Topeka Truck Accident Attorney
Topeka Truck Accident Lawyer in Topeka Fighting to Win Car Crashes with Tractor-trailers and Large Trucks.
Topeka and Shawnee County is a place where thousands of traffic accidents occur every year. According to the 2021 Traffic Crash Facts Shawnee County had 3945 traffic accidents in 2021 with 851 injuries and 26 fatalities. Topeka has a winding network of interstate highways and state highways surrounding the city which cause traffic jams leading to truck crashes.
Our Topeka tractor-trailer injury attorneys help large truck crash victims to recover financial compensation for medical bills, wage loss, noneconomic losses like pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other economic losses from car crashes with a semi-truck. We provide free legal advice and help you prove the fault of the truck driver and trucking company.
To receive your free consultation, you can write to us on our contact page or call us 24/7 at 785-708-0800. The Truck Accident Lawyers Group (TALG) is associated with Bull Attorneys injury lawyers. Our experienced personal injury trial attorneys, case managers and paralegal-legal assistants work in a team approach on your truck crash injury claim. We work hard to get the highest amount of financial compensation possible.
We don’t just bring claims against the negligent truck driver, we also bring additional claims against the employing company or motor carrier for negligent hiring, negligent training and negligent supervision so that we can increase your financial compensation from higher insurance limits. We have excellent settlement and verdict results.
We win because of our knowledge of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) and we know how to interpret and apply the CSA BASICs to give you a legal edge. Our Topeka truck crash attorneys use the Safety Ratings of the motor carrier to prove they are unsafe and violating their oath to implement a safety plan on hired truck drivers.
Why Should I Hire a Tractor-trailer Lawyer Instead of a Car Accident Attorney?
If you are a victim of a tractor-trailer accident with a car there are several reasons that you only want to hire an experienced regulatory truck accident lawyer:
- Trucking Cases are Complex.
All trucking accidents involving a Department of Transportation (DOT) licensed truck driver or motor carrier require them to follow federal regulations known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. (FMCSR) which requires specialized knowledge to understand how the FMCSA regulates safety of motor carriers.
- Knowledge of Insurance Limits for Different Motor Carriers.
Different types of trucks and large motor vehicles or semi-trucks have different insurance requirements depending upon whether they are transporting freight and cargo, human passengers or hazardous materials. If an ordinary car wreck lawyer does not understand the differences, they will settle your case for a much smaller settlement. - Trucking Safety Experts.
All trucking cases require specialized trucking experts who analyze hours-of-service for drivers, understand fraudulent logbooks, have experience as truck drivers and safety directors, and can tell a jury how the trucking company violated the FMCSR. These experts can cost over $50,000 per expert and many lawyers cannot afford to pay a great expert. We can afford to take on your case. - Understanding Defenses by Trucking Company Attorneys.
Winning a tractor-trailer injury case requires knowledge of the trucking company defense lawyers and their unique tactics they use to beat a case and win. At Bull Attorneys and TALG our truck accident attorneys know all the defense attorneys defending large truck crashes, so we understand their tactics, which helps us win your case. - Experience in Negotiating Large Truck Accidents to Final Large Settlements.
Insurance companies’ study who the truck accident lawyer is that the injury victim chose. When you choose the wrong personal injury attorney the insurance company and their defense lawyers will fight harder because they know you have chosen poorly by hiring an ordinary lawyer who does not understand trucking law.
In conclusion, only hire a Topeka truck wreck attorney with high experience and a great win record. Bull Attorneys and TALG have that win record you need.
Is the Trucking Company Responsible to Pay for My Injuries or Just the Truck Driver?
The trucking company can be sued in almost every large tractor-trailer crash in addition to the truck driver. There are several reasons why they are also at fault and liable.
The reasons why you can bring a legal claim against the trucking company in a large truck crash are:
- Vicarious liability.
Trucking companies or the business employers of a hired driver who is transporting freight, cargo or passengers makes the company that hired the driver responsible for the driver’s negligence when the driver is in the course and scope of employment activity for their employer. - Respondeat Superior.
This is closely related to vicarious liability and makes an employer or the hiring principal legally responsible for the wrongful or negligent act of their driver when driving within the scope of employment or agency. For example, our Topeka truck accident attorneys have successfully sued Broker brokering cattle hauling. - Negligent hiring.
The FMCSR requires all motor carriers to hire and qualify a driver to make sure they are fit to drive in interstate transportation. When they negligently hire the driver and fail to perform required background checks they can be at fault for the driver’s negligent truck crashes. - Negligent training.
The motor carrier hiring a truck driver is required to train them appropriately and road test them to make sure they are safe drivers. Large trucking companies would use a 3-day orientation classroom to teach drivers defensive driving techniques and test them over knowledge. When the company fails to do this, they are also negligent and at fault. - Negligent supervision.
The motor carrier is required to monitor the driver’s hours-of-service to make sure they have sufficient hours remaining in a day or a period of time to complete their trucking mission without becoming fatigued. The company is required to check remaining hours before dispatching a driver. If not done, this makes the company at fault. - Safety Program Compliance.
Motor carriers in transportation must follow the oath they must take in order to receive their DOT license to operate under the OP-1. The OP-1 requires that the motor carrier certify that they have a safety plan in place.
What Kind of Safety Plan Does a Trucking Company Have to Use Under Federal Law and the OP-1 Safety Certification?
The DOT applicant must properly certify that they have seven different safety programs in place in order to receive the DOT license. The oath is a regulatory requirement.
