Tribune Truck Accident Lawyer
Tribune Truck Accident Lawyer Helping Fight Trucking Companies with Negligent Truck Drivers in Oil Field Service Vehicles and Farm and Grain trucks to Get Financial Compensation for Injury Victims.
Our Tribune truck accident lawyers and attorneys help fight trucking companies with negligent truck drivers operating farm and grain trucks or oil field service trucks by getting financial compensation for truck injury victims in Greeley County that have had a truck accident with smaller cars, pickups, vans, or motorcycles. Injury victims can get increased financial compensation in a serious truck crash cases.
The Tribune truck accident attorneys in our specialty 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 great results for Kansans and display a proven track record of success over four decades for injury victims from car-truck crashes. We have many seven figure 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 car and 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.
The 2021 Kansas Traffic Crash Book reported that Tribune had 14 motor vehicle crashes resulting in 4 injuries. Greeley County had 24 motor vehicle crashes with 8 injuries and 5 deaths.
Tribune has two main industries. Farming and grain production with several grain mills like ADM grain elevator along, Norag, LLC, Scoular Northwest, United Plains AG, and Stockholm Grain elevators. The second industry is oil and gas with oilfield service trucks, pump trucks and other oil and gas vehicles traveling all across the county making the area dangerous to traffic.
Our Tribune truck injury attorneys are knowledgeable and experienced in federal and state 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, oil and gas service vehicle or farm implement, combine or tractor, you need to hire a Tribune County trucking attorney. You can call us 24/7 for a free consultation at 785-708-0800 or write us on our contact page.
What are common types of accidents with farm and grain trucks or oil field service vehicles?
There are several type of cases that are unique to grain trucks and oil field service vehicles. The common types are:
- Lane change accidents.
Lane change accidents frequently happen when a truck driver is tired and distracted or fails to look to the sides of his truck or semi prior to lane change. Grain trucks and oil field service trucks are no exception. Avoid these highly untrained and unsafe truck drivers who may or not be complying with the FMCSR. - Failure to yield right-of-way on red lights, stop signs and left turns.
Farming trucks and grain trucks wrongly believe they do not have to follow safety rules due to an exemption. Oil service vehicles and tractor-trailers are likely DOT licensed and required to comply with federal regulations. When the drivers fail to yield right of way be cautious. - Wide turns.
Large farm and grain trucks and tankers carrying water or oil regularly make wide turns from the wrong lane. These types of accidents usually result with a stopped vehicle or slowly approaching vehicle coming up beside the truck and the truck driver fails to surveil the areas to the sides and makes an illegal turn causing a vehicle crash. - Bad weather driving.
DOT licensed truck drivers must comply with Part 392.14 and slow down or cease operations when bad weather arises. Truck drivers in this area of Kansas are never properly taught safety rules for driving. They operate recklessly even in high winds, dust and stormy conditions making them dangerous to motorists. - Head-on Crashes.
The western Kansas plains blow large trucks across the road causing them to tip over or worse. When they refuse to stop driving in poor visibility conditions caused by storms with high winds, dust rises making it difficult for them to see the correct lane of travel. Beware these truck drivers to protect your family.
What are the 5 Common Injuries Caused by Farm and Grain Trucks and Oil Field Service Vehicles?
Farm, grain trucks and oil field service trucks travel Greeley County all day long every day and create substantial danger for passenger cars. Common injuries from these trucks include:
5 Common injuries from farm and grain trucks or oil field service trucks are:
- Broken Bones.
The force of the impact with a farm or oil 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. - Head Injuries, Concussions and Traumatic brain injuries.
Farm and oil truck 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 kill small nerves in your brain called axons. - Burn injuries from fire due to explosion.
Farm vehicles are well known to carry extra tanks of gas while working fields. When high impact crashes happen, the vehicle carrying gas can be set on fire where it results in the occupants being burning alive. These types of burn accidents are always deadly. - 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.
What Kind of Damages are Allowed in an Accident with Farm and Grain Trucks or Oil Field Service Truck Crashes?
The injuries caused by farm and grain trucks or oil field service vehicles can include the following types of damages:
- 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 are assessed by an adjuster, jury, or court.
- 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. It includes funeral expenses and many other types of losses from your loved one dying. - Punitive damages.
Punitive damages are known as exemplary damages and are awarded by a court to punish a defendant for reckless, wanton, and willful acts causing harm to another person. They serve to punish and remind others that they should not engage in similar reckless conduct.
Are Farm and Grain Truck or Oil Field Service Vehicle Cases Complex?
When the truck or service vehicle is not DOT licensed or the farm truck takes an agricultural exemption to avoid the effect of the FMCSR it makes the case less about regulations and more about safety plans and training and supervision. The case becomes more complex because it is harder to use federal regulations to prove negligence.
