we have medical providers who will treat you and wait for payment. This helps you to get medical treatment, surgery and pain management treatment. The reason we can work with so many doctors and hospitals is that they know when we take a trucking case on for a client we stay with the case until we win the case.
Motor carriers send insurance adjusters and defense attorneys to the scene of every traumatic semi-truck crash. You need a Newton truck accident personal injury attorney the same day as your accident. We give free consultations and you can call us 24/7 at 316-330-9200 or write to us on our contact page. It is free to hire us and you only pay if you win.
Do I Need to Hire a Personal Injury Trucking Attorney for My Accident with a Semi-Truck?
If you have had an accident in your car with a semi-truck and were injured you definitely need an experienced truck accident attorney. There are several reasons why:
- Injury severity.
The more you are injured the stronger the need for a personal injury lawyer trained in federal trucking regulations because the insurance carrier will not just write you a large check. The attorney can help you understand your legal rights. - Complex case.
Truck crashes with other motor vehicles create complex issues about who is at fault and liable and how many parties can be liable for your injuries so a skilled trucking attorney will be able to identify the liable parties. - Liability and comparative fault.
Kansas is a state where if you are found 50% or more at fault you lose completely. This is a harsh rule. A regulator trucking lawyer who studies and understands the FMCSR will be able to shift fault between the truck driver and their employing company which can help reduce any comparative fault you may have. - Insurance Company Adjusters.
Large trucking companies and motor carriers have a difficult time getting liability insurance and the insurance carriers always try to blame the other driver. They make low offers and an experienced truck crash attorney that the insurance carriers have dealt with and paid in the past will improve your chance of success. - Statute of limitations.
Once your car-truck accident happens a clock begins running and Kansas only has a two-year statute of limitations. The trucking company will send adjusters and defense lawyers to the accident scene and you need a lawyer to evaluate the scene as well. You should always hire a skilled truck crash attorney the same day of your accident. - Legal expertise.
Not all personal injury attorneys understand federal regulations like the FMCSR and interpreting regulations like the CSA BASICs. In fact, less than 2% of lawyers regularly handle tractor-trailer litigation. An experienced lawyer will help you obtain a much higher amount of financial compensation.
How Much Will a Truck Accident Lawyer Charge?
- Contingency fee charge. Most truck accident lawyers will work on a contingency and get a percentage of the case settlement usually ranging from one-third to forty percent.
- Case development expenses. Trucking cases are expensive. It is important to work out an agreement with your truck accident lawyer to understand what you owe if they lose. Do they come back to you to pay for them? The best truck accident lawyers do not charge any fees or expenses unless they win and only expect reimbursement for expenses if they win.
- Fees above Forty Percent. Some truck accident attorneys believe they should be paid a higher amount and charge as much as fifty percent of the case settlement. These lawyers are unfair, charging way too much. Beware of those lawyers because they care more about themselves than their clients.
What are the Most Dangerous Roads in Newton?
Newton and Harvey County are near major east-west trucking routes and north-south routes which makes Newton a dangerous area for regular drivers. The trucking routes chosen may depend on the type of freight, cargo or perishable goods being transported.
The most dangerous roads and intersections in Newton, Harvey County, Kansas are:
- Interstate I-135. This is a major trucking route for semi-trucks heading north-south across the county which makes it a key highway to be cautious.
- U.S. Route 50. US-50 is a deadly stretch of highway running from the east coast through Kansas to the west coast and runs through Harvey County. This is a trucking route where a majority of long-haul drivers are pushing themselves beyond normal driving limits and they kill many innocent drivers across Kansas. US-50 comes into Newton from the northeast then travels west to other towns in Kansas.
- U.S. Route 81. US -81 runs north-south through Harvey County and is an older highway favored by the more dangerous truck drivers. It comes from the South traveling through Wichita and heading north through other cities and towns. Be very careful while driving on this highway.
- Kansas Highway 15. K-14 is a Kansas state highway running north-south which allows many drivers to connect with many other major highways like I-135. Be cautious of 18- Wheelers and other large trucks while driving on this highway. K-15 intersects with East 1st and West 12th Street making these intersections dangerous.
- Farmers Grain Coop and US-50. There are multiple Farmers’ Cooperative Elevators which are adjacent to US-50 and K-196. Stay clear of these areas due to high tractor-trailer and farm grain truck routes which present significant danger to motorists.
