Johnson County, Kansas Wrongful Death & Serious  Personal Injury Law Information

5/16/12

California Office of Traffic Safety issues report on motorcyle-car-truck accidents

Kansas & Missouri motorcycle accident injury attorneys understand the danger that motorcyclists face when riding around car and truck drivers

According to a survey conducted by the California Office of Traffic Safety, the majority of car drivers are unaware that lane splitting is a legal practice in California, although it IS illegal in many other states.

Some other statistics from the report:

- The vast majority of motorcycle riders are male (93.4 percent) and between the ages of 45-54 (30.4).
- The majority of motorcyle owners do not use their motorcycle as a "daily driver," but rather for recreation (45.9 percent).
- Distracted drivers (30.0 percent) either from texting, cell phones, fiddling with a radio or navigation, etc. and drivers not checking mirrors before changing lanes (32.5 percent) are considered the most serious dangers to motorcycle riders.

The California Office of Traffic Safety issued the following advice to motorists on how to avoid having an accident with a motorcycle rider (this is actually good for avoiding accidents with other cars as well!
- Motorcycles can be hard to spot in a rearview mirror due to their size. Do a visual check for motorcycles by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or exiting a lane of traffic, and at intersections. This requires you to turn your head, which some drivers don't like to do.
- Always signal your intentions before changing lanes or merging with traffic. This gives unseen motorcycle riders a better chance to avoid a collision.
- Allow more following distance three or four seconds when behind a motorcycle so the
motorcyclist has enough time to maneuver or stop in an emergency.
- Never tailgate. In dry conditions, motorcycles can stop more quickly than cars.
Never drive while distracted or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

5/1/12

Fatal head-on collision on I670 leads to vehicular manslaughter charges

Kansas man charged in Missouri court for the downtown Kansas City fatality accident

A 25-year-old Shawnee, Kansas man was charged in Jackson County, Missouri Sunday with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a fatal car accident in which he was accused of driving the wrong way on Interstate 670.

Prosecutors allege Robert J.K. Domsch entered the westbound lanes of I-670 headed the wrong way shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, leading to the accident near Broadway. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. A news release from Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said a blood test showed an elevated alcohol level for Domsch. Baker requested a $100,000 bond.

The driver of the Mazda was thrown from his vehicle. Domsch was belted in. According to court records, a witness told police it was difficult to understand Domsch but he did say, "I'm so sorry! Sorry!"

Police said Domsch's eyes were bloodshot and glassy. Officers said a strong smell of alcohol covered Domsch and he slurred his words, according to court documents.

Just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Domsch refused to consent to give blood for a blood alcohol test. He also requested an attorney and declined to give a statement. A detective obtained a search warrant from a judge and blood was drawn at 4:40 a.m. and 5:40 a.m. According to court documents, Domsch's blood-alcohol level was .242 at 4:40 a.m. and .221 at 5:40 a.m.

4/30/12

Moped driver killed in crash with automobile in Kansas City

Kansas City police are on the scene of a traffic accident where one man has been confirmed dead at the hospital. Officers responded to 59th and Lawn around 7:30 p.m. Saturday for a reported crash. The victim was on a moped at the time of the crash.

When police went to the hospital to check on the accident victim, they discovered he had died from the injuries, according to a police dispatcher. The identity of the victim has not been released. Police are still trying to determine what caused the moped to crash.

4/27/12

Overland Park accident statistics for 1Q 2012 released

Stats show the Overland Park road/intersections with the most auto accidents

The Overland Park Crime Analysis Unit recently published statistics showing the top twenty accident locations for the first quarter of 2012. In this report, the numbers for this year are compared to the same time in 2011. The data is in the picture below:

Our Overland Park auto accident injury law firm has represented or discussed personal injury cases involving auto accidents at nearly all of these intersections. The list is likely no surprise to anyone who drives in Overland Park on a regular basis. Most of the "dangerous" areas are on I435 where people often get into "rear-ender" type car crashes as traffic slows down unexpectedly or drivers are not paying attention, driving too fast for the conditions.

4/15/12

NHTSA releases new stats on "distracted driving" accidents in the United States

Distracted driving in Missouri & Kansas causes thousands of auto accidents each year, with many killed and many more seriously and permanently injured.

Experienced Kansas City auto injury accident attorneys know that distarcted driving is the cause of a great number of car wrecks in the Kansas City metro area each year. Seasoned Missouri & Kansas serious injury accident lawyers will regularly have their law firms request the cell phone use, texting, and email data in Kansas City car collisions to determine whether the driver at fault was using a cell phone, ipad, or computer which distracted them causing the injury accident.

From NHTSA's report:

In 2008, there were a total of 34,017 fatal crashes in the United States involving 50,186 drivers. In those crashes, 37,261 individuals were killed. Distraction was reported for 11 percent (5,501) of the drivers involved in fatal crashes. In these crashes reported to have involved distraction, 5,870 fatalities (16% of the overall fatalities) occurred. Table 1 provides information about fatal crashes with reported distraction from 2004 through 2008.

The proportion of fatalities reportedly associated with driver distraction increased from 12 percent in 2004 to 16 percent in 2008. During that time, fatal crashes with reported driver distraction also increased from 11 percent to 16 percent.

As reported for 2008, 5,331 fatal crashes occurred that involved distraction which includes single-vehicle crashes and multi-vehicle crashes. For single-vehicle crashes, the driver was reported as distracted and thus the crash was reported as a distracted-driving crash. However, in multi-vehicle crashes, the crash was reported as a distracted- driving crash if at least one driver was reported as dis- tracted. In some of these multi-vehicle crashes, multiple drivers were reported as distracted. In 2008, 5,501 drivers were reported as distracted in the 5,331 fatal crashes involving distraction. The portion of drivers reportedly distracted at the time of the fatal crash increased from 8 percent in 2004 to 11 percent in 2008.

4/2/12

Kansas I-35 Semi-truck/RV crash kills 5, seriously injures a dozen

17-year old driver lost control of the 18-wheeler/converted recreational vehicle (RV), hitting a guardrail, leaving the highway, and crashing into a ravine along I-35

This accident is a true tragedy, with 5 members of a family killed and a dozen sent to the hospital with serious and likely permanent injuries.

A 17-year-old boy was behind the wheel of a semi pulling a box trailer converted into a recreational vehicle when the 57,000-pound rig crashed through a guardrail and into a Kansas ravine, killing five of the 18 people on board and sending the other 13 to hospitals with serious injuries. The thirteen injured in the crash included the driver Kerber, who was still in critical condition Monday.

The driver, named Adam Kerber, had a driver's license that was valid due to a "loophole" in Minnesota's state law regarding private RVs. Since it was a family venture and not-for-hire, he was legally allowed to drive the 18-wheeler which had been converted into a recreational vehicle (RV).

The crash happened about 9 a.m. Sunday as the family returned from an annual motocross vacation in Texas. Motorcross is a motorcycle race in off-road conditions. The family's Freightliner cab and Haulmark trailer broke through a guardrail on Interstate 35 in Kansas and plunged into a ravine. Kerber and another teen were the only people wearing seatbelts, which were apparently only installed in the front seats.

A man who had been living inside the mobile home said the box trailer was divided into two sections, with furnished living quarters in the forward end with a refrigerator, store, TV, toilet, and a separate bedroom, but without seatbelts. Motorcycles and equipment were kept in the back area.

Tom Meyer, who runs Tom's Custom Coach and Trailers in Independence, Mo., said most manufacturers or modifiers advise people not to ride in them without seat belts. But customers "are pretty lax about that," he said. "They think they're back in a big motor home, they're pretty safe," he said.

John Hausladen, the president of the Minnesota Trucking Association, declined to comment on how the Kerbers' vehicle was being operated. But he said operating anything equivalent to a commercial motor vehicle requires training and experience to do it safely.

"We call them professional truck drivers because they have had experience and training that prepare them to handle the physics of driving a larger vehicle," Hausladen said. "They receive training with regard to stopping distances, following distances, blind spots and other aspects of maneuvering with a large vehicle."

The Kerber family is headed by Pauline Kerber, 46, who was in stable condition Monday at Overland Park Regional Medical Center in Kansas. The hospital released a statement from her son, Russell Kerber, 24, who was not on the trip.

"We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of our beautiful family members who were full of life. However, we take comfort knowing they are with our Father, who passed away in 2006," the statement said.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the dead as Tom Kerber, 25, of New Prague, Minn., and Jessica Kerber, 10, Joy Kerber, 14, and James Kerber, 12, of Jordan, Minn. Tom Kerber's wife, Melissa Kerber, 24, also died.

Marks said the Kerbers frequently rode in Friday night races at the Scott County fairgrounds just down the road from their home amid the cattle and horse pastures just west of Jordan. He said Adam Kerber was the star and showed a reporter two trophies Kerber had given him, just a small sample of the many he said the family had won over the years.

The Kerbers had home-schooled their children until Pauline Kerber's husband, Glen Kerber, died a few years ago. He operated an auto repair business on the family property that his sons kept going to support the family.

The Associated Press provided some of the content in this article.

3/26/12

Drugged driving report released by White House

Serious & fatal injury auto accidents caused by drugged driving appear to be increasing in Missouri, Kansas, and elsewhere

It is common knowledge that drunk driving causes thousands of serious injury and fatal auto crashes in Kansas City, Misssouri, and Kansas each year. What is less common, however, are reports of drugged driving fatality and injury accidents.

Many drivers do not realize that not only is driving under the influence of illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methanphetamines) illegeal, but driving under the influence of prescription drugs is as well. My law firm has reviewed or handled Kansas City personal injury/wrongful death accidents involving Ambien, Oxycontin, and other prescription drugs.

From the report's executive summary:

3/20/12

Lawrence Kansas intersection accident sends 3 to the hospital

Car crash was caused by a driver running a red light in a large SUV, leading to multiple injuries and a helicopter lifeflight

Red light running is an extremely dangerous act which often leads to extremely serious auto accident related injuries and fatalities. This is because these accidents usually involve "right angle" collisions where one vehicle runs into the side of the second vehicle. This sort of vehicle collision overwhelms the crash protection structure of the vehicle.

The forces involved in right angle or intersection collisions cause the driver and passengers in cars, pickups, and SUVs to injure their backs, necks, and heads as their bodies are thrown against the side of the vehicle. It is not unusual to see permanent injuries, spine injuries, and brain injuries resulting from right angle intersection collisions.

A man was ticketed Sunday afternoon for running a red light and causing a three-car accident at the intersection of 25th and Iowa streets that sent two people to area hospitals, police said.

Kim Murphree, a Lawrence police spokeswoman, said Logan Ketcherside received the ticket after two witnesses said he ran a red light in his tan Chevrolet Silverado truck about 3:05 p.m. while headed north on Iowa Street. The Silverado struck a black Chrysler vehicle that was headed west on 25th Street waiting to turn south. The impact caused the Chrysler to strike a blue Oldsmobile headed east on 25th Street.

The male driver of the Chrysler vehicle was flown via helicopter ambulance to Kansas University Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., with injuries not considered life-threatening. The injured mans wife, a passenger in the Chrysler, was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the Oldsmobile was not injured, and none of the multiple occupants of the Silverado was taken to the hospital.

Rebecca Day, a 32-year-old Ottawa woman, told the Journal-World that she and her husband, Carson Evans Day, 34, were the two people in the Chrysler. She received a large facial bruise, while her husband, a radio producer for 105.9 KISS FM, suffered more serious injuries.

He has five broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, a small puncture in one of his lungs and some bruising on his head, Day said. He may stay in the hospital for another couple of days, she said, but his injuries will not require surgery.

It was terrifying, and I feel grateful that we got out of it alive, she said.

3/19/12

Kansas cheerleaders save man pinned under car

The Kansas spirit squad came to the rescue Sunday of a man who was stuck beneath a car.

About 5:15 p.m. Sunday as KUs cheerleaders and dancers left their hotel to board a bus for the womens game against Nebraska, they heard someone in the parking lot yelling for help. The spirit squad ran over to a Cadillac sedan that had its hood propped open and saw a man trapped underneath the car.

