How Much Liability Does the State of Kansas Share for Serious Injury Accidents on Dangerous Highways?

At Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys, we hope heads of state in Kansas and Missouri were paying attention to a whopping decision by a jury in the state of California, wrapping up a long standing accidental head on collision in 2006.  The jury awarded the family of the victims $29 million dollars.  The crash killed 2 children, paralyzed another and hospitalized the mother for months with severe injuries.

Besides finding fault in the motorist who fell asleep and caused the the head on crash– shockingly the second time he’s been convicted of murder for falling asleep at the wheel and causing a car accident,  jurors also found the California Department at fault for the fatal crash for not making safety improvements, such as guard rails.

Our experienced Kansas City Auto Accident and Injury Attorneys are happy that the jury in this settlement was able to look past the motorist, who was also guilty of causing this accident– and see that highways in this country…at least some of them, are clearly dangerous and something has to be done.  The jury felt the state was guilty for not installing a safety barrier between the highways.  We’ve seen a number of accidents right here in Kansas– Highway 10 in particular, where accidents are happening that can be prevented with safety measures.

True, these safety precautions won’t prevent ALL auto injury accidents, but our highway would certainly be safer if  money was being spent on making these roads as safe as possible.

If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury as the result of a car accident in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation.  Call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney James Roswold.  With over 15 years of experience in Auto Injury Accident including Pedestrian Injury accident cases, we  might be able to help you.

Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to set up a free consultation to discuss your personal injury claim.  You can get started today by downloading our free book, “10 Essential Steps to Protecting Your Injury Claim“.  We want you to know your rights.

Posted by author on Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 10:20 am 
Filed under Aggressive Driving Incidents, Auto Accidents, distracted driving, Rollovers, Texting and Driving, Unsafe Roads · Tagged with $29 million settlement, dangerous highways, free consultation, head on crash, Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys, Kansas city auto injury accients, Kansas highway 10, serious injury, serious injury accident, state of California jury

Kansas City Auto Accident Blog

Deadly Illinois motorcycle accident – witnesses say state trooper at fault

A Chicago-area motorcycle crash that occurred on Friday night on Interstate 88 has claimed the life of an Aurora resident, according to the Beacon News. A witness to the accident is saying that an Illinois state trooper caused the accident.

The victim, age 29, was riding to Chicago with two friends who were on two separate motorcycles. According to state police, around 9:15 PM in the area of Winfield Road, one of the bikers swerved in front of the other, and that led to the second biker taking evasive action.

But a friend of the motorcyclist killed is stating that a state trooper was the main factor in causing the accident. The witness is saying that the motorcyclists were cut off by a police car. The witness was reportedly riding around 150 feet behind the accident.

He says that, for reasons unknown, the police vehicle passed motorcycle riders, and then hit the brakes. This caused the victim to swerve, but he was unable to complete the maneuver, and was ejected off of his bike. He might have then been hit by a passing truck. The rider next to him was able to pull his cycle over to the side of the interstate.

Witnesses also said that the state police car did not have lights or sirens activated. The other bikers did not know the vehicle was a police car until it passed them by.

A spokesperson for the Illinois State Police is stating that the accident is still under investigation and that no further information is being released yet. They are also saying it is also unknown yet if drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident. However, the victim's friends and stated that he had not been drinking and that he was wearing a motorcycle helmet.

To make matters worse, it is being alleged that when the victim's wife arrived at the scene, she started to run towards the victim and was then tackled by police, causing minor injuries.

It is further being reported that friends and family of the deceased have called in a branch of the NAACP to help fully investigate the occurrence. Other than the fact that the victim was African-American, there is no other reason given as to why the NAACP was contacted, and no other indication that race played a role in the state trooper's alleged actions. Further, it was nighttime and the victim was wearing a helmet, so it is unclear as to how the state trooper would have known the race of the motorcyclist.

It has not been reported if a Chicago motorcycle accident lawyer is involved in the case yet or if a civil lawsuit has been filed.

The last several days have been particularly dangerous for motorcyclists in the Chicago area. The Chicago Sun-Times reporting that a motorcyclist was injured early Tuesday morning on the south side after being involved in a head-on collision with a marked Chicago police car in the 8500 block of S. Chicago Ave.

It has not been reported as to how the vehicles collided or if any citations are being issued.

The motorcycle rider was taken to Northwestern Hospital with multiple fractures. The officer in the police car was also injured, and was taken to Christ Hospital in Oak lawn. His injuries are reportedly non-life-threatening.

In yet another deadly Illinois motorcycle crash, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that a rider from Calumet city was killed in an accident in Kankakee County. The motorcyclist died when he struck the rear of a stopped vehicle. A passenger on the bike was also injured, but not seriously.

The biker fatally injured was riding a Harley-Davidson eastbound on Illinois Route 17 around 3:45 PM on Monday in unincorporated Kankakee. At that time the cyclist it the back of a 2006 Honda that stopped for a school bus. The collision ejected the victim and his passenger off the bike. The crash was strong enough to knock the Honda into another vehicle stopped in front of it.

The motorcyclist was taken to Riverside Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later. No one else was reportedly injured in the incident. The motorcycle rider was age 54, and the Illinois State Police is handling the investigation.

Other recent articles:

Motorcycle accident lawyers reach policy limits settlement

5 killed in a series of Illinois motorcycle crashes

Chicago Car Accident Lawyer

National Safety Council Takes Nominations for 2011 Teen Driving Safety Leadership Award - Many Nominate Secretary of State Jesse White

Washington state legislature mulls two "complete street" bills

The Washington state legislature has before it two House Bills before which would help in the creation of "complete streets." Complete streets is urban planning/engineering so that all the users of a street -- pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists -- can navigate safely.

Complete streets usually include sidewalks, bicycle lanes, wide shoulders, well-designed crosswalks, medians, bus lanes, pedestrian signals, and traffic calming techniques including street trees, planter strips and staggered parking.

The Seattle Bike Blog has a couple of before and after photos of a complete streets project at 15th Ave S and S Lander St. The difference is dramatic and makes the street much more safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The two House Bills are:

HB1070 - which eases design standards which allows municipalities more leeway in designing road projects.
HB 1071 - which creates a complete streets grant program

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in Seattle and Bellevue pedestrian and bicycle accidents and the family of those killed.

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Arizona may be next state to ban texting while driving

March 23rd, 2011 by admin Leave a reply »

Arizona may be the next state to ban texting while driving. As of now, 30 states have already banned the offense and a person is fined if caught breaking the law.

The Arizona State Senate has passed the bill and now it awaits a vote in the House. The bill would make it illegal for any driver to write, send or read a text message. The fines for offense are $50 if pulled over for texting and $200 if the texting driver is involved in an accident.

The law does not apply if you are stopped at a stop light or stuck in a traffic jam. AAA Arizona reported that a person that is texting and driving is 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident.

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