Reasons farm and grain truck or oilfield service vehicle accident claims are difficult:
- Multiple parties may be at fault.
Farm and grain trucks or implements as well as oil field service vehicles can make the driver and their employer at fault. Recognition of all negligent parties takes experience with farming and oil industry cases. - Driver background must be investigated.
Farms and oilfield service companies tend to completely ignore safe hiring practices. No background checks are usually performed. Road tests are rarely done to see if the driver has any safety skills to drive a big farm truck, implement or oilfield service vehicle. Their driving history and background must be investigated to win the case. - Early accident scene investigation.
Rural roads are usually dirt and the evidence at the scene can be gone after 24 hours so rapid investigation is required. Witnesses must be interviewed. Law enforcement are normally friends with drivers and help cover up any negligence and fault. It is always best to hire an outside trucking accident lawyer away from the county.
What is the Statute of Limitations for an Injury Claim from a Farm or Grain Truck or Oil Field Service Vehicle Accident?
Anytime you have an injury claim from a collision with a farming truck or oil field service truck you only have 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 Tribune City and Greeley County?
Tribune City and Greeley County are in Western Kansas with two major highways running north-south and east-west. Farming and agricultural trucks and implements are everywhere. Oilfield service trucks and vehicles travel the rural roads with water tank trucks, tankers, and other dangerous large vehicles.
The most dangerous roads and intersections in Tribune City and Greeley County are:
- K-96 highway.
K-96 highway runs east-west and intersects directly with K-27 highway. K-96 has truck drivers taking smaller state highways to avoid detection. The farm and grain trucks travel the back roads and state highways. Both cause extreme danger to local motorists and passenger cars. - K-27 highway.
K-27 runs north-south coming out of Nebraska and intersecting with Old US-40, K-96, US-400 and US-160 making it another trucking route for fatigued truck drivers and cattle haulers avoiding weigh stations, tolls, and law enforcement. - Kansas Street.
Kansas Street is home to a large truck stop which makes this a favored layover for tired truck drivers needing fuel and food. Avoid this area because of the high number of tractor-trailers. - County Road 2 and 1/2 intersection with K-96 highway.
County Road 2 and ½ is also known as Main Street and intersects with K-96 so expect significant grain truck and tractor-trailer traffic in that are and avoid it for safety.
Who Pays for Medical Bills After an Accident with a Farm or Grain Truck or Oilfield Services Truck?
When you have an oilfield service truck or farming truck, you have the ability to get immediate payment from your car or pickup with your Personal Injury Protection benefits (PIP) This usually provides at least $4,500 of medical bill coverage and $4,500 of rehabilitation medical bills. If the other driver is at fault, they owe you your medical bills.
What are 5 Common Causes of Farm and Grain Truck or Oilfield Service Truck Accidents?
The 5 common causes of farm and grain truck or oilfield service truck accidents are:
- Driver inattention.
The KDOT reported that the number one contributing circumstance of motor vehicle crashes was driver inattention in the 2021 Crash Facts Book. - Bad weather and high wind driving.
Part 392.14 of the FMCSR addresses what DOT licensed commercial motor vehicles should do and sets forth the minimum standard of care for safe driving. While it may not apply to farming trucks, the standard of care still demands that truck drivers should not be driving in bad weather and high winds. - Speeding.
The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) reported in the 2021 Crash Facts book that speeding caused 4,479 crashes and one crash occurred every 1.96 hours across the State of Kansas. - Poorly maintained brakes.
A well known fact is that the heavier the truck is, the longer it takes to stop. Heavily loaded grain trucks and water or oil tankers are massive vehicles with significant weight. When brakes are not properly maintained, the trucks take a long time to brake and stop the truck which leads to significant truck crashes and injuries to motorists. - Inadequate driver training.
Truck accident lawyers know some motor carriers fail to train new drivers properly. The lack of training is much higher in Western Kansas with farm trucks and oilfield service trucks. Most do not understand safety rules or the need for defensive driving and they send their drivers out with zero safety training which causes collisions.
For other major causes of large truck crashes click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a farmer performing an interstate or intrastate movement of farm products?
When a farm truck driver is operating in interstate commerce across state lines, they must display a US DOT number. The farmer performs intrastate movement if the product they are transporting will continue in interstate commerce and is the first leg of interstate movement.
What is a farm vehicle driver?
A farm vehicle driver is a person driving a commercial motor vehicle and the farmer is acting as a private motor carrier of property, transporting agricultural products that are not hazardous and does not drive outside of the 150 air-mile radius from the farmer’s farm.
What is the short-haul exception of driving hours limits?
A driver is exempt from DOT regulations of Part 395.8 and Part 395.11 if they drive within a 150 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location and do not exceed 14 hours of driving in a duty period of a day.