Apparently the car had been propped up on a jack but had rolled off the support beam. Nine spirit-squad members lifted the car, and the man who was pinned underneath crawled out. The man was covered in grease and blood and was disoriented but otherwise ok.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/19/3501660/ku-cheerleaders-save-man-pinned.html#storylink=cpy

3/8/12

Elderly wrong-way highway driver collides with car carrying spring break teenagers, killing 4 of them and seriously injuring two others

State Patrolman was attempting to locate the errant driver when the crash occurred - it unknown whether the driver's age was a factor in the deadly auto crash

A vehicle traveling the wrong-way on the interstate crashed head-on into a car full of sorority sisters on spring break about one minute after an trooper received a report about the oncoming driver, according to dashboard camera video released Wednesday by the State Highway Patrol.

The police car's dash-cam recording shows the wrong-way driver seconds before the crash that killed the driver and three of the Bowling Green University students on I75. The crash on Friday also left two other students in critical condition. The five Alpha Xi Delta sorority members were in the car aheaded to the Detroit airport for a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic.

Tragically, just minutes after the crash, the video records the voice of an unidentified Alpha Xi Delta member, saying: "Sir, what can we do to help? They were with us. Those are our sisters. We were all on spring break." "I want you to go, just go stay by the car," the trooper says. "Stay with the car, please. Go stay up there with the car."

The video shows the trooper shifting lanes to avoid the car one minute after pulling into northbound traffic to find it. The crash happens about 10 seconds later, just after the trooper turns around. He makes it to the scene 25 seconds later.

Lt. Anne Ralston of the Patrol said a goal in such instance is to first locate the threat then try to mitigate it. A number of factors are considered including time of day, amount of traffic, the road conditions, if any other officers are able to help, how easily officers will be able to get the driver to stop and the driver's condition - such as any medical issue or impairment.

"These types of calls of one-way drivers, especially on the interstate, are very dangerous, obviously, and very unpredictable and there's really no set rules on how to handle that, just because every incident is so different," she said.

The wrong-way driver, Winifred Lein, 69, of Perrysburg, was traveling alone and was pronounced dead at the scene. It is unknown whether the driver's age contributed to the crash.

2/26/12

Federal Government proposes distracted driving guidelines for automakers

Thousands of drivers and passengers in Kansas and Missouri are killed or injured each year due to distracted drivers

Citing more than 3,000 highway deaths from distracted driving in 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed a set of distracted-driving guidelines today. The auto industry and the public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal the first ever regarding distracted driving with hearings in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will issue final guidelines thereafter.

In a conference call to reporters this morning, NHTSA administrator David Strickland laid out a handful of guidelines to reduce the "complexity and amount of time required" for in-car systems:

Allow usage with one hand, leaving the other on the steering wheel
Limit how long drivers' eyes are off the road to two seconds or less
Limit "unnecessary visual information" in the driver's field of view
Limit the number of manual inputs required for various operations
Systems should not allow manual text messaging, internet browsing, social media, navigation destination entries, 10-digit phone dialing or displaying 30 or more characters of text "unrelated to the driving task" while the car is moving, NHTSA said.
The organization is considering additional guidelines to address aftermarket devices and personal electronics, including tablets and smartphones brought into the vehicle, as well as voice-recognition systems.

Most factory navigation systems lock out destination entries on the move, but some of today's other proposals could rankle automakers. Systems across the industry from Ford to Audi pack a lot of information into screens adjacent to the gauges, certainly in the driver's field of view. A lot of that content, like song titles or radio station info, is peripheral to driving. Glance at a dashboard multimedia screen and much of that info tops 30 characters, especially if the system displays album titles and artist names. Consider a typical song: say, "Sympathy for the Devil" off The Rolling Stones' "Beggars Banquet." That's more than 50 characters.

"While these devices may offer consumers new tools and features, President Barack Obama's administration is urging automakers to ensure that these devices don't also divert a driver's eyes and hands away from his or her primary responsibility," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters. But LaHood wouldn't go as far as to endorse the National Traffic Safety Board's call last December for banning all cellphones in cars, even those with aftermarket hands-free devices.

"We're happy when anyone gets on the [distracted-driving] bandwagon the more the merrier," LaHood said, but "before we go too much further, I want to see the studies that we're doing on the cognitive distractions caused by some of these devices in cars."

2/21/12

National Highway Safety Transportation Administration ("NHTSA") unvelis new dummy for crash testing new vehicles

New techniques are a result of the use of booster seats to prevent injuries to children involved in auto accidents in Kansas, Missouri, and elsewhere

Responding to the proliferation of safety seats and boosters intended for older children, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday unveiled a crash-test dummy, said to represent an average 10-year-old, that would be used in the federal governments testing of the seats.

The government is also expanding federal child safety seat standards to include car seats and boosters made for children who weigh more than 65 pounds and up to 80 pounds. The government now tests child restraints up 65 pounds.

The announcements followed the release last year of more stringent child safety seat recommendations from the agency and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which urged parents to keep children in the appropriate child restraint for as long as possible. Several studies have shown that parents may move their children too quickly from one type of child restraint to another.

One of the things the new dummy and the new rule do is bring the governments test procedures into closer alignment with the current recommendations that N.H.T.S.A. and the academy have given to families, Dr. Dennis R. Durbin, a director at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, said in an interview. Dr. Durbin was the lead author of updated child passenger safety recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The products are out there that allow the public to follow these new recommendations, but the safety test procedures hadnt kept pace, he said. This helps close some of that gap.

The 10-year-old child dummy is part of a larger family of models used to measure the risk of injuries to children in a 30-mile-per-hour car crash.

Until Tuesday, the agency used crash-test dummies that represented a 12-month-old infant; a 3-year-old; and a 6-year-old. In addition, a 6-year-old dummy was modified to approximate a 65-pound child. The recommendations were published on Tuesday in the Federal Register. Child restraint manufacturers have two years to certify that their higher weight seats comply with the new requirements.

2/20/12

Fiery crash kills at least one in Kansas City, Missouri

The Kansas City police and fire departments are investigating what appears to be a fatal crash where the driver died in a car fire.

Firefighters notified police early Sunday that they found the body of a person inside burning car just east of Holmes Road on East 101st Terrace.

Police said it appears that the person who perished in the fire was the driver. The car was headed east on 101st Terrace when it left the roadway and struck a tree. The car caught fire and the person was unable to get out. The person was pronounced dead at the scene.

This is the ninth traffic fatality this year in Kansas City, Missouri, compared to 6 at this time for 2011.

2/5/12

NHTSA releases information on its goals for reducing distracted driving auto accidents in 2012

It appears that the focus on distracted driving (drunk driving, driving while texting/calling, using internet, etc.), including in Missouri and Kansas, will continue in 2012

From NHTSA.gov:

1/27/12

Three killed and one critically injured in head-on collision on I-70 near Topeka, KS

A van-car auto accident on I70 near mile marker 351 (west of Topeka) resulted in three fatalities and a critically injured person on Saturday afternoon.

Kansas Highway Patrol officers at the scene said an eastbound car crossed the unwalled median and collided with a westbound minivan at around 3:15 Saturday.

Traffic on east and westbound I-70 was closed near Auburn Road. Several other persons were rushed to Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center, several with serious injuries.

First responders from several jurisdictions rushed to the scene. Extrication was needed to pull several victims from the vehicles. A LifeStar helicopter was initially called to the scene, but later was diverted.

I-70 westbound traffic was still shut down at Auburn Road as of 4:25 p.m. Saturday. Officers later shut down I-70 at Wanamaker Road in west Topeka, and from I-470 to westbound I-70 at around 4:45 p.m.

The situation on I-70 was later complicated by another multi-vehicle accident reported in the westbound lanes of I-70 near mile marker 355. No further details on that accident were immediately available.

1/13/12

One person injured in Kansas City, Missouri traffic accident

Kansas City police believe the driver of one vehicle was driving while intoxicated, then drove away from the accident scene

One person was seriously injured in Kansas City, Missouri this morning when his vehicle was struck by a an alleged drunk driver, according to Kansas City, MO police

The other vehicle involved sped away from the accident scene and eventually lost control of his vehicle and was arrested. The driver was also hospitalized.

1/10/12

Kansas Highway Patrol releases winter driving tips

Winter driving brings a number of challenges that can lead to serious car accidents which can result in serious injuries and death

Winter driving can be dangerous, especially for rusty drivers at the beginning of the season. After a long spring and summer, it is easy to forget how to drive on winter's slick roads and in low visibility. Common sense says to monitor the weather, travel only when necessary, keep your speed down, and drive defensively. The Patrol offers these additional suggestions for your safe winter travel.

First, prepare your vehicle. Extreme temperatures can be hard on vehicles. Check the fluids, ensuring that the radiator is winterized, the gas tank is over half-full, and there is plenty of windshield washing fluid. Check belts, hoses, and brake systems for excessive wear. Have the exhaust system checked; small leaks can allow carbon monoxide to enter the passenger compartment. Check tire treads for adequate traction, and replace windshield wiper blades if they are ineffective.

Keep survival kit that includes at least the following:

• An ice scraper and shovel
• Jumper cables
• Flashlights
• Sand or kitty litter for traction
• Extra blankets or clothing
• Non-perishable food
• A first aid kit
• Matches and candles or flares
• Tow rope or chain
• On the road remember the following:

Allow extra time for delays and slower traffic speeds.
Buckle up and properly secure children in safety seats.
Increase the distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you. Ice and snow significantly increase your stopping distance.
Accelerate and brake gently. A light foot on the gas is less likely to make wheels spin on ice and snow. Braking is best accomplished by pumping the pedal. If your vehicle has an anti-lock braking system (ABS), it is very important that you understand how to use it. Read the owner's manual or check with a dealership for more information, and practice using it correctly.
Make turns slowly and gradually, especially in heavily traveled areas (e.g. intersections that may be icy from snow that melted and refroze).
Visibility is very important. You must be able to see out, and other drivers must be able to see your vehicle. Clean frost and snow off all windows, mirrors, and lights. Use headlights as necessary.
If your car loses traction and begins to slide, steer into the swerve, or in the direction you want to go. Anticipate a second skid in the opposite direction as the car straightens out.
If you plan to drive, do not drink. Designate a driver or call a cab. Report impaired drivers to a law enforcement agency.
Watch for deer, especially near dusk and dawn.
If you are stranded in a winter storm, do not panic. Stay in the vehicle, keep fresh air circulating through a downwind window, run the motor sparingly, turn on the dome light, and stimulate circulation and stay awake by moving arms and legs. If you leave the car, work slowly in the snow to avoid over-exertion and the risk of a heart attack. If you have a cellular phone, call a Kansas Highway Patrol dispatcher by dialing *HP (47), or *KTA (582) while on the Kansas Turnpike.

12/19/11

Watch a close call with an oncoming tractor-trailer while passing on a 2 lane highway:

2-way highways in Missouri and Kansas can be extremely dangerous and passing is one of the times that the danger is greatest. The video demonstrates what happens when two vehicles try to pass at the same time. You can see that the driver of the car is attempting to pass the slower 18 wheeler/box truck in front of it when suddenly an oncoming semi-truck is seen passing a snow plow. The driver of the passing tractor-trailer swerves and the trailer begins to fish tail and "drag" the semi-trailer into oncoming traffic. Lukily, the truck driver gets it under control just before smashing into the rapidly braking car.

12/17/11

NTSB calls for a complete ban on using cell phones while driving

Proposed ban extends to drivers of cars, trucks, commercial vehicles and 18-wheelers and includes talking (even hands-free), texting, emailing, and other cell phone use while driving

"Last week, the NTSB called for every state and Washington, D.C., to ban the non-emergency use of portable electronic devices for all drivers.
We did not come to this recommendation lightly. Our journey on this road to improved safety started nearly 10 years ago. In 2002, a driver, distracted by a cellphone, veered off the highway, crossed the median, flipped over and killed five people. In Kentucky's worst highway crash in a generation, a truck driver, using his cellphone, crossed the median and struck a van, killing 11.
Our most recent investigation involved a distracted pickup driver who plowed into a truck and initiated collisions killing two people.