Truck drivers use combinations of roads and highways to find the fastest route possible. Most are paid by the mile and load and are required to have on-time delivery schedules. Speeding truck drivers take shortcuts to save time. Always protect yourself from all large trucks on the roads around you. Avoid known areas of truck traffic when possible.
What are the Three Main Causes of Semi-Truck Accidents?
Truck accidents with cars and other motor vehicles occur from a variety of reasons.
Three of the Main Causes of Tractor-Trailers Accidents are:
- Driver Fatigue.
Truck drivers who become fatigued are less reactive to hazards like other cars on the road. FMCSA driving tips on driver fatigue studying circadian rhythms (wake/sleep cycle) found driver alertness is related to time of day and nighttime driving makes truck drivers less alert. Many large truck crashes happen at night. - Distracted driving.
Truck drivers are known to perform multiple nondriving tasks when they get bored from driving. The FMCSA provides commercial motor vehicles (CMV) with driving tips. A 2009 study of the causes of large truck crashes found that 71 percent of large truck crashes happened when the truck driver was doing something other than driving. - Speeding.
Speeding truck drivers are a main cause of large truck accidents. The FMCSA driving tips advise truck drivers that as speed increases the stopping distance of tractor-trailers increases making it more difficult to stop without hitting slowing or stopped cars and trucks in their path. Be observant for rapidly approaching semi-trucks from behind.
How Much are My Injuries From a Truck Accident Worth?
The worth of your bodily injuries depends on a variety of different factors.
The financial compensation of your injuries will be determined by:
- Type and severity of injuries.
Obviously, the more severe your injuries are the higher your financial compensation will rise. A whiplash is worth less than a spinal cord injury, amputation or wrongful death. - Amount of medical bills.
The value of your injury claim will be dependent upon how much your past and future medical bills are and whether you need long term or lifelong future medical care. - Lost wages and earning ability.
The value of your large truck crash and financial compensation is dependent upon whether you lost wages. If you cannot return to your job and need retraining that increases the value of your damages. If your injuries are so bad that you can no longer be employed that substantially increases your financial compensation. - Liability and Negligence or fault.
Kansas is a comparative fault state. Your own fault can be compared against the fault of the truck driver and motor carrier. If you get 50% fault, you cannot get any compensation. If you have less than 50% fault, the percentage of your own fault reduces your financial compensation by an equal percentage. - Permanent scarring and disfigurement.
If you have severe scarring or permanent disfigurement this will increase the value of your financial compensation. It depends on the extent and level of your disfigurement. - Permanent disability.
Doctors assess functional loss of the use of your body and work ability to assess your permanent disability. Social Security considers you disabled if you cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of medically determinable physical or mental impairment. It must exist for a continuous period of at least 12 months. - Wrongful death.
If you lost a loved one that died from a truck crash this can substantially increase financial compensation to the spouse and dependent children. A claim for wrongful death can be made along with a claim for conscious pain and suffering (survival claim). In Kansas, Wentling damages can be assessed by a jury for loss of care, guidance and services. - Loss of limbs and amputation.
The loss of a limb affects all injury victims for the rest of their life and when you have a lost limb and/or have an amputation this greatly increases your financial compensation. Experts are used to project the future costs of prosthetics to replace the lost limb. These must be replaced every 3-4 years and many are $150,000 each or more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most dangerous type of semi-truck accident?
The most dangerous type of semi-truck accident is a jackknife accident where the trailer of the tractor-trailer swings out to the side of the tractor causing blockage to multiple lanes of traffic and causes extremely severe injuries or fatalities to nearby occupants of other vehicles.
What is a rollover accident?
Rollover accidents are when a semi-truck or tractor-trailer tips onto its side or completely rolls over. In Kansas a substantial number of rollover accidents happen from truck drivers ignoring high wind warnings from news and weather warnings. These can lead to severe injuries and deaths to the truck driver and any other people in vehicles adjacent or near the semi-truck.
What is an underride accident?
An underride accident is where a smaller motor vehicle slides underneath the back of the trailer. Underride guards are required by federal law These impacts usually tear the roof of the motor vehicle off causing severe injuries like quadriplegia and tetraplegia, decapitation and death.