Personal Injury Cases – Castle Law Office of Kansas City

Rear-end crashes happen fast. One moment, you’re slowing down for a stop sign or crosswalk. The next second, the vehicle behind you slams straight into your car.

Luckily, Missouri officials may have come up with a way to reduce rear-end crashes. Recently, cameras were installed at red lights, especially in Kansas City. The result? Rear-end crashes dropped 20 percent at 13 intersections in Kansas City where the red-light cameras were installed, according to a recent study.

Sadly, rear-end crashes remain common. Every 12 seconds, a rear-end crash happens somewhere in America. Each year, more than 2.5 million rear-end collisions take place nationwide, according to the National Safety Council.

Some of the most common causes of rear-end crashes include:
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Black ice. We’ve all probably dealt with this nasty road condition that results when melting snow re-freezes and instantly turns a wet road into an ice rink. That’s exactly what happened recently in Kansas City, Missouri. A car reportedly hit a patch of black ice and lost control, triggering a three-vehicle accident involving a school bus. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.

Black ice accidents happen all over the world. Watch this video to see how a small patch of black ice can trigger one accident after another on this Asian highway. Notice how even the tow truck arriving at the scene of the accident cannot stop due to dangerous black ice.

Black ice can be deceptive. The road looks wet, but it’s really frozen solid. That’s often why drivers lose control of their car on black ice. They never even realize there’s ice on the road until it’s too late.

Experts estimate that black ice covered roads result in five times more accidents than clear roads. And if you’re trying to stop on black ice, good luck. It takes nine times as long to stop on black ice as it does on a clear road, according to road safety experts. That’s why it’s crucial you don’t slam on your breaks if you hit a patch of black ice. Don’t make any sudden steering changes either. Just ride it out.

Black ice accidents happen fast. What would you do if you were involved in one? What if you’re injured? What if your insurance company plays games and refuses to pay your claim? You need someone familiar with serious car accidents. You need someone who gets results. You need Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Our lawyers have years of experience fighting for car accident victims in Missouri and Kansas. We understand how traumatic accidents can be for people. Let us deal with the red tape so you can focus on your recovery.

Don’t let insurance companies push you around after your accident. Take a stand. Contact Castle Law Office today.

Dedicated. Experienced. Driven. Castle Law Office. Fighting for justice for you!

Missouri’s infamous “puppy mills” will soon become part of the state’s past, just like its infamous dog fighting breeding grounds. Large, traditional dog breeding operations known as puppy mills are big business in Missouri. There are 1,400 dog breeders in Missouri – the most of any state in the country.

Recently, Missouri voters approved a ballot measure making massive dog breeding facilities known as “puppy mills” illegal. The regulations restrict people from owning no more than 50 breeding dogs. The regulations also require anyone with more than 10 breeding dogs to meet certain standards for housing and food.

The approved ballot measure will also requires other improvements to dog breeding facilities, including increase space requirements for animal enclosures and expand requirements for veterinary care.

Missouri made national headlines last year for its central role in the country’s largest dog fighting network. Federal officials arrested 30 people in five states and seized 378 fighting dogs in Missouri. The state made headlines worldwide again recently when 17 dogs attacked and killed an 84-year-old Missouri dog owner.

Vicious dog attacks are sadly very common. Each year, dogs bite more than 4.7 million Americans nationwide. One in five dog bites nationwide result in injuries requiring medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Just recently, a 4-year-old boy was injured by two Rottweilers in Kansas City, Missouri.

Dog attacks happen fast. Knowing what to do can be difficult. You need someone who knows how to handle such complicated situations. You need someone who understands Missouri’s dog laws. You need Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Castle Law Office of Kansas City has years of experience defending clients seriously injured in dog attacks in Missouri and Kansas. Our attorneys thoroughly investigate every case and work tirelessly to obtain the compensation you deserve for your dog attack injuries.

Dog attacks can change a person’s life forever in an instant. Take back control. Contact Castle Law Office today. We mean business.

What would you do if you were injured while riding in a car with a drunk driver? How would you pay your medical bills? And are the laws in Missouri and Kansas different regarding your right to be compensated for your injuries?

Passengers often sustain injuries in car accidents. On average, 9,668 people die each year in accidents while riding in a vehicle. And often, drunk drivers cause these accidents. In Missouri, drunk drivers killed 364 people in 2008. That’s 38 percent of all fatalities. The numbers are just as staggering in 2008 in Kansas, where drunk drivers killed 157 people, totaling 41 percent of traffic fatalities.

What does all this mean if you were injured while a passenger in a drunk driving accident? Any time passengers sustain injuries in a car accident, passengers almost always have a personal injury claim against one of the drivers.

Another important factor to consider is who supplied the alcohol to the driver. If a bar or liquor store knowingly sold alcohol to the driver in an intoxicated state, you may be able to pursue a case against the bar or liquor store.