Distraction, whether it's hands-free or handheld, whether it's texting or talking, is deadly. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) said distraction-affected crashes killed 3,092 people last year the equivalent of a regional jet crash every week.
The evidence is strong. Thousands killed. Further, research shows the heightened risk of using personal electronic devices. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, an accident or near-accident is 6.7 times more likely when a driver is reaching for or using an electronic device. NHTSA reports that driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes.
Virginia Tech found that attending to external objects away from the forward roadway for more than two seconds increases accident risk threefold.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that 64% of drivers say they consider talking on a handheld cellphone while driving unacceptable; 42% say using a hands-free cellphone is unacceptable. Yet, so many continue to do the unacceptable and make that quick call or scan that text.
I know. Like many, I used to find phoning from my car extremely convenient. Yet, knowing the risks, NTSB adopted a no-distraction-while-driving policy when I became chairman in 2009.
Last year, there were at least 3,092 reasons to eliminate distractions behind the wheel. How many more fatalities before we decide that enough is enough?"

Wrongful death and personal injury attorneys in Kansas City understand the serious dangers of "distracted driving," which often comes in the form of some sort of cell phone use, whether talking, texting, or browsing the Internet. Our Kansas City area auto accident law firm has seen dozens of cases where drivers injure or kill others because they were distracted by a cell phone or something else.

Whenever our Olathe/Overland Park auto accident law firm is retained on a personal injury case involving an auto accident, we request the cell phone records of the other driver, inlcluding text message records. Cell phone records can help show that the at-fault driver may have been distracted which led to or contributed to the crash.

There is little doubt that a ban on cell phone use while driving would save lives, thousands of people are killed or seriously injured each year on roads in Kansas City, Leawood, Lenexa, Overland Park, and elsewhere in the metro area and throughout the United States due to distracted driving.

The bigger question is: should the government continue to regulate conduct that endangers lives? Proponents of a ban point to studies which show that distracted driving is as dangerous as drunk driving and will highlight the fact that other bad driving behaviors (such as speeding, running red lights/stop signs, etc) are also illegal.

Opponents to the ban will point out that conduct which does not necessarily injure others was not intended to be banned by the country's "founding fathers" and that giving up a bit of liberty for safety is exactly what the Constitution warns against.

This Kansas City serious injury law office supports a ban on operating a cell phone while driivng, however we do not think this conduct should be punished any more than a simple traffic infraction - we do not think that distracted driving should be a misdemeanor like driving under the influence.

12/5/11

Study: Teen drivers are are very dangerous

AAA study shows that teens are much more likely than other drivers to be involved in a serious injury or fatality auto accident.

Two North American studies conducted prior to adoption of GDL showed a pattern of initially high crash rates followed by sharp declines during the first several months of driving (Mayhew et al., 2003; McCartt et al., 2003). Although GDL systems have been highly successful in reducing crashes, novice drivers continue to crash at substantially higher rates than those with a few years of driving experience. Masten & Foss (2010) recently reported that the North Carolina GDL system appears to have reduced the occurrence of a first crash during the initial five years of driving by 10%, with a particularly notable effect during the first few months of driving. Nonetheless, the pattern of high initial crash rates followed by sharp declines during the next several months remained. This pattern is shown in Figure 1, which displays jurisdiction-wide crash rates or counts per month licensed for young drivers in three locations North Carolina (U.S.), Nova Scotia (Canada) and Victoria (Australia).1 To facilitate visual comparison, these series were standardized to a range of zero to 1, where 1 is the highest monthly crash rate/count. In all three, crash rates declined by 40% within 18 months. After 36 months crashes were about 60% lower than during the first month. This same general pattern has been reported for somewhat older beginning drivers in European countries as well (OECD, 2006; Vlakveld, 2004).

11/22/11

Excellent Federal Court ruling limits insurance companies' abililty to collect reimbursement for medical expenses from a car, truck, or commercial vehicle accident

Case defines "equitable"in certain contexts involving accidents where medical benefits are paid by an ERISA health insurance plan.

This case stems from a tragic car accident in which a young driver lost control of her car, crossed the median of the road, and struck a car driven by 51-year-old James McCutchen. Then the truck traveling behind McCutchen also slammed into his car. The accident killed one person and left two others with severe brain injuries. McCutchen himself was grievously injured and survived only after emergency surgery. He spent several months in physical therapy and ultimately underwent a complete hip replacement. Since the accident, McCutchen, who had a history of back surgeries and associated chronic pain, has also become unable to effectively treat that pain with medication. The accident has rendered him functionally disabled. McCutchens Health Benefit Plan (the Plan), administered and self-financed by US Airways, paid medical expenses in the amount of $66,866 on his behalf.

11/20/11

1 woman is killed and two more are seriously hurt when a car is hit by a train near Independence, Missouri

The driver apparently tried to drive around the flashing red gates and was hit by the train

Independence police are investigating a fatal train-car collision that happened early on November 20, 2011 when the driver drove around the track gates (ignoring the lights) and was struck by the Union Pacific train.

The car with the dead and injured occupants was pushed several hundred feet until the train stopped, which is not uncommon given the mass of a typical train.

1 female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, while the male driver and a male passenger were ambulanced to an area hospital.

11/19/11

SUV rollover near Independence, Missouri, leaves two in the hospital with very serious injuries

Sheriff's deputies say alcohol may have played a part in the rollover and ejection.

Jackson County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a rollover accident that has seriously injured two people Sunday near Independence Missouri
A 35 year old driver and 38 year old passenger were riding in the sport utility vehicle when it rolled over around 1 a.m. Sunday near Old Blue Mills Road and Blue Mills Road in Independence.
Deputies said the female passenger was not wearing her seatbelt and was ejected from vehicle as it rolled, while the male driver was pinned in the SUV. Early investigation reports reveal that deputies are focusing on speed and alchol as possible factors.

11/15/11

Is drowsy driving more dangerous than drunk driving or other forms of distracted driving?

New study says the effects of driving without proper sleep can be MUCH worse than other forms of distracted driving

A good serious injury auto accident lawyer knows that distracted driving can change lives forever even though the driver is only distracted for a moment. While folks who text or use a cell phone may only be temporarily distracted, a seriously drowsy driver is constantly dangerous, similar to a driver with a BAC over the legal limit of .08.

Our Olathe serious auto accident injury law firm has represented Kansas and Missouri residents we suspected were hit by sleepy drivers, however, we have learned it can be difficult to prove. Proving distracted driving is difficult because doing so often relies on the driver telling police or investigators the truth.

In one case, an Overland Park personal injury client was riding his bicycle in Olathe and was hit by a young man who was returning from work around 5:00 P.M. After investigation, this driver admitted that he fell asleep and veered into our client who was in a bike lane. Our client was permenently injured when he was impacted by the truck and thrown through the air, leading to head, neck, back, face and brain injuries. Our injury client will be disabled to a degree for the remainder of his life and will likely experience future surgeries and other medical expenses.

Drowsy driving is also a factor in many heavy truck/commercial vehicle accidents (18-wheelers, semi-trucks, tractor-trailers) in Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis, I-70, I-29) and Kansas (Wyandotte County, Johnson County, Wichita, Topeka) becuase their drivers are often forced to drive extended hours to make ends meet, make deadlines, or due to personal factors. Sleep deprived truck drivers are extremely dangerous because their vehicles take so long to stop and they have such a serious impact on drivers and passengers in regular cars and trucks.

From cnn.com:

We all know the symptoms. Your eyelids droop and your vision becomes blurry. Your head feels so heavy that you cant hold it up and so your chin keeps falling toward your chest. You cant stop yawning. Diagnosis is clear to most of us: Youre sleepy.

I know what it feels like and looks like and so do you. So why do many surveys show that most of us have driven while drowsy and many of us do so on a regular basis?

Well, for one thing, we are not a culture that takes sleep seriously. We think that when our lives become so busy that we dont see how we can fit everything into a 24-hour day, that we can find extra hours by carving it out of our sleep time.

Many surveys over the past four to five decades show a steady decline in the number of hours that people are sleeping. You add to that an increase in shift work and an increase in sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, which is increasing in parallel with the rising weight of the average American, and you have one sleep-deprived nation, one whose citizens drive on a daily basis.

This week is Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, and numerous organizations such as the National Sleep Foundation and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety are trying to get this topic before the American people.

A recent poll conducted by the AAA Foundation echoed the results of numerous National Sleep Foundation Polls, namely that a large percentage of Americans report driving under the influence of sleep.

In this latest poll, one-third of those surveyed admitted to driving drowsy in the past 30 days. A 2005 NSF poll of approximately 1,000 people found that 60% of drivers, or about 168 million people, admitted that they had driven while sleepy in the preceding year; and 37% confessed that they had actually fallen asleep behind the wheel.

Educating people to the dangers of drowsy driving is a key step in prevention. For example, did you know that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 crashes that are reported to the police each year are the direct result of fatigue and sleepiness? And that is a conservative estimate because it is hard to pin down how many crashes are due to drowsiness.

Drowsy driving is hard to quantify for a number of reasons. One, because there is no standard test to determine driver fatigue as there is with drunken driving. Two, fatigue-related crashes usually occur when someone is driving alone. Three, a grisly feature of crashes associated with sleepiness is that they are often fatal.

Investigators have figured out that a crash due to fatigue often shows no skid marks or signs that the driver tried to correct the course of the vehicle as they see with crashes due to intoxication.

Speaking of intoxication, numerous studies have shown that sleepiness can impair driving skill s as much as being drunk. In fact, being awake for 20 hours straight makes the average driver perform as poorly as someone with a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, now the legal limit in all states.

We suspect that sleepiness combined with drunkenness is a particularly deadly combination. No surprise, those most likely to drive while drowsy are young people, age 18-29, especially men, and this is the age group involved in the greatest number of traffic accidents. Other groups of people who report driving drowsy are shift workers, commercial drivers and adults with children in the household.

Tips to avoid driving drowsy:

1. Recognize that sleep is an essential component of health and try to get the seven to eight hours each night that most people need.

2. Get treatment for sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy.

3. Avoid driving between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. when the urge to sleep is the strongest. Also be aware of the afternoon slump. Crashes due to fatigue also often occur between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. during the circadian dip in alertness.

4. Although caffeine is no substitute for a good nights sleep, it can help alertness. So if you dont suffer from insomnia or have a medical condition that is aggravated by caffeine, then by all means reach for a strong cup of joe when you must drive and you know that you are not your most alert.

5. Pull over. If you are having the symptoms of sleepiness, do not assume you can control the urge. Many have done so with deadly consequences for themselves and fellow travelers. Find a safe place and try to take a 10-20 minute nap. Studies have shown that shorter naps result in greater alertness and better performance.

6. Avoid driving alone for great distances especially in the middle of the night.

7. Take a break every two hours if you are driving long distances as recommended by the National Sleep Foundation

8. Parents, please, talk to your children, and especially your teens who have started driving, about the dangers of driving while drowsy.

Ninety-six percent of those polled by the AAA Foundation feel that it is unacceptable for people to drive while they have trouble keeping their eyes open. Yet, only one state makes it illegal to drive while knowingly fatigued. Maggies Law was enacted in New Jersey after the 1997 death of Maggie McDonnell, a college student killed when a driver, who admitted to being awake for 30 straight hours, crashed into her car.

Drowsy driving is deadly and it is about time we take it seriously.

10/30/11

Study concludes that women are more likely than men to suffer major injuries in a car accident

The reason behind the study's findings appears to point towards the lack of female crash test dummies and designs

Female drivers are more likely than males to be injured in motor vehicle crashes, possibly because of a lack of vehicle safety features tailored to women, a new report suggests.

For the study, the researchers examined crash data from across the United States between 1998 and 2008 in order to determine whether driver gender influenced injury risk. Forty-three percent of the drivers were female, and the overall average age of all the drivers was 36. Eleven percent of drivers were older than 60.