Our Topeka truck crash attorneys regularly bring claims against motor carriers who do not have a complete safety program in place to prevent accidents, crashes, injuries and deaths.
What are the seven requirements a DOT applicant must certify exist in their safety program to get a DOT license under the OP-1?
- Has in place a system and an individual responsible for ensuring overall compliance with the FMCSRs.
- Can produce a copy of the FMCSRs and the Hazardous Materials Transportation Regulations.
- Has in place a driver safety training/orientation program.
- Has in place and maintains an accident register in compliance with 49 CFR Part 390.15.
- Is familiar with the DOT regulations governing driver qualifications and has in place a system for overseeing driver qualification requirements under 49 CFR Part 391.
- Has in place policies and procedures consistent with USDOT regulations governing driving and operational safety of motor vehicles including drivers’ hours of service and vehicle inspection, repair and maintenance under 49 CFR Part 392, Part 395 and Part 396.
- Is familiar with and will have in place on the appropriate effective date, a system for complying with USDOT regulations governing alcohol and controlled substances testing requirements under 49 CFR 382 and Part 40.
What are the seven CSA BASICs?
Those seven safety ratings under the FMCSR are for the following:
- Unsafe Driving.
The unsafe driving categories are for speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change, inattention and no seatbelts. - Crash Indicator.
The crash indicator is on histories of the motor carrier’s crashes and crash involvement. The crash indicator will red flag a commercial motor carrier with two many safety violations in any of the seven categories and send an Alert to the motor carrier to remind them to be in compliance with all the rules. - Hours-of-Service Compliance.
Hours-of-Service compliance is about the motor carrier or driver’s compliance with the maximum hours-of-service limits under Part 395 to prevent driver fatigue and traffic crashes. - Vehicle Maintenance.
Vehicle maintenance relates to brakes, lights, mechanical defects in the tractor-trailer and the failure to make required maintenance for safety under Part 396 which requires that every employee of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) carrier must use systematic inspections and repairs for all maintenance items. - Controlled Substances/Alcohol.
Controlled substances and alcohol relate to use and possession of controlled substances or alcohol by a commercial truck driver and requires testing prior to hiring and after certain large truck crashes per Part 392. This is to prevent accidents. - Hazardous Materials Compliance.
Hazardous material compliance relates to leaking containers holding hazardous substances and improper placarding or packaging. This is to comply with Part 49 on transportation of hazardous materials across the United States. This requires all truck drivers and motor carriers to have training and a safety plan to prevent injury to the public. - Driver Fitness.
The Driver Fitness BASIC relates to commercial truck drivers being fit to drive a CMV under Parts 383 and Part 391. This safety category is meant to not allow unfit drivers who have a lack of training, experience or medical qualifications. It can cause the motor carrier to rank poorly in the CSA BASICs. The purpose is to reduce or prevent truck and bus accidents.
The CSA BASICs help the FMCSA identify motor carriers that have a number of similar unsafe events with crashes, violations or roadside inspections. Our Topeka truck wreck attorneys use these safety ratings to help large truck crash victims and prove that the motor carrier acted not just negligently but additionally acted wantonly which is in reckless disregard to human life.
Once we are able to show the trucking company acted willfully or wantonly, it opens the door to adding a punitive damage claim to punish the truck driver or motor carrier and helps increase your monetary compensation for your injuries.
What are some of the types of tractor-trailer accidents in Topeka and across Kansas?
There are dozens of different ways that a large truck crash can happen.
Some of the types of tractor-trailers crashes are:
- Head-on collisions.
A significant number of accidents are from head-on collisions. The drivers are usually tired and fatigued and begin weaving across the center line until they hit a car or pickup head-on. - Rear end collisions.
Truck drivers with bad brakes and those who drive too fast for slowing or stopped traffic conditions can slam into the back of innocent motorists and sometimes will rear end four or more stopped vehicles. - Abrupt lane changes.
Truck drivers who are driving with an on-time schedule for delivery are forced to speed and pass other motor vehicles on two lane highways or will change lanes to speed up and force vehicles off the road. - Failure to obey stop signs and stop lights.
Truck drivers who are tired and fatigued lose clear though processes and will drive negligently through stop signs and red lights causing catastrophic accidents. - Speeding in cities and towns.
Truck drivers who must deliver a load by a certain time will speed through smaller towns in rural areas which leads to accidents with other drivers not suspecting the tractor-trailer will be going that fast in their small town. - Drunk driving and driving on stimulants.
Truck drivers who are tired will use stimulants to stay awake. Many truck drivers will admit in depositions to driving over 100 hours a week in order to avoid being fired by their employing trucking company. Some drivers will drive while drinking alcohol and cause accidents.
What Do I Need to Do After My Topeka Truck Accident.
Follow these steps to get rapid legal representation and help with your trucking accident case:
- Call 911 in Topeka to report the accident to the police.
- Contact Truck Accident Lawyers Group by calling 785-708-0800 immediately after your accident for free legal advice.
- Request an ambulance and go directly to the nearest large hospital.
- Refuse to speak to insurance adjusters.
- Report all injuries to EMS workers and doctors as well as police.
- Photograph injuries, vehicles and the roadway.
- Get the names and addresses of all witnesses and police officers.
Contact Topeka City Office
Locations We Serve
With physical offices in Kansas and Texas, the Truck Accident Lawyers Group is ready to represent injured people who have had a motor vehicle and truck accident anywhere in the United States. Make sure you hire an experienced truck accident lawyer who understands the safety rules under the FMCSR.
