Community members in and around Dodge City, Kansas, are raising thousands of dollars for the surviving family of a woman and her four children after a tragic semi-truck crash ended their lives. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported that the head-on crash was caused by the driver of the tractor-trailer. The childrens’ school community in Dodge City is still in mourning and grief counselors have been available to help classmates who are struggling with the loss. Meantime, more than 340 friends and sympathizers have raised more than $22,000 via GoFundMe.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, it was just after 8 p.m. Saturday, February 18, 2017, when an eastbound semi-truck on U.S.-50 near Dodge City crossed the centerline to pass another big rig. The semi driven by a 41-year-old man from Osawatomie, Kansas, then crashed into the oncoming Town and Country Chrysler minivan. The truck driver survived.
Reportedly, the family was returning from Spearville to Dodge City after having visited close church friends. “Anakary was a positive happy, loving person, and a wonderful mother,’’ one friend wrote.
Can I Sue a Truck Driver for the Wrongful Death of My Family?
If loved ones are killed in a crash caused by a commercial driver, your family can sue for wrongful death and hold accountable the driver, the trucking company and others. Our attorneys have recovered tens of millions of dollars for surviving family members in truck accidents.
Critical to the success of any tractor-trailer lawsuit is an in-depth and timely investigation of the collision. Yes, there are obvious mistakes made by truck drivers in many accidents, but our attorneys can often uncover what led to the fatal misjudgments. Was excessive speed involved? Was the truck driver rushed or impatient? What does his log book say about his rest and possible fatigue? Was he distracted?
An 80,000-pound semi truck weighs 20 to 30 times more than a passenger vehicle and are required to bear insurance with much higher limits than ordinary motor vehicles. Commercial truck drivers also are subject to many state and federal laws designed for the safety of the vulnerable, everyday motorists who surround them. Federal motor carrier safety laws limit how many consecutive hours a semi truck driver can be on the road. Was the driver in compliance? What were road and weather conditions? Was the driver traveling too fast for conditions? Finally, a deep background check on the truck driver could reveal past accidents, speeding tickets, regulatory violations and training deficiencies. All those factors could be meaningful to the outcome of a head-on crash lawsuit.
Our law firm uses accident reconstruction animation to build a winning case.
For all our clients, we fight to understand every detail of the crash that changed their lives. In one recent case, attorneys Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman recently won $6 million for a family in a case where the vehicle that caused the accident experienced an equipment failure. They put the needs of the family first and continuously consult with them as the case goes on.