Passenger cars were involved in 67 percent of the crashes, followed by SUVs (15 percent), light trucks (11 percent) and vans (6 percent), according to the report released online Oct. 20 and slated for publication in the December print issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

The investigators found that female drivers wearing seatbelts were more likely to be injured than male drivers wearing seatbelts, and that belted female drivers suffered more chest and spine injuries than belted male drivers in comparable crashes.

The researchers noted "a higher risk of lower extreme injuries reported for female drivers as a result of their relatively short stature, preferred seating posture and a combination of these factors yielding lower safety protection from the standard restraint devices."

Based on these results, the study authors concluded that "female motor vehicle drivers today may not be as safe as their male counterparts; therefore, the relative higher vulnerability of female drivers when exposed to moderate and serious crashes must be taken into account," they wrote in a news release from the American Public Health Association.

10/28/11

Wrong-way driver sends at least 4 to local hospitals with serious injuries

Overland Park police say it appears that one vehicle was going the wrong way on U.S. 69 tonight before a multi-vehicle crash shut down the northbound lanes and sent four people to the hospital.

The accident occurred about 6:45 p.m. near 95th Street, police said. The injuries were deemed serious but not life-threatening.

The highway is expected to remain closed for several hours while the investigation continues.
10/25/11

Huge 18-wheeler accident shuts down I-70 both way in Topeka

Semi-truck driver killed while carrying a load of asphalt oil when his heavy truck rolled over spilling oil and knocking down a large overhead highway sign

Part of I-70 in Topeka has been shut down all day following a fatal, early-morning crash at I-70, around Adams Street. The single-vehicle crash involved a commercial motor vehicle hauling asphalt oil.

Following notification of the family, the driver can now be identified as Paul D. Cardwell, 57 years of age, of Abilene, Kan. Cardwell was driving a 2000 Freightliner hauling a tanker.

The crash occurred at 4:48 a.m. on I-70 westbound, at milepost 364 (Adams Street), in Topeka. Troopers advised the synopsis of the crash: Vehicle 1 was traveling westbound on I-70, when for an unknown reason it left the roadway, drove up onto the concrete jersey barrier, and rolled over. The cause of the crash and additional details are still under investigation.

The asphalt oil that was being hauled was considered hazardous material, and was spilled, however that spill was contained. Crews were on scene throughout the day investigating the crash, and cleaning up debris. The overhead sign was struck, and came down, blocking the entire eastbound lane. The sign has since been removed.

Thanks to the KHP for the story

10/23/11

Dumptruck causes large pileup on I35 in Olathe

A crash involving multiple vehicles closed two lanes of Interstate 35 near 119th Street on Friday afternoon.
Olathe Police and Kansas State Troopers said five vehicles, including a dump truck, were involved in a collision. It is not known how many were hurt in the crash.
The accident was cleared just after 5 p.m., but the traffic backup remained as the evening rush hour continued.

10/22/11

Overland Park man killed in car crash in Missouri on 435

One-vehicle accident involved vehicle leavin the road and crashing into a tree

A 55-year-old Overland Park man was killed Friday night in a one-car accident on northbound Interstate 435 near Missouri 45 in southern Platte County.

The Missouri Highway Patrol report says Jack Glazer was driving a 2006 Chrysler shortly after 9 p.m. when his car left the road on the right shoulder and struck a mile marker post.

The car continued down a steep embankment and struck a fence and then a tree. It was not known whether he was wearing a seat belt.

More details on the Missouri Highway Patrol's website

10/14/11

Driver sentenced in Douglas County fatality auto accident

Driver admitted being drunk when he rear ended a car in Lawrence, Kansas, killing one of the car's passengers

This is a sad ending to a sad story. The man sentenced in Douglas County District Court had pled guilty to drunk driving involving a fatality. Not only were the lives of those in the car he hit changed forever, but his life will be changed as well as he now has a six year prison sentence to serve.

Fatality accidents involving alcohol or drugs often lead to lawsuits where the families of those killed sue the driver who was drinking. These suits are rarely lost as Kansas law presumes that a drunk driver is negligent and also allows punitive damage claims to be made in these cases.

Last November, a 23 year-old man stole a car, drove drunk and ended up killing another man during an early morning crash. On Friday, he learned his fate during an emotional courtroom sentencing.

Family and friends of 21 year-old Cameron Freeman made their final statements about the life of their loved one before Judge Pokorny sentenced 24 year-old Zachary Harrison for driving drunk and killing Freeman on the morning of November 23, 2010.

Harrison is a former Air Force airman from Hutchinson who had no prior criminal history. Before the accident, Harrison stole a newspaper truck on the KU Campus and was driving drunk when he rear-ended the car Freeman and three friends were in. Freeman was airlifted to a Kansas City hospital, but later died.

On Friday, Judge Pokorny sentenced Harrison to a little more than six years behind bars for the crime, stating it was a difficult decision. After the sentence, the family said they are comfortable with the outcome of the case and forgive Harrison, but hope he will do something positive going forward. After the judge handed down his sentence, Harrison said he was sorry and took full responsibility.

Thanks to channel 6 in Lawrence for the story

10/11/11

Driver in a triple fatality car crash had a .123 blood alcohol content and prescription medication in his system

Driver lost control of his car which resulted in a head-on collision in Leavenworth County, killing two KU students

This is an extremely sad story for all involved.

In Kansas, drunk driving is subject to a punitive damage claim in almost every case. There will almost certainly be a wrongful death claim made on behalf of those killed against the driver who had been drinking and using prescription medication. This sort of claim will seek to collect on any assets the driver's estate possessed, as well as the defendant's auto insurance policy. If the defendant had an umbrella insurance policy, that could be collected upon as well.

The Kansas Highway Patrol stated on October 10, 2011 that 30-year-old Matthew Allen Nuzik's blood-alcohol content was .123 following an Oct. 4, 2010 accident. This, of course is well over the legal blood alcohol limit in Kansas and Missouri of 0.08. Additionally, both Kansas and Missouri make it illegal to drive with prescription drugs, even those lawfully prescribed, that render a person unable to safely operate their vehicle.

Nuzik, of Basehor, Kansas, died in the head-on collision on Kansas highway 32. Two University of Kansas students in the second car, 21-year-old Jake Henry and 22-year-old Stephanie Conn, also died. Henry was driving and the tests found no alcohol or drugs in his system.

A witness told Kansas troopers that Nuzik had about five shots of vodka over a seven-hour period in Lawrence before driving to Basehor. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that a drug screen found anxiety medication in Nuzik's blood. The two of these apparently combined to render him incapable of driving and he either passed out or simply lost control of his vehicle, leading to the three deaths in this Leavenworth County car crash.

Thanks to the Associated Press for portions of this story.

10/10/11

Head-on car accident in Kansas City leaves woman in critical condition

Auto accident was caused by driver going the wrong way on US 169

This sort of car accident in Kansas City on highway 169 is every driver's nightmare. You are simply driving along when a car is suddenly heading toward you at high speeds. This scenario leaves little time for a driver to take evasive maneuvers and, if a collision is not avoided, the effect are either serious injury or death.

The poor decision of one driver can seriously affect the lives of others, leaving them with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, as well as future medical expenses and painful procedures. Of course, lost wages will also likely be part of the damages in this case, along with permanent disability, disfigurement (such as burns or scarring) and a lifetime of pain and suffering.

A Kansas City woman was in critical condition on October 9, 2011 (and likely longer) after she was injured in a October 8, 2011 head-on traffic crash caused by a wrong-way driver, Kansas City police said.

The seriously injured woman, her three children, and her husband all suffered injuries requiring hospitalization when a car driven by an 80-year-old man struck their car on U.S. 169 near Wheeler Downtown Airport shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday.

The other driver involved in the collision, who also needed an ambulance and was hospitalized due to the crash, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes when the crash occurred, according to police.
9/30/11

Missouri Highway Patrol announces results of heavy truck (18-wheeler/semi-trailer) inspections

Troopers set up random checkpoints in the Kansas City area to inspect 18-wheelers, dump trucks, tractor-double-trailers, and other heavy commercial vehicles for serious and dangerous defects and inspect driver log books and commercial driver's licenses

Random truck inspections are crucial to insuring the safety of motorists by taking trucks with steering, braking, or other defects off of the road. Trucking companies and drivers experience tremendous amounts of pressure to ignore safety defects and/or law regulating hours and conditions of driving in an effort to increase profits. This can lead to dangerous trucks and dangerous drivers, which in turn can lead to fatal crashes involving cars and trucks. Passenger cars and pickup trucks are not designed to protect the occupants from impacts with heavy commercial trucks (18-wheelers, dump trucks, tractor-trailers, etc.) that are often 10 or even 20 times heavier than normal passenger vehicles.

At the Law Offices of Jeremiah Johnson, LLC, our attorneys have experience with trucking accident cases in Kansas and Missouri, including trucking accident lawsuits involving wrongful death claims. Our Kansas City area law firm has taken trucking accident cases to trial and settled trucking accident cases occurrring in Kansas and Missouri.

Captain Robert L. Powell, commanding officer of Troop A, Lee's Summit, announces the results of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) truck check, which was conducted on September 1, September 21, and September 28, 2011. This operation was conducted in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties by commercial vehicle enforcement troopers and commercial vehicle enforcement officers from Troop A.

The goal of the operation was to remove unsafe commercial vehicles and unqualified or impaired drivers from Missouri roadways. Officers set up numerous checkpoints around the Kansas City metropolitan area. Officers then stopped commercial vehicles to conduct random driver and vehicle inspections.

During the three-day operation, officers performed 75 inspections. There were 16 drivers and vehicles placed out-of-service. In addition, officers made two misdemeanor warrant arrests. Officers issued 59 hazardous moving citations and issued 200 warnings.

Captain Powell stated, "The truck checks are part of the continuing effort by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies to make our roadways safer for all motorists."

9/5/11

Man killed in rollover after allegedly fleeing from police

Driver rolled a Jeep Wrangler in a Lawrence, Kansas park, ejecting him and causing fatal injuries

A 29 year old man was the driver who died in a single-vehicle accident early Saturday morning near the entrance to Riverfront Park in North Lawrence. Lawrence police suspect the deceased driver may have rolled his vehicle several hours before it was discovered.

Police identified Tyler Yaroch of Midland, Mich., as the driver of a yellow 2000 Jeep Wrangler which he was driving when he died in an accident. A citizen called police early Saturday morning when they noticed the accident and that the driver had been ejected from the Wrangler.

Tonganoxie Deputy Chief Billy Adcox said around 12:30 a.m. an officer observed a yellow Jeep Wrangler driving through Tonganoxie south on U.S. Highway 24-40 faster than the posted speed limit. The Jeep failed to stop at a traffic light at the Kansas Highway 16 intersection and almost struck another vehicle, he said.

The officer was in pursuit with the Jeep Wrangler with speeds in excess of 100 mph southbound on U.S. 24-40, Adcox said. A supervisor was monitoring radio traffic and advised the officer to terminate the pursuit.

The Tonganoxie officer stopped his pursuit east of the Lawrence Municipal Airport and returned to Tonganoxie. The officer was unable to obtain the license plate number on the Jeep.

A passerby several hours later discovered a Jeep Wrangler that had crashed near the entrance to the park just west of where the Tonganoxie officer ended his pursuit. Lawrence officers believe the Jeep was headed west on North 1800 Road at a high rate of speed before the crash and left the road. Yaroch was thrown from the vehicle. North 1800 Road is a westbound extension of U.S. Highway 24-40. It is not known at this time if alcohol was a contributing factor to the accident, Sarna said.

According to a preliminary coroner's report, Yaroch died of multiple injuries due to blunt-force trauma, and he tested positive for marijuana and amphetamine, although a blood test will take several weeks to complete.