Liability laws vary from state to state. Missouri has a fault-based insurance system. Under this system, insurance companies pay according to each party’s degree of fault. Kansas is different. Kansas is “no fault” insurance state. That means your insurance company pays your medical bills after an accident regardless of who’s at fault. But getting your insurance company to cooperate can sometimes be a challenge.

Drunk driving accidents are complicated. Knowing what to do can be difficult. You need an experienced legal team in your corner. You need someone who thoroughly understands the law. You need Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Our knowledgeable attorneys at Castle Law have years of experience defending clients seriously injured in drunk driving accidents in Kansas and Missouri.

We understand how traumatic drunk driving accidents can be. We can help.

Don’t leave your future to chance. Take action. Contact Castle Law Office today. We’re on your side.

Tired drivers fall asleep behind the wheel every day. How often? More than 60 percent of adult drivers have admitted driving while feeling drowsy within the past year. Even more shocking, 37 percent or 108 million drivers have confessed to actually falling asleep at the wheel. And of those who have fallen asleep at the wheel, 13 percent revealed they have done so at least once a month.

Just recently, a 19-year-old Kansas driver fell asleep at the wheel on Interstate 70 and caused an accident, injuring himself.  Such accidents are sadly common. Each year, driver fatigue causes 100,000 car accidents nationwide. That’s one accident every five minutes. Sleeping driver accidents result in roughly 71,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities each year.

Who’s asleep at the wheel? Drivers most at risk to falling asleep include:

• Long-distance truck drivers.
• Adults 18 – 29 years old.
• Men are almost twice as likely to fall asleep while driving as women.
• Shift workers who do not work normal daytime hours.

Driving while tired seems innocent. But tired drivers choose to drive. They refuse to take breaks. They ignore warning signs. They put everyone at risk on the road.

What would you do if you were injured by a driver asleep at the wheel? You need someone with experience dealing with serious accidents. You need someone who will tenaciously fight for your rights. You need Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Our knowledgeable, professional attorneys have years of experience handling accidents involving drivers asleep at the wheel in Kansas and Missouri. We’re not afraid to go after big trucking companies or unresponsive insurance companies.

Don’t let someone else’s reckless behavior ruin your life. Take action. Contact Castle Law Office today. We mean business.

What would you do if your child was in an accident at school? Or maybe sustained an injury simply walking or riding a bus to school? Sound far fetched?

Sadly, accidents involving school children are far more common than you might think. Just recently, two Missouri teenagers were killed and dozens of students were injured when two school buses were involved in a chain-reaction accident on Interstate 44 near St. Louis. Also this school year, 11 people were injured in a school bus accident in Topeka, Kansas.

Pedestrian accidents involving children are common, too. A staggering number of pedestrians injured and killed are under 15 years old. In 2008, pedestrians sustained 69,000 injuries and 4,378 deaths in accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those statistics include 15,000 injured and 316 killed under 15 years old.

The statistics are even more startling for bicycle injuries and deaths for children. Cyclists under 14 years old account for 24 percent of all bicycle-related deaths and 50 percent of all bicycle-related injuries.

What would you do after such a horrific accident? Who would you turn to for advice? Who would you trust? You need someone who understands the law inside out. You need a professional with years of experience navigating through such complicated legal mazes. You need Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Serving clients throughout Missouri and Kansas, our knowledgeable attorneys know how to thoroughly investigate such cases. If the accident involves a school bus company, we often pour over records to find out whether the driver had the proper credentials to operate a school bus.

If another driver was involved, we may examine whether other factors contributed to the accident. Perhaps the driver was doing something besides driving. Texting while driving, talking on a cell phone, fiddling with the radio – all of these activities distract drivers and put us all at risk.

We know how precious your children are to you. An accident can instantly change your lives forever. Let us do everything in our power to right any wrongs done to your children.

Don’t be a victim. Take action. Contact Castle Law Office. We’re on your side.

Tractor trailer trucks serve a valuable purpose. They transport many of the products we use every day. But these large trucks pose serious risks to everyone on the road, especially as the number of trucks continues to climb higher.

In the last 40 years, the number of tractor trailers has more than doubled. In 1970, there were 905,082 tractor trailers. By 2008, that figure had skyrocketed to 2,215,856. The number of all large trucks (vehicles over 10,000 pounds) has also increased sharply in recent years, from 7.7 million in 1998 to 9 million in 2007.

Not surprisingly, large trucks are involved in many accidents. One out of nine traffic fatalities in 2008 resulted from a collision involving a large truck, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Missouri, 117 large trucks were involved in 9.3 percent of all fatal accidents statewide in 2008. Just recently, a Missouri tractor trailer truck driver killed 10 people in an accident on a crowded highway.

In an effort to prevent such accidents, numerous laws exist governing the trucking industry. Drivers must undergo rigorous training to obtain a license. Strict rules govern exactly how many hours drivers can operate a truck. Weigh stations make sure trucks do not exceed legal limits. And this year, the federal government banned texting while driving for all commercial truck drivers nationwide.

