D.S. was traveling southbound on US 69 when a semi truck driver, who had been stopped on the shoulder, suddenly pulled onto the highway and tried to make a u-turn. The truck blocked the entire highway leaving D.S. nowhere to go. He struck the side of the truck at highway speeds.

D.S. had injuries to his head, neck, back, chest, arm and knee on the left side, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. We were able to settle D.S.’s claim shortly before trial for a confidential amount.

R.L. was driving his car northbound on 71 highway near Butler, Missouri when he entered the left lane, put on his turn signal and started to turn into a marked crossover on the highway. A tractor-trailer behind R.L. had also entered the left lane and was trying to pass another vehicle. The truck driver testified that he looked in his rear-view mirror for a full two seconds to see if he was clear to pass. When he finally he looked up, he saw R.L.’s car in front of him. He was going too fast to stop and crashed into back of R.L.’s car.

R.L. and his car were thrown 100 feet into the median. Because of the severity of his injuries, R.L. was life-flighted to St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was diagnosed with a collapsed lung, fractures throughout his spine, a traumatic brain injury, cerebral dysfunction and respiratory failure. He was ultimately hospitalized for 338 days and incurred nearly $1,000,000.00 in medical bills.

We filed suit on behalf of R.L. against the truck driver and the trucking company that employed him. We claimed that the driver was distracted and not paying attention when he caused this rear-end truck accident. We were able to resolve the case at mediation for a confidential amount.

D.B. was stopped in traffic on US 65 near Buffalo, Missouri waiting for a car ahead of him to turn left. Suddenly, D.B. was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer whose driver was not paying attention and hadn’t realized traffic was stopped.

D.B. was shaken up, but didn’t think he had suffered a serious injury. As he drove home, however, his back started to tighten up and become painful. The truck accident had happened on a Friday, and D.B. went to the Emergency Room the following Monday morning.

D.B.’s doctors sent him to months of therapy, but his back pain did not get better. He ultimately had to have spine surgery and a fusion and incurred over $100,000.00 in medical bills. We were able to reach a confidential settlement with the truck driver and his company after mediation.

S.B. was riding her bike to work one morning because she was training for the M.S. 150 charity bike ride. A pickup truck traveling behind S.B. on the same road drifted off onto the shoulder and hit S.B. She was thrown several hundred feet and suffered critical injuries. She died the next day.

We represented S.B.’s siblings in a Clay County, Missouri case against the pickup truck driver. S.B. was not married and had no kids. As a result, we were unable to make a significant claim for economic loss caused by S.B.’s. We were, however, able to show the human loss caused by her death by emphasizing her role in the community and as a teacher. The case was settled for 750,000.00.

A.M. was a passenger in her husband’s car. They were driving north on I-635 in Kansas City, Kansas during a severe ice storm. A.M.’s husband lost control of their car and traveled across all three lanes of traffic. The car went directly in front of a semi-trailer. The semi smashed into the car killing A.M.’s husband and critically injuring A.M. A.M. died several weeks later from her injuries.

We filed a suit against the semi-truck driver that hit A.M.’s car and the insurance company for A.M.’s husband. We were able to present evidence that the truck driver was driving too fast for the icy conditions and that, had he been traveling slower, he would not have hit A.M.’s car. The case settled against both defendants shortly before trial.