9/3/11

Lawrence farmer killed on all-terrain-vehicle

Man had been spraying his field when his ATV rolled over, killing him

A 66-year-old Lawrence man was found dead Saturday afternoon following a rollover accident on his all-terrain vehicle. According to Douglas County Sheriffs Sgt. Steve Lewis, deputies were called to a residence in the 700 block of North 1532 Road in reference to a missing person case.

Deputies and families members began a search which resulted in deputies and family members discovering the mans body on his property about 3:15 p.m.

The Lawrence farmer had left the residence to spray the fields for weeds. He had been driving a four-wheeler with the spray apparatus attached when he was involved in an accident. Lewis said the vehicle had crashed and overturned, crushing him.

8/21/11

Watch a motorcycle driver almost get hit by an SUV

SUV driver takes a wide turn and misses the motorcycle by inches

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxEw1LunfM feature=player_embedded

This video demonstrates a problem that our law firm hears of all to often in Missouri and Kansas - car, truck, and SUV drivers do not look for motorcycle riders which can lead to horrific accidents and years of hospitalization, rehabilitation, and lost wages.

Motorcycles do not have crumple zones or multiple airbags (although some have front impact air bags) which means that motorcycle drivers and passengers in Kansas City & Johnson County are often seriously injured (paralyzed, head injuries) when involved in accidents with cars, SUVs, or trucks. Research and experience have shown that many drivers simply fail to see a motorcycle in their blind spot or when they are turning and that the motorcycle riders and passengers are killed or catastrophically injured as a result.

8/14/11

Motorcycle accident in Douglas County, KS nearly kills a driver

Police believe that alcohol was involved in the motorcycle crash which lead to serious head injuries

Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriffs Office suspect that alcohol consumption contributed to a motorcycle accident south of Lawrence in which a 37-year-old Overbrook man suffered serious head injuries.

Sgt. Steve Lewis of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said Jeremiah Adams suffered a head injury in the crash that occurred about 11 p.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 59 near Pleasant Grove just south of Lawrence. Adams was injured when he was driving his 2000 Honda motorcycle south on U.S. Highway 59 and failed to negotiate a curve at the top of the hill, according to the preliminary accident report. In addition to suspected alcohol use, the report compiled by deputies listed driving too fast for conditions as a contributing factor.

Investigators were waiting on lab results from a blood sample to confirm the amount of alcohol in Adams system at the time of the accident, Lewis said. These results are typically sent to the KBI's crime lab and processed in 4-6 weeks.

Adams was taken via a LifeStar helicopter ambulance to Kansas University Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., where he was listed in good condition Monday morning, said Jill Chadwick, a hospital spokeswoman.

7/20/11

Franklin county auto accident leads to one death

Fatal car crash occurred on I-35 near Ottawa, Kansas

The Kansas Highway patrol and local law enforcement in Franklin County are investigating a fatal car crash that occurred around 3:30 A.M. this morning along on Interstate 35 near Ottawa, Kansas

The accident occurred near mile marker 191, where the speed limit was recently raised to 75mph, although it is not . Details about the accident were not released.

Authorities said they are withholding the name of the decease pending notification of relatives.

6/30/11

Pair of motorcycle crashes in Kansas City area leaves three people dead

Motorcycle accidents have high fatality rates and often lead to serious and permanent injuries for the riders

The lawyers in our Olathe personal injury law firm understand the nature and seriousness of motorcycle crashes. The small size of motorcycles and their lack of protection or airbags leave the drivers and passengers extremely vulnerable to injuries or death whenever the motorcycle driver or driver of another vehicle makes a mistake.

Motorcycle accidents often start when a motorist in a car, truck, or 18-wheeler does not see the motorcycle and either cuts it off or pulls out in front of it. This often happens when cars or trucks change lanes on the highway and swerve into a motorcycle. The rider is then left with the choice of a collision with the larger vehicle or laying the motorcycle on its side and hoping the resulting slide does not send them to the hospital.

In cities such as Kansas City, Olathe, or Overland Park, motorcycles accidents often occur in intersections when cars or trucks do not see them and make a left turn in front of them. The driver of the motorcycle must then decide whether to lay the bike down or suffer the consequences of being thrown in a right angle collision.

Two people died and another was seriously injured Wednesday night after two motorcycles and a sport utility vehicle were involved in a Northland crash. One motorcyclist also was hit by a tractor-trailer after the accident.

Authorities said theyre still piecing together details. About 9:44 p.m., two motorcycles heading north on U.S. 169 near Interstate 435 collided with an SUV heading the opposite direction, authorities said.

Independence resident Lauren R. Hance, 24, who was a passenger on one of the motorcycles, died at the scene.

A minute after that accident, her driver, Emmanuel E. Calderon, 23, of Kansas City, was hit by a southbound tractor-trailer driven by a Georgia man who swerved to avoid him, police said. Calderon was pronounced dead about an hour later, after being taken to a Liberty hospital.

Joel A. Mashburn, 25, of Independence, who was driving the other motorcycle, suffered serious injuries. Authorities said the two motorcycles were traveling together.

John T. Kelly, 52, of Liberty, was driving the SUV.

and a second story (both from the KC Star)

A man was died after his motorcycle collided with a pickup about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday near 48th Street and Shawnee Drive, Kansas City, Kan., police said.

6/23/11

Lexus crashing into classic Pontiac Lemans inadvertently shows the advancements that have been made in vehicle safety design and engineering

Crashworthiness design has improved over the decades, the nature of this side impact collision clearly shows the vulnerability of older vehicles lacking door beams or high strength door latches.

The lawyers in our product liability & personal injury law firm understand the engineering and design that go into making a sufficiently crash worthy vehicle. Auto manufacturers are capable of making cars that are extremely safe, however budget and profit concerns often cause manufacturers to turn a blind eye to vehicle safety.

"Right angle collisions" are some of the deadliest car crashes because the force of one vehicle is focused on a vulnerable part of the second vehicle. This often occurs at an intersection when one vehicle runs a red light or stop sign in Kansas City or Johnson County. Our firm's personal injury & wrongful death lawyers have handled a number of car accident injury lawsuits involving right angle collisions. We understand the physics involved in these accidents and the tremendous and permanent injuries that can result from right angle crashes.

Modern vehicles are clearly safer than older vehicles due to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards ("FMVSS") that require air bags, crumple zones, impact zones, door beams, safety glass, etc. These standards are set at a minimum level of safety compliance, car manufacturers can still be found negligent by a jury for not including other safety features or designs into passenger cars and trucks.

This car accident shows the devastation that can result from a vehicle lacking modern side impact door beams, high strength glass, strong door latches, and side air bags. The modern Lexus is relatively unscathed, but if someone was in the passenger seat of the Pontiac, they surely would have been seriously injured or killed. Even the driver could have suffered a serious brain or head injury when his/her head smashed into the intruding Lexus.

6/21/11

Stihl recalling gas powered tools due to fire and burn hazard

Company's recall was prompted by the CPSC which noted reports of fuel spillage. The tools are to be repaired for free to reduce the fire hazard

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the power tool manufacturer Stihl Inc. is recalling 2.3 million gas-powered lawn tools because of potential burn hazards.The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday that consumers should immediately stop using certain Stihl power lawn tools because of the risk of flaming fuel spills. Stihl said the recall applies to various lawn machines with the "toolless" fuel cap, which does not require the use of tools to open and close."The level of ethanol and other fuel additives can distort the fuel toolless fuel cap, allowing the fuel to spill, posing a fire and burn hazard," the CPSC said in a statement

The recall applies to certain backpack leaf blowers, extended reach hedge trimmers, pole pruners, edgers, trimmers, brush cutters, clearing saws and KombiEngines. A full list is available at:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11226.html

Stihl said it has received 81 reports "of difficulty installing and/or removing the fuel caps and fuel spillage," but no reports of injuries.The recalled power tools have been manufactured in the United States since 2002, the CPSC said. The agency said that consumers should bring the tools in question to a Stihl dealership for free repair.

6/18/11

SUV roll-over kills 15 year old girl and seriously injuries her parents on I-35 in Johnson County, Kansas

Roll over accident appeared to result from an over correction, a common problem in trucks and sport utility vehicles without stability control systems

A 15-year-old girl was killed and her parents injured in a roll-over crash during this mornings rush hour along southbound Interstate 35 in Johnson County.

The family was driving a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer that crashed when the driver overcorrected about 6:40 a.m. near Antioch Road.

The crash forced the closure of the southbound lanes of I-35 for several hours while the Kansas Highway Patrol investigated the crash.

It appears the vehicle might have been exiting, said Technical Trooper Howard Dickinson, a public information officer with the Kansas Highway Patrol.

There are marks on shoulder and there are marks on the middle of the road. At some point there was an overcorrection and the driver lost control of the vehicle.

The highway patrol is trying to determine whether the driver took the Antioch exit and then decided it was not the exit he wanted or he wanted to take the exit, swerved and overcorrected.

The SUV rolled at least once, ejecting the girl. She died at the scene.

Raina, who was sitting in the backseat, as well as Smith were not wearing seatbelts, Dickinson said. Smith suffered serious injuries, including head injuries from being thrown around inside the vehicle. He was not ejected. Augustina Esparza, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was wearing a seatbelt.

The mother is having a hard time communicating. She is having a lot of problems with the loss of her daughter, Dickinson said.

The highway remained closed until mid-morning while the highway patrol investigated the crash. Charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.

The biggest key leading to a fatality in this rollover crash was the failure to use seatbelts, which often results in ejection in SUV and truck rollover accidents. Our Kansas City are law firm's rollover attorneys understand the physics involved in rollover accidents, including why they happen, how they happen, and the injuries that are often suffered as a result.

Our law office's personal injury & wrongful death lawyers know that most of these accidents are preventable with stability control systems which have been available for decades but are only recently installed on every new sport utility vehicle and truck sold.

Our Kansas City area firm's attorneys also know that poor roof designs in some trucks and SUVs lead to to massive head, neck, and back injuries for belted drivers and passengers. It is not uncommon for permanent brain injuries or paralysis to result from passenger compartment intrusion in truck and SUV roll over crashes.

6/11/11

Consumer group demands recall of Jeep Grand Cherokees over fuel fed fire concerns

Center for Auto Safety says that Grand Cherokee fuel tank design is defective and leads to fire injuries and deaths for occupants as well as other cars' passengers

Post collision fuel fed fires ("PCFFF") are some of the most horrific auto or truck accidents. These fires often lead to horrible deaths, permanent injuries and burns, and lifetime disfigurement.

PCFFF were the subject of the infamous "Ivey Memo" where an automaker's engineer came up with a cost per fire death versus a cost to fix a defect and concluded that it made financial sense to not fix the defect, even though doing so would lead to easily preventable deaths.

MILLIONS of Jeep Grand Cherokees from the 1993 through 2004 model years are particularly susceptible to fires when struck from behind and should be recalled, an auto safety group says, based on its review of three independently conducted crash tests, including one performed last month.

The Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit safety advocacy group founded in 1970 by Ralph Nader, says the Grand Cherokees fuel system is clearly more dangerous in a rear-impact collision than those of competing vehicles, like the Ford Explorer, produced in the same era.

About three million Grand Cherokees with similar fuel systems were built by Chrysler over 12 years; some 2.2 million of those sport utilities are still registered, according to Experian Automotive. The centers recall request is specifically for the Grand Cherokee, not the Cherokee, a different model.

In an e-mail, a Chrysler spokesman, Michael Palese, said that there was no fire problem with the 1993-2004 Grand Cherokees, and that the vehicles had a good safety record.

When Chrysler redesigned the Grand Cherokee for the 2005 model year it changed the placement of the gas tank, shifting it forward from a position next to the rear bumper to a space ahead of the rear axle a design long used by some popular competitors. That was not done because of a concern about fires, Mr. Palese wrote, but because the spare tire was being moved from inside the vehicle to a mounting bracket under the rear.

Clarence Ditlow, the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, based in Washington, says that rear-impact crash tests of 1995, 1996 and 1999 Grand Cherokees showed, in each case, significant leaks of gasoline, posing a danger not only to the Jeeps occupants but those of the striking vehicle. In two of the tests, commissioned by the safety group, a Ford Taurus hit the Jeeps rear at about 50 m.p.h. In the third the Taurus struck at about 40 m.p.h. For a comparison, the center said a 1995 Ford Explorer struck by a Taurus at 70 m.p.h. maintained an intact fuel system.

