Archive for May, 2014

Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys Advise: Don’t Get Caught Up In a Chain Reaction Accident

Saturday, May 31st, 2014

Kansas City, like most cities, has its fair share of traffic. Depending upon the time of the day and the day of the week, you may be sharing the road with quite a few other drivers. Driving on crowded roads can feel uncomfortable because there is not much room to maneuver. When one vehicle collides with another on a busy road, other vehicles that are nearby may also become involved in the wreck. These kinds of situations are often referred to as pile-up accidents or chain reaction accidents.

Chain reaction accidents in and around Kansas City can happen on busy roads, and they can also happen when road conditions and visibility are poor due to inclement weather. Rain, ice, and snow have been the cause of several chain reaction accidents in the area in recent years. One of the most recent pile-up accidents in the area happened in March of this year. Light snow was falling in the early morning hours of March 24, 2014. The snow caused slippery road conditions, and twenty two vehicles became entangled in a chain reaction accident on a ramp near Highway 69 and Interstate 35.

Since chain reaction accidents can happen at any time of year and in any sort of weather, Kansas City drivers should know that there are things that they can do to avoid them. One very important thing to do is adjust your driving to the current weather and road conditions. Rain, fog, snow, and sleet can affect your traction on the road surface, and they can also decrease visibility. Both of these things increase your risk for having an accident, or for being unable to avoid piling on to an accident which is already in the roadway. If you drive slower when the road could be slippery or when it is difficult to see, you give yourself more time to respond to anything that you see on the road, whether it is an accident, an animal, or the brake lights of the vehicle in front of you.

A second way to avoid becoming involved in a chain reaction accident is to stay far enough away from the vehicle in front of you. Leaving a space of one car length for every ten miles per hour of your speed gives you space to see what is going on in front of you, and an opportunity to respond to it. When drivers follow other vehicles too closely, they increase the chance that they will collide with the vehicle in front of them if it stops short.

Unfortunately, not all accidents can be prevented by implementing safe driving tips like the ones discussed above. Even when you drive safely, other drivers who are sharing the road with you may not. If you have been injured in a pile-up accident or any other type of automobile accident, it is important that you speak with a Kansas City Automobile Accident Attorney as soon as you can. Your attorney can help you to determine the amount of damages that you have suffered as a result of the accident, and they can help you to pursue the financial recovery that you need and deserve.

The knowledgeable Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys at Hubbard & Kurtz, L.L.P. help clients from throughout the region, including St. Joseph, Independence, Lees Summit, Columbia, Warrensburg, Overland Park, Olathe, Atchison, Lawrence, Topeka, and many other Kansas and Missouri communities. Please call us today, at (816) 472- 4673 to arrange for an initial consultation.

Will Higher Penalties Make For Safer Vehicles?

Saturday, May 10th, 2014

Earlier this month, General Motors was slapped with a record-setting thirty five million dollar fine from the United States Department of Transportation. The fine resulted from the company’s failure to report a safety defect which has caused at least thirteen deaths to date. According to the United States Transportation Secretary, General Motors became aware of a defect in the ignition switch in the 2005 to 2010 Chevy Cobalt as early as 2009, but they never reported it. The defective switch can cause the vehicle to turn off while the driver is driving it down the road, creating a dangerous situation which could result in an accident.

Automakers are required to report safety defects within five days of discovering them, in addition to immediately recalling vehicles which do not meet federal safety standards. Over two million vehicles have been recalled because of the ignition switch defect. Models included in the recall include the Chevy Cobalt, Chevy HHR, Pontiac G5, Saturn Ion, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Sky.

While a thirty five million dollar fine may seem quite large, its status as the highest ever civil penalty arising from an automobile recall may not last for long. President Obama has proposed a new penalty scheme, which would increase the maximum fine to three hundred million dollars. The aim of the increased penalties is to encourage automakers to report defects as soon as they discover them, so that vehicles can be recalled before lives are lost. It will remain to be seen whether the increased penalty scheme, if it is signed into law, has the desired effect of getting automakers to take swift action to protect consumers whenever they discover safety defects.

