Speeding

Catastrophic Personal Injury

Speeding in Truck Accidents in Kansas City

Holding Truckers Accountable for Their Actions

A loaded tractor-trailer weighs up to 40 tons. At any speed, such a behemoth is a danger to smaller vehicles in its path. The faster the truck is going, the more time and distance it takes to stop — and the greater the destruction in a crash.

Was the truck driver who injured or killed your loved one breaking the speed limit or driving at an unsafe speed under the circumstances? It’s the first question we ask when investigating a truck wreck. If the answer is yes, the trucking company can be held liable for damages — even if the victim was partially at fault.

Dempsey Kingsland Osteen handles truck accidents caused by speeding in the Kansas City area and surrounding counties of Missouri and Kansas. We look forward to hearing your story and helping you recover the damages you are entitled to.

Speeding as a Factor in Trucking Accidents

It is not hard to prove that a truck driver was speeding in excess of the posted limit. The “black box” recorder on the 18-wheeler itself can provide the exact speed at impact, or Highway Patrol investigators can reliably estimate speed from skid marks and other evidence. Speeding is negligence per se (automatic grounds to sue). If the truck was greatly exceeding the limit (for example, 80 mph in a 55 mph zone) it might even be grounds for punitive damages as reckless indifference.

A trucker traveling at or below the speed limit can still be negligent if the speed was unreasonable for the conditions, such as rain, fog, icy roads, heavy traffic, or road construction. Our experienced Kansas City truck accident attorneys are skilled at proving that the truck driver was driving too fast to avoid a crash. We can bring in professional investigators and accident reconstructionists to determine visibility and stopping distance under the conditions at the time of the crash.

Seeking Damages

If we prove (or the trucking company stipulates) that the driver was speeding, we still have to prove damages. Our firm excels at maximizing compensation for medical care, economic losses, and personal suffering, especially for the permanent injuries or wrongful death that are common in truck accidents.