The 1995 Ford Explorer showed vastly better fuel system integrity than its contemporary peer 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the center said last month in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The tests were conducted by Karco Engineering of Adelanto, Calif., which also does testing for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory, based in McLean, Va.

The federal safety agency began a preliminary investigation of the 1993-2004 Grand Cherokees last August, granting a request made by the center almost a year earlier. In its request the Center for Auto Safety said it found 172 fatal fire crashes resulting in 254 deaths during 1992-2008 in Grand Cherokees.

In at least one case the driver of the vehicle that struck a Jeep died in a fire. Jose Sierra died of burns in 1999 a day after his Toyota MR2 struck the rear of a Grand Cherokee on Long Island. Two sisters riding in the Grand Cherokee were seriously burned.

Another victim of a Grand Cherokee fire was Cassidy Jarmon, a 4-year-old who was riding in her familys 1993 Grand Cherokee in February 2006 in Cleburne, Tex. Her mother was stopped on a two-lane highway to make a left turn when the Jeep was struck from behind by a 2001 Chevrolet Lumina, according to the police report.

Cassidy was in a child seat in the second row. She survived the impact of the crash but then there was a fire.

We actually had witnesses, said Detective Kelly Summey, who arrived at the crash while the rescue effort was under way and later conducted the investigation. Almost every one of them said it was instantaneous.

She said the problem was that Cassidy and a younger sister were strapped into car seats. So, you are trying to get them unstrapped and cutting the car seats and you have fire all around you, she said.

The two girls were pulled from the vehicle, but Cassidy, who suffered burns and smoke inhalation, died two days later, Ms. Summey said.

The damage to the interior of the vehicle was unbelievable, she said.

The speed limit at the accident site is 60 m.p.h.; based on the skid marks, the Luminas estimated speed at the time of impact was 52 m.p.h.

Ms. Summey said her investigation concluded that the gas tank had been punctured by the Jeeps trailer hitch.

Shortly after the accident, the Jarmons sued Chrysler, asserting that the placement of the gas tank was dangerous. The family could not be reached for comment.

In an e-mail, Mr. Palese, the Chrysler spokesman, wrote that the Lumina hit the Grand Cherokee at a speed that was "substantially higher than federal requirements, which the Grand Cherokee met. And a thorough analysis of rear impact crash data indicates that the Grand Cherokee is no more likely to experience fire as a result of a rear impact than peer vehicles."

In granting the Center for Auto Safetys 2009 petition to investigate, the safety agency said a preliminary review of S.U.V.s from other automakers did not indicate the Grand Cherokees to be over-represented for post-crash fires.

However, the center disagrees and contends that the Grand Cherokees have two serious problems.

The first is a gas tank located behind the rear axle and somewhat below the bumper, in an area safety engineers call a crush zone.

Carl Nash, a former N.H.T.S.A. official who worked as a pro bono consultant for the center, said that having the gas tank behind the rear axle means it is very vulnerable. If anything goes under that bumper it could easily puncture the tank, he said.

Some major competitors at the time including the Ford Explorer and Toyota 4Runner had their gas tanks in front of the rear axle, spokesmen for the companies said. The Nissan Pathfinders was behind the rear axle.

The center says the second problem is a fuel filler pipe positioned so that it can rip away in a rear impact, allowing gasoline to escape from the tank.

It was unusual that a vehicle designed at that time seems to have no kind of detailed attention to this kind of foreseeable strain, said Mark Arndt, an independent safety consultant and the president of Transportation Safety Technologies in Mesa, Ariz.

In documents filed with N.H.T.S.A., Chrysler insisted that the Grand Cherokees were designed with sound engineering judgment and due care and were neither defective, nor do they pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety in rear-impact collisions.

Chrysler has also provided the safety agency with hundreds of pages of material that it says support its claim that a recall is not warranted. That material includes tests showing that Grand Cherokees exceeded the federal safety standard for not leaking fuel in a rear impact.

Even in cases where an automaker meets a minimum safety standard, it can still be required to recall a vehicle, said Allan Kam, who retired from N.H.T.S.A. as its senior enforcement lawyer and is now the director of Highway Traffic Safety Associates in Bethesda, Md. Automakers have a legal responsibility to make vehicles safe, he said.

The federal safety standard in effect when the Grand Cherokee was introduced said a vehicle could leak only a tiny amount of gasoline after a 30 m.p.h. rear impact by a large barrier. But critics say the speed was too low and the test distributed the force over the entire rear of a vehicle, failing to duplicate real-world collisions.

It was just too easy to pass, Mr. Arndt said.

The safety agency had a similar concern, and took action. By September 2006 vehicles had to pass a 50 m.p.h. rear impact from a barrier that did not spread the impact forces evenly.

In justifying the new standard, the agency noted that fuel system integrity in a crash is critical because while vehicle fires are relatively rare they tend to be severe in terms of the number of casualties caused.

Mr. Arndt said that although 50 m.p.h. rear-impact crashes are not common they tend to be very survivable impacts so it is important that the survivors not suffer secondary injuries or death from a preventable fire.

In some cases, people who died in Grand Cherokees could not escape the flames because the impact jammed the doors shut, according to the Center for Auto Safety.

One factor that seemed to make a difference in the crash tests was an optional off-road package that included a skid plate, a thick metal shield positioned to protect the gas tank from rock damage in off-road excursions. In two of the tests commissioned by the center, the Grand Cherokees had that package and the gas tank was not punctured.

But Mr. Ditlow said there was still a serious problem because the fuel filler hoses ripped loose either from the gas tank or from the fender where the gas cap is located.

In the test where the hose pulled free of the gas tank, photos show that pressure on the tank caused a spray of a gasoline substitute, used for the tests, to be forced out.

That allowed the plume of Stoddard Fluid (a gasoline surrogate) to disperse from the tank into the air and form an ideal mixture for combustion, Mr. Ditlow reported to the N.H.T.S.A.

In the other case the filler hose pulled out of the fender but there was no leakage while the Jeep remained upright. However, when the Jeep was turned on its side to simulate a rollover after an impact, the gas tank emptied, Mr. Nash said.

All the fuel just poured out without any restriction, he said.

The third test involved a 1996 Grand Cherokee without the optional skid plate protecting the gas tank. That impact was at 40 m.p.h. and the gas tank was punctured in two places, allowing fuel to leak, Mr. Ditlow said. However, the filler hose remained intact.

Mr. Arndt said the problem with the Grand Cherokees could be mitigated if the gas tanks were protected by skid plates and the vehicles were equipped with a valve or other device to prevent gasoline from leaking should the filler pipe be ripped free.

If Mr. Ditlows plea to have the Jeeps recalled under federal regulations is successful, Chrysler would not have to pay for repairs on all the vehicles.

Once a vehicle is 10 years old an automaker may not be required to pay, although it does have to notify the owner, said Mr. Kam, the former N.H.T.S.A. official. But, he said, automakers have typically concluded it would be extremely bad public relations to notify an owner of a safety problem and then decline to fix it.

Karen Aldana, an N.H.T.S.A. spokeswoman, said that the safety agency was aware of the results of the centers tests. She declined to comment other than to note that the agencys investigation continues.

Article courtesy of the New York Times

5/15/11

Rollover accident in Kansas City, MO on I-29 kills 3 people

Tire blowout caused the SUV to careen out of control, rollover, eject the occupants, leading to 3 fatalities.

The lawyers in our Kansas City metro auto accident firm have handled numerous rollover auto accidents in Kansas and Missouri including those involving fatalities, serious and permanent injuries, and permanent disability.

Our law office's Kansas & Missouri rollover attorneys know that pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles rollover at a much higher frequency than cars because of the suspensions on trucks & SUVs as well as their higher center of gravity. This rollover accident seems to be no exception.

A Grandview man, his 13-year-old son and another 13-year-old boy were killed Saturday afternoon when an SUV rolled over on Interstate 29 in Kansas City.

The right rear tire blew out as the maroon Chevrolet Suburban was traveling south on I-29 near U.S. 169 in the Northland, police said. The SUV careened out of control, left the highway to the north and rolled down a grassy embankment.

Lanall Fisher, 40, of Grandview, and his son, Romell Fisher, were thrown from the SUV. They were pronounced dead at the scene. They were not wearing seat belts.

Ronzell Johnson Jr., who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to a hospital, where he died about 30 minutes later. Two others in the SUV, a woman and another 13-year-old boy, were taken to hospitals with serious injuries. They were expected to live.

You know, you do the best you can to try and take control of that vehicle, but sometimes it doesnt work out very well.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a rollover accident - we recommend hiring experienced legal representation as soon as possible. Rollover crashes in Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas often lead to serious and permanent injuries, weeks, months or years of lost work, hundreds of thousands of dollars in past and future medical expenses. Above all, serious rollover crashes change lives.

5/9/11

Kansas City man killed in Prairie Village auto accident

The man was apparently fleeing from the police when he lost control of his car and his vehicle hit a tree, resulting in his death.

A 24-year-old Kansas City, Mo. man died in an auto accident early Sunday morning after running into a tree near the intersection of 71st Street and Mission Road, ending of a short police pursuit north on Mission Road.

A Prairie Village police officer observed Adam L. Kleitz driving 64 miles an hour westbound on 75th Street just after 3 a.m. Sunday. The officer the deceased's car as he turned north onto Mission Road and activated his lights to conduct a traffic stop, and presumably a DUI investigation. Kleitz did not pull over, and instead accelerated away from the officer, according to a release issue by the Prairie Village Police Department.

Kleitz was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. His vehicle caught fire, and was extinguished by the officer.

The Shawnee Police Department Traffic Unit was called to investigate the accident. Their investigation is still under way. This is standard procedure in Johnson County whenever anyone has been killed or seriously injured as a result of police actions. Since the driver who died was fleeing from police, such an analysis is appropriate in this case.

5/1/11

Will higher speed limits on Kansas highways lead to more accidents, injuries, and fatalities

Kansas has approved a 75mph speed limit. Law enforcement groups say this will lead to more accidents.

Kansas recently approved a 75 mph speed limit on certain Kansas highways such as I-70 and I-35, despite those who said that a higher speed limit would lead to more serious auto accidents resulting in death or permanent injuries. The lawyers in our Kansas City area personal injury law firm disagree and believe that speed limits seldom factor into the seriousness of highway fatality accidents.

Our Kansas/Missouri law office's wrongful death lawyers believe that differences in speed play a part in the seriousness and frequency of auto accidents, and that speed limits have little to do with this. This often happens when a driver is going well in excess of a speed limit (regardless of what that is) and another driver is going significantly slower than the speed limit. This can also happen when vehicles break down on the highway or partially on the shoulder, which recently happened and caused a fatality accident on 435 in Kansas City, Missouri.

It stands to reason that driver inattention is an area that deserves more focus, not speed limits.

4/26/11

Kansas Homeowner arrested aggravated battery for shooting burglars who had entered his home

Arrest seems to be in error, Kansas law allows the use of deadly force against certain intruders, however details could reveal that the suspects' injuries were not lawful

This story seems to be ludicrous - a man in Sumner County was arrested after shooting two men who had entered his home to rob him at night. Kansas law allows people to defend their homes and persons with deadly force if they feel they are personally threatened in their homes, which appears to be the case here.

The robbery suspects earned themselves a trip to the hospital and a long recovery when they decided to break into the homeowner's home.

Our Kansas & Missouri personal injury law firm has successfully handled permanent disability injury cases resulting from battery and aggravated battery for Kansas City and Johnson County clients. We do not feel that the facts in this article support criminal or civil charges.

The Sumner County's Sheriff's Office is asking the public to not to jump to conclusions on the report of a homeowner arrested for shooting at burglary suspects who had entered his home and has released a statement on the investigation today.