The families of three people who died as a result of being involved in accidents while driving or riding in vehicles which had the defective ignition switch have filed wrongful death lawsuits against General Motors in both its pre and post-bankruptcy forms, Delphi Automotive Systems, and GM dealerships. The defect in the ignition switch, which was manufactured by Delphi Automotive Systems, is such a major safety issue because it can cause the car to lose power while it is being driven, and it can also prevent the airbags from working properly in the event of an accident.

The Chevy Cobalt tragedy serves as a reminder that the corporations which manufacture the things that we use every day do not always act with the level of care and concern for our safety that they should. If someone that you love has died as the result of the negligence, misconduct, or recklessness of a person or a company, you may be able to recover for your loss through a wrongful death lawsuit. When your family experiences a tragic loss due to a wrongful death, it is only natural to desire to hold the people or companies who caused your loss responsible for your actions. A Kansas City Wrongful Death Attorney can answer any questions that you may have about pursuing a claim for damages resulting from a wrongful death. If your family has suffered such a loss, it is important that you seek assistance right away so that you can file your claim before the statute of limitations runs out.

The experienced Kansas City Wrongful Death Attorneys at Hubbard & Kurtz, L.L.P. help clients from throughout the region, including St. Joseph, Independence, Lees Summit, Columbia, Warrensburg, Overland Park, Olathe, Atchison, Lawrence, Topeka, and many other Kansas and Missouri communities. Please call us today, at (816) 472- 4673 to arrange for an initial consultation.

 

Missouri Personal Injury Attorneys Discuss What You Need to Know About Settlement Offers

Monday, May 5th, 2014

When you experience any kind of personal injury, whether from an automobile accident, medical malpractice, a defective product, or something else, it is likely that you will receive a settlement offer from an insurance company shortly after you get hurt. While you may be tempted to accept the offer right away because you anticipate having to pay large medical bills or missing work for a while, it is essential that you assess the offer carefully before you decide whether or not to accept it. You do have a choice of whether to accept a settlement which has been offered to you, or to reject the offer and hold out for a larger settlement, which the insurance company may or may not offer to you.

An important thing to do before you read the settlement offer (or reread it if you have read it already) is to remind yourself who has prepared the offer for you. The person who created the settlement offer that you now hold in your hands works for the insurance company which issued an insurance policy to the person or entity who is responsible for your injury. Since they work for the insurance company, they create settlement offers which will benefit the insurance company by settling the claim as quickly as possible, for the smallest amount of money. In other words, the settlement offer that you have received was not created with your best interest in mind.

With the aforementioned concept in mind, it is time to read or reread the settlement offer. A good question to keep in your mind as you read it is whether it will fully compensate you for the injuries that you have received. It is possible that you may not know whether it will compensate you for your damages, especially if you do not yet know the full extent of the damages. Many times, insurance companies send out settlement offers very soon after an accident, and your doctors may still be in the process of assessing your injuries and determining a plan and a time frame for treatment and rehabilitation. Depending upon the situation in which you were injured, there may be other types of information which you would need in order to determine what your damages will be. If for any reason it is not possible for you to know the extent of your damages, it is a good idea to wait until you do know that information before making a decision to accept a settlement offer. You do not want to risk accepting an offer which will end up falling short of the amount of damages that you have sustained.

Since determining the value of an injury can be more complicated than simply sitting down with a stack of bills and determining how much money you would need to pay them, it is helpful to consult with a Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney if you have been injured in any type of accident. Your attorney can help you to get a sense of what your claim is truly worth. What’s more, your Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney can help you pursue a better settlement offer if the one which you have received is inadequate. They can even litigate your case for you, in the event that attempts to negotiate an appropriate settlement do not generate the results that you need.

The skilled Missouri Personal Injury Lawyers at Hubbard & Kurtz, L.L.P. help clients from throughout the region, including St. Joseph, Independence, Lees Summit, Columbia, Warrensburg, Overland Park, Olathe, Atchison, Lawrence, Topeka, and many other Kansas and Missouri communities. Please call us today, at (816) 472- 4673 to arrange for an initial consultation.