A Milton, Kansas man told authorities he fired shots early Monday after finding four burglary suspects on his property. Two of the suspects were found with gunshot wounds. The homeowner was arrested for aggravated battery.

Part of the statement from the Sheriff's department reads, "as with all investigations, critical details concerning what occurred are not released until the investigation is complete, and sometimes until the case goes to trial. Such is the case here. There are many details of this case that the public is not aware of, and we ask them not to jump to conclusions or make judgments based on the limited facts that have been released." Thanks to www.kake.com for the story

4/22/11

K-10 from Lawrence to Olathe & Lenexa - should concrete barriers or cable barriers be installed?

K-10 is one of the deadliest highways in Kansas with frequent rollover accidents, head-on collisions, and serious crashes, leaving dozens killed or permanently injured each year.

There is a local debate about the need for and the effectiveness that changes to K-10 would have on serious and fatal car wrecks that frequently take place on that highway.

The most recent fatal accident on K-10 happened on April 19, when a driver crossed the grass divider and crashed head-on into another vehicle, causing multiple fatalities, including a 5-year old child. Early evidence from the Kansas Highway Patrol ("KHP") indicates that the negligent driver did not even attempt to brake or swerve, indicating a medical or intoxication issue could be present.

Many folks and some experts believe that "cable barriers" which are steel cables strung across the median would prevent these types of accidents. They are right, these cables have the ability to "catch" errant vehicles and keep them from crossing into oncoming traffic.

Head-on collisions at highway speeds almost always lead to death or serious injury, so it goes without saying that preventing these accidents would prevent fatal traffic accidents, and reduce the catastrophic injuries (such as brain injuries, paralyzation, severe burns) that often result from K-10, Kansas, and Missouri highway crashes.

Opponents to the cable barriers cite cost concerns and the fact that the barriers would increase accidents because many vehicles that cross the median do not collide with another vehicle and safely return to the road. These vehicles would certainly be ensnared by the cable barriers which could lead to injuries for those occupants. These are also valid points.

Opponents also (correctly) point out that motorcyclists on K-10 are much more likely to be killed or disfigured by the cables. This is because the cables are extremely unforgiving for a motorcyclist sliding through the grassy median that currently exists.

The lawyers in our Lawrence, Kansas personal injury law firm believe that the cost and increased accidents are worth it. Although the number of accidents on K-10 overall might rise, most of those additional accidents would be minor in comparison to the high speed head-on collisions which take place.

Our law office's wrongful death lawyers have seen too many pictures of mangled vehicles and mangled bodies to ignore such a simple measure that would prevent the catastrophic effects of head-on K-10 accidents. Too many motorists have died, suffered permanent injury, or have been permanently disabled not to install these devices.

4/15/11

Kansas experienced 348 fatal traffic accidents in 2008, leading to 385 motorists killed on highways such as 435, I-35, I-70, K-10, 635, K-32, 69, 54, 56, and other Kansas roads

Statistics from Kansas Department of Transportation show that "inattentiveness" such as distracted driving, texting, talking on a cell phone, etc. was the leading cause of Kansas car crashes in 2008.

KDOT recently released figures for 2008 showing the number and types of car accidents on Kansas roads and highways. The results are somewhat surprising but not shocking. Of note:

1. 61% of Kansas car wrecks occurred during the day time.

2. Bad weather was not the cause of most car crashes in Kansas. 81% of accidents in 2008 occurred in good weather!

3. More than half of Kansas' 2008 traffic fatalities involved one vehicle only, with most of these 1 vehicle fatality accidents involving a rollover. This reinforces the belief in our Kansas City wrongful death law firm that rollovers are the most serious accident out there. This has been the case for years. In 2004, almost half of the fatal traffic accidents in Kansas involved a rollover!

4. There were 65,858 auto accidents in Kansas in 2008, with 14,866 resulting in an injury, and 348 resulting in a death to a driver, passenger, or pedestrian.

5. Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) were involved in a disproportionate amount of Kansas auto accident fatalities in 2008. This is due to their propensity to rollover more frequently than passenger vehicles.

KDOT's statistics prove what a good products liability attorney already knows - sport utility vehicles are dangerous, often due to faulty design. Our Johnson County, Kansas product liability law firm's attorney's have handled defective vehicle cases involving trucks, SUVs, serious injuries, and fatalities. Call us at (913)764-5010 to speak to an Olathe-Overland Park-Leawood-Lenexa product liability lawyer today.

3/30/11

Multi-million dollar settlement reached after man seriously & permanently injured by construction equipment.

Man received severe spinal injuries in the accident and sued Caterpillar, among others.

A settlement was recently reached in a case alleging that a Caterpillar bulldozer was defective and caused a man to be paralyzed. A jury heard the case last year and awarded $56 million dollars which was cut in half by the trial judge. Caterpillar appealed the verdict.

The settlement was likely reached because it would allow the paralyzed man to pay for his outstanding medical bills and lost wages as he is clearly no longer able to work.

Our Overland Park personal injury law firm's attorneys have experience with vehicle defect lawsuits and we have successfully settled a number of these cases. We understand the devastating effects that a serious accident can have on those injured as well as their families. Medical bills will pile up, lost wages mean that folks could lose their homes, and the only alternative is often to hire a good personal injury lawyer to seek compensation for past & present medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain, suffering, and other inconvenience.

3/10/11

Tour bus crashes on Interstate after alleged collision with 18-wheeler

Crash left dozens hospitalized with serious injuries and 14 killed

Yesterday a passenger bus crashed after what the driver claimed was a collision with a tractor-trailer which did not stop. Regardless of how it happened, the bus fell on its side and slid into a highway sign post which sheared off its roof, decapitating at least one passenger, leading to 13 other fatalities and leaving dozens others with serious personal injuries including disfigurement, permanent disabilities, lost limbs, and serious brain/head injuries.

There is no doubt that the highway patrol, which took over the crash investigation, will look into the bus driver's story and search for the "phantom" heavy truck. The crash investigators will attempt to reconstruct the crash through witnesses driving on the highway, the bus passengers, and the physical evidence taken from the scene.

The heavy truck investigators will also look into the driver's actions in the 48 hours leading to the accident to verify a number of things, such as:

1. Driver behavior: Whether the driver had driven more than the maximum number of ours allowed by law. Federal and state laws mandate that drivers of commercial vehicles such as buses, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, heavy dump trucks, etc. only driver a certain number of hours before being required to stop for a certain number of hours.

Our Johnson County trucking injury law firm firm's attorneys understand the rules and regulations that dictate when bus and heavy truck drivers can drive, when they must rest, and the penalties for failure to do so, and the effects of violations of working hour driving laws.

There is some indication that the driver in this accident may have been drowsy, fallen asleep, or been under the influence of some substance. Witnesses and bus passengers have told police investigators that the bus had driven over "rumble strips" several times before the accident.

2. Equipment Failure: Whether the bus (or 18-wheeler, if found) had any defective equipment which led to the crash. Common failures on 18-wheelers or other commercial vehicles include air brake defects, suspension defects, or problems with steering components.

The staff and lawyers in our Kansas & Missouri trucking injury and fatality law office believe that most injury crashes involving 18-wheelers, semi-trucks, or other commercial vehicles involve some sort of equipment failure in the heavy vehicle. We work with trucking industry experts to determine the cause or contributing causes of each injury case involving a commercial vehicle.

Check out the New York Times for more information...

3/2/11

Bicyclist rushed to hospital after being hit by a car in Lawrence, Kansas

Bicycle rider is believed to have lost control on ice and slid into the car's path, leading the the injuries and ambulance ride

Our personal injury law firm has successfully filed and settled numerous cases in Douglas County Kansas District Court, where a Lawrence personal injury case such as this would be filed. Our serious injury attorneys can help folks injured in auto accidents collect financial compensation for lost wages, hospital bills, disabilities, pain, and suffering, among other things. Call us at (866)656-1268 to schedule a no-cost consultation with on our our law firm's trial lawyers today.

A bicyclist was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital Tuesday morning after being injured in an accident near Ninth Street and Emery Road, said Douglas County Fire and Medical Division Chief Doug Green.

Green said medics believe the bicyclist lost control on some ice leaving an apartment parking lot.

Sgt. Matt Sarna, a Lawrence police spokesman, said the bicyclist was not struck by any passing vehicles. Some motorists did stop to help the injured person, he said.

Traffic on Ninth Street was briefly reduced to one lane as a police officer directed alternating lanes of traffic to pass through. All lanes were open as of 8:45 a.m.

The accident happened in front of University Terrace Apartments just west of Emery Road about 8:15 a.m.

Thanks to the Lawrence Journal-World for the story

3/1/11

Details released on woman run over and killed by Kansas City, Missouri bus

Area Transportation Authority (ATA) bus was traveling at low speeds when the woman fell under the front wheels, was crushed, and killed.

Pedestrian accidents almost always lead to serious personal injuries, disability, or death due to the sheer size of a car or pickup truck compared to a person. This is especially true when the vehicle is a bus, which can weigh upwards of 20,000 pounds - many times that of a car or truck. Our Olathe wrongful death lawyers have successfully represented the family of a person killed by a bus in Olathe, Kansa. If you or a loved one has been killed or injured by a Kansas City, Johnson County, or other bus, call our personal injury law firm at (913)764-5010 today to schedule a no-cost consultation to discuss your case.

When 12-year-old Jennifer Shockley called her mother about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, her mom sounded like she was in a hurry, so they didnt talk long.

They made plans to spend the following weekend together and hung up.

Less than an hour later, her mother, Kimberly R. Shockley, 48, suffered fatal injuries when she was run over by an Area Transportation Authority bus in midtown.

A witness told police Shockley crossed Linwood Boulevard in front of the bus near Main Street and then tried to get the driver to stop. Police said there was not a bus stop there. The driver saw Shockley cross the street but kept going, police said.

Shockley jogged alongside it for a few moments, pounding her hand on the side, witnesses told police. It was unclear whether the driver knew she was there, police said.

As the bus turned to go north on Main Street, Shockley apparently fell under its front tires. She died at the scene. Police said the bus was traveling about 5 mph.

Police and relatives think Shockley may have wanted a ride to the Redemptorist Church in the 3300 block of Broadway, where her husband was waiting for her.

The driver was placed on routine administrative leave, said Cindy Baker, an ATA spokeswoman. She said she did not know any wreck details but said generally that buses stop only at designated bus stops, for everyones safety.

Shockleys death stunned relatives.

We dont know what happened, said Kimberly Shockleys mother, Shirley Hunt. She was just running after the bus. I just cant believe it.

Hunt said her daughter grew up in Richmond, Mo., the oldest of three daughters, and moved out on her own while still in high school. She later moved to Florida but moved back. She recently landed a job with help from a social services counselor but hadnt started it.

Hunt raised Shockleys two daughters. The youngest, Jennifer, said Monday that her mother was strong and well-loved.

Shockleys oldest daughter, age 24, is expecting a baby. Shockley wanted to spend this weekend with her daughters and Hunt and plan a baby shower.

She had a lot to look forward to, Hunt said. She had a pure heart.

Thanks to the Kansas City Star for the story.

2/28/11

Man killed on I-435 in Kansas City, Missouri after exiting his disabled vehicle

The man was struck by a vehicle on 435 highway in Kansas City after he had exited the car after becoming nervous about the traffic passing closely by

This story demonstrates the principle that, in most cases, a person is better off in a disabled vehicle than in attempting to exit the vehicle. Our law firm recently dealt with a similar issue in a personal injury case filed in Wyandotte District Court where our client's car was involved in an auto accident with a driver who ran a red light and turned in front of her. She stayed in her disabled vehicle which was then struck by a second car, head on, causing her serious head and face injuries and leading to a permanent scar on her forehead.

The defense attorneys in the case attempted to claim that our client was "contributorily negligent" because she remained in her car. In doing so, these attorneys completely ignored the fact that if our client had exited her vehicle, she would have likely been hit by a passing car or truck and killed or seriously injured.

A mentally disabled person was killed tonight after being struck by a vehicle at Interstate 435 and Hawthorne Road in northeast Kansas City.

Police say the car in which the man was traveling broke down and came to a stop in the left lane on a bridge.

There is not much shoulder there and he got uncomfortable, got out of the car and thats when he was struck, said Officer Chris Petree.

The accident occurred at 7:07 p.m. The victim was reported dead after being transported to a hospital.

He was one of several mentally disabled people in the car with a caretaker who was driving. Petree did not know where the group was traveling to or from.

Petree described the driver as being highly upset. He had been their caregiver for some time, he said.

2/25/11

Child safety seat recall made by Dorel Juvenile Group

Sticking Release Button May Allow Safety Harness Straps to Loosen

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today announced that Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) is recalling 794,247 child safety seats because the harness locking and release button does not always return to its locked position. A button that is not in the locked position can allow the harness adjustment strap to slip back through the adjuster as a child moves around in the seat and results in a loose harness, increasing the risk of being injured a crash

DJG said the problem involves certain restraint systems manufactured from May 1, 2008, through April 30, 2009, which have a Center Front Adjuster (CFA) for the harness. These include infant, convertible, and booster child restraint systems which were sold both as stand-alone seats or part of a travel system (with a stroller).

Click here to view more information from Dorel about the recall, including a complete list of the models being recalled.

DJG said it intends to provide consumers with a remedy kit consisting of a small tube of non-toxic, food-grade lubricant to be applied to the CFA to prevent sticking and allow it to properly engage the CFA strap. Instruction on how to apply the lubricant will be provided, along with a label to indicate that the repair has been completed.

Until the remedy has been applied, consumers can continue to use the seats, however, parents and caregivers should make sure the harness is properly adjusted and the lock/release button is fully in the locked position. After adjustment, pull on the shoulder part of the harness to make sure it is secure and does not loosen.

NHTSA began a formal investigation of this issue on March 5, 2010, and indicated it would continue to keep the investigation open to further evaluate the adequacy of the recall scope.

Consumers who want more information about this recall should contact the manufacturer directly at 1 866-623-3139 or via email to harnessadjustment@djgusa.com.

Consumers are reminded that they can get additional information about all child safety seat recalls, and recalls for all vehicle makes and models as well as tires at NHTSAs safety web site: www.safercar.gov. Consumers can also sign up at this site to receive free, automated electronic notification of specific vehicle, child seat and tire recalls as soon as they are announced.

2/24/11

Toyota to recall over two million vehicles to prevent crashes, injuries, and deaths due to stuck accelerator pedals

Recall comes on the heels of numerous high-profile lawsuits alleging sudden acceleration in Toyota cars and trucks.

WASHINGTON -- Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 2.17 million vehicles in the United States to address accelerator pedals that could become entrapped in floor mats or jammed in carpeting.

More than half of the vehicles are being added to a massive 2009 recall that fixed gas pedals getting trapped in the floor mat. Toyota has now recalled more than 14 million vehicles globally over safety problems since 2009. U.S. regulators said earlier this month that electronic flaws were not to blame for reports of sudden, unintended acceleration.

Thanks to the Associated Press for the story

2/23/11

Supreme Court allows rear seat belt product liability defect lawsuit to continue to trial

Wrongful death lawsuit alleges that manufacturer was negligent for not installing rear seat belts in a vehicle which resulted in a woman's death in an auto accident

The serious injury and wrongful death lawyers in our Kansas City area law firm have experience with auto and truck product defect lawsuits in Kansas and Missouri. Our attorneys can recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages, permanent disability, pain, and suffering in Kansas and Missouri personal injury cases.

WASHINGTON The family of a woman killed in a head-on collision may sue the maker of the minivan she was riding in for failing to install lap-and-shoulder belts, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Wednesday.

Mazda, which made the minivan, had argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the company had complied with federal safety regulations, which allowed it choose to install simple lap belts or lap-and-shoulder belts in some rear seats.

The company relied on a 2000 Supreme Court decision in a case involving a similar regulation that gave automakers the option of installing air bags. In that case, the court ruled that the regulation foreclosed the filing of injury suits under state law by people contending that manufacturers had made the wrong choice.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the majority opinion in the 2000 decision, Geier v. American Honda Motor Company, and he was the author the courts opinion on Wednesday. He acknowledged that the two cases were in some ways quite similar, but he said that the differing goals of federal safety regulators required different results.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who agreed with the result reached by the majority on Wednesday but disagreed with its reasoning, mocked the distinctions cited by Justice Breyer.

The dispositive difference between this case and Geier indeed, the only difference is the majoritys psychoanalysis of the regulators, Justice Thomas wrote.

The new case arose from the death in 2002 of Thanh Williamson, who was riding in a rear seat of a 1993 Mazda minivan and wearing a lap belt, the only restraint available, when it was struck head on by another vehicle. Passengers wearing lap-and-shoulder belts in the minivan survived; Ms. Williamson died.

Courts in California dismissed a suit brought by Ms. Williamsons family contending that Mazda should have installed the more elaborate restraints throughout the minivan, relying on the Geier decision. That decision said that injury suits brought under state law challenging the failure to install air bags stood as an obstacle to the objectives of federal safety regulations, which were said to be the maintenance of manufacturers choices.

Geier was decided by a 5-to-4 vote. In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens said the majority had made unprecedented use of inferences from regulatory history and commentary to bar the lawsuit there.

Justice Breyers opinion on Wednesday in Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, No. 08-1314, did not disavow Geier. We concede, he wrote, that the history of the regulation before us resembles the history of air bags to some degree.

But Justice Breyer said there were important differences, too. Among them, he wrote, was that regulators were not concerned with consumer acceptance of lap-and-shoulder restraints; were convinced that the restraints would increase safety; did not fear additional safety risks arising from use of those belts; had no interest in assuring a mix of devices; and had a diminishing concern about the cost of installing the more elaborate restraints.

Justice Breyer added that the federal government had urged the Supreme Court to bar the lawsuit in Geier but to allow the suit by Ms. Williamsons family.

Justice Elena Kagan did not participate in Wednesdays decision because she had worked on the case as United States solicitor general.

In his concurrence, Justice Thomas said the text of the relevant federal law specifically allowed suits like the ones here and in Geier.

He added that he found the majoritys methodology in distinguishing the two cases unconvincing.

The court wades into a sea of agency musings and government litigating positions, Justice Thomas wrote, and fishes for what the agency may have been thinking 20 years ago when it drafted the relevant provision.

Thanks to the New York Times for the story

2/22/11

Freezing rain causes huge interstate highway traffic accident in Missouri, leading to serious injuries and hospitalization

20 cars were involved in the highway pileup which was caused by drivers rear-ending each other in slippery conditions and sending 21 people to the hospital for medical treatment

Kansas and Missouri law impart a duty on drivers to drive at a speed that is reasonable for the prevailing conditions. This means that drivers have a duty of care to drive at a speed which will allow them to safely stop their vehicle, even in slippery conditions. It goes without saying that many drivers ignore this duty and end up rear-ending other vehicles, causing long-term injuries, hospitalizations, disabilities, paralyzation, and even deaths.

The lawyers in our Olathe personal injury law firm have represented dozens of drivers and passengers injured on Johnson County and Kansas City highways and roads. Call our Olathe law office at (866)656-1268 to speak to one of our personal injury attorneys about your Kansas City area (Olathe, Overland Park) auto accident lawsuit today.

ST. LOUIS | A perfect storm of freezing rain and rush hour traffic caused a nightmare scenario in the St. Louis area this morning, including one accident involving about 20 vehicles that left 21 people injured.

The unexpected ice storm began just before 5 a.m. and resulted in wrecks throughout the region. The worst was on Interstate 64 near downtown St. Louis, where about 20 cars and a couple of semis slid on an icy hill. Among those involved in the wreck were ambulances and fire trucks responding to the accident.

St. Louis Fire Capt. Dan Sutter said 21 people were injured in the accident, one critically, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Jeff Wilson said troopers responded to up to 60 separate accidents in St. Charles, Lincoln and St. Louis counties, the areas hit hardest by the ice. St. Louis city police handled the 20-car pileup on I-64 and another multi-car wreck at I-64 and Kingshighway. Wilson said he had no reports of fatalities or serious injuries.

The accidents brought morning rush hour traffic to a standstill.

Wilson said most of the accidents occurred at bridges, overpasses, on-ramps and off-ramps. Recent unseasonably warm weather has made for warm ground, causing ice to melt when it hit pavement on most of the roadways.

But the ramps, bridges and overpasses get wind, and they don't have the ground to heat up, Wilson said.

The problems were widespread. The Jefferson Barracks Bridge over the Mississippi River at south St. Louis County was completely closed for a time. The Eads Bridge at St. Louis was closed. Sections of Interstates 55, 255, 270 and 170 were closed in spots. Entrance and exit ramps were closed at several locations.

Wilson said the storm hit mostly in St. Louis and just to the north, through the Troy area.

The ice was short-lived by 7:30 a.m. the temperature had warmed above freezing, though many overpasses, ramps and bridges remained slick. Forecasters were expecting the temperature to warm to near 50 degrees.

2/11/11

NHTSA releases data on the most dangerous times to drive a car or truck on the highway

Statistics show that nationally, August has the most highway fatalities including in Kansas and Missouri.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) uses its data to track crashes, and the answer is yes, it can be more dangerous to be on the road during certain times of year - and also certain times of day.

Here are some interesting findings from the most recent NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts report, compiled for 2009:

* August was the most fatal month for drivers, with 2,864 total fatalities. That month also had the highest rate of fatalities, with 1.09 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

* March was the least deadly month in terms of the rate of fatal accidents, with 0.94 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. February had the lowest total deaths, with 2,164.

* While August was the most deadly month for drivers, January and December were the most damaging for cars. Motorists reported 539,000 total accidents (238 per 100 million miles) in January and 525,000 accidents in December (217 per 100 million miles). Icy roads may have had something to do with those numbers.

* The most fatal time to be on the road during the week was between 5 and 6 p.m. (rush hour). During the weekend, 2 to 3 a.m. (when bars close) was the most deadly hour. In the particularly deadly time period - midnight to 3 a.m. - 66 percent of accidents involved alcohol.

While these numbers may seem like cause for alarm, driving has become safer over the years. Americans reported 26.8 percent fewer fatal accidents in 2009 compared to 1992. Less than 1 percent of all reported accidents resulted in a death. Keep in mind that a large number of minor accidents go unreported each year.

The best thing you can do to avoid becoming a part of these statistics is to take the proper safety precautions - always wear your seatbelt and never drive under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.

And since some accidents are unavoidable, make sure your family auto insurance is up to date. While it's on your mind, it may be a good time to check if you are getting the best auto insurance rates. With tools available on the Internet to compare rates, it's never been easier to save on auto insurance.

For more safe driving tips, visit www.safercar.gov.

2/1/11

Elderly man drives his Ford truck the wrong way on the highway, causing a massive highway collision, serious injuries, and a large pileup

The driver was apparently confused, but still drove 75mph the wrong way. This accident easily could have seriously injured or killed dozens of motorists on the highway.

Our Kansas City area law firm's personal injury & wrongful death lawyers have encountered a number of cases where older drivers drove erratically, did not follow simple traffic directions/signs, and caused serious injury auto accidents. We take steps, such as subpoenaing medical and driving records, to prove that the driver who injured our clients was unfit to drive - a fact which might support a punitive damage claim.

Punitive damages are damages designed to punish wrongdoers and persuade other similarly situated individuals not to act as the defendant did. In most cases, these damages can be no more than 9 times the actual damages in the case.

An 83-year-old California man whose driver's license had been suspended drove on the wrong side of Interstate 5 near San Diego for several miles Friday before a crash that tore his Ford F-150 in half.

A driver in the other lane caught it on video.

Clarence Kinney survived the crash with only minor injuries; his truck triggered a chain reaction crash that injured one other person and created a seven-mile backup on the freeway. Like the 84-year-old Delaware woman who pulled the same trick last year without re-creating a crash test, the incident is already raising questions about re-testing older drivers.