But accidents happen. Truck drivers flaunt the law and send text messages. Others ignore rest breaks and fall asleep at the wheel. Some drivers overload their truck and lose control of the vehicle. Such irresponsible behavior is unacceptable.

What would you do if you were involved in an accident with a large truck or tractor trailer? How will you make sure you are justly compensated for your injuries or your family’s loss? You need someone who knows how to thoroughly investigate such complicated accidents. You need someone who will take on large trucking companies and insurance providers fighting to deny your claim. You need Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Serving clients throughout Missouri and Kansas, Castle Law Office has years of experience working hard for victims of large truck accidents. Let our team of seasoned attorneys defend for your rights.

Don’t be a victim. Fight back. Contact Castle Law today. We mean business.

Motorcycles have never been more popular. In 1998, there were 3.8 million motorcycles on the road. By 2008, that number had skyrocketed to 7.7 million motorcycles. Sadly, the number of fatal motorcycle accidents has more than doubled during the same time period. In 1998, motorcycle accidents killed 2,294 people and injured more than 49,000 nationwide. In 2008, 5,290 died and more than 96,000 people were injured in motorcycle accidents.

The sharp rise in the number of motorcycle accidents has been linked to the dramatic increase in the number of inexperienced riders on the road. But there may be another reason for this increase. During the same time period, many states relaxed their motorcycle helmet laws.

Helmets drastically reduce the likelihood of dying in a motorcycle accident. Riders wearing helmets are 37 percent less likely to die in a crash than riders without helmets, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That’s why many states still require motorcyclists to wear helmets. In Missouri, all motorcyclists are required by law to wear helmets at all times.

Unfortunately, accidents happen. In Missouri, a total of 102 motorcyclists died in accidents in 2008.  Just recently, a 59-year-old Missouri motorcyclist was killed in an accident on Interstate 35 near Kansas City, Missouri.

What would you do if you were injured in a motorcycle accident? Who would you call? Who would you trust? You need someone in your corner that will fight for your rights. You need someone who will work tirelessly to make sure you’re fully compensated for your injuries. You need Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Castle Law Office has years of experience defending the rights of motorcycle accident victims in Missouri and Kansas. We understand the law and know how to get the most for our clients. We also realize insurance companies often try to blame motorcyclists for causing the accident, even if it wasn’t their fault.

Don’t leave your future to chance. Take action. Contact Castle Law Office today. We’re on your side.

It’s a frightening scenario, but one that illustrates how a property owner can be negligent for someone’s injuries: A woman is leaving a Kansas City bar in which two men were just thrown out for being drunk and belligerent. She passes the bar bouncers who ejected the men. The bouncers fail to tell the woman that the men are outside, intoxicated and angry over being tossed from the bar. The woman then is attacked by the men. In such a case, the men may face criminal charges of assault and battery, but the bar owner also may be liable for the woman’s injuries in what is known as a premises liability case.

Premises liability cases sometimes involve someone slipping and falling on property due to poor maintenance. But property owners also have a duty to keep people safe from violent or criminal activity. If you are injured on someone’s property because of inadequate security measures, you may be able to seek compensation for your losses. It’s crucial for property owners to maintain a safe environment, especially in an area that may have a history of criminal activity. This may include having adequate lighting, hiring security guards or installing video cameras for surveillance. Property owners have a duty to warn the public of known dangers and carry adequate insurance.

An assault on someone’s property can be a frightening and painful ordeal. If you sustained such an injury, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages as well as emotional distress and pain and suffering, among other losses.

Attorneys for the insurance company may try to minimize your losses to pay you as little as possible. At Castle Law Office of Kansas City, serving communities throughout Kansas and Missouri, we fight aggressively for our clients. Our goal is nothing less than returning maximum compensation for personal injury victims. Contact us today for a free and confidential initial consultation. We are on your side.

Children drown fast. In an instant, without warning, a child can be fighting for their lives in a stream or lake or swimming pool. Just recently, a 7-year-old girl drowned in Smithville Lake near Kansas City, Missouri.

Sadly, children drown more often than you may realize. Among children 1 to 14 years old, drowning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths nationwide.  Each year, more than 800 children on average under 14 years old drown nationwide.

And for every child who dies drowning, another four must be rushed to an emergency room for nonfatal injuries caused by being submerged under water. Injuries sustained by children who survive a drowning can be severe and change their lives forever. Being submerged under water for just four to six minutes can often result in permanent brain damage.

Sometimes, children drown accidently. Other times, other people’s reckless behavior results in your child’s death or serious injury. Maybe someone responsible for your child left them unattended in a swimming pool. Maybe alcohol was involved. Or maybe someone neglected to put a life preserver on your child while they were riding in a boat. Other people’s irresponsible behavior is never an excuse.

Every parent dreads experiencing such a horrific accident. We all believe we will share our entire lives with our children. Losing them in such a traumatic way can be shattering. Knowing what to do next can be baffling. We can help. We’re Castle Law Office of Kansas City.

Licensed in Missouri and Kansas, Castle Law Office has years of experience fighting for child drowning victims and their families in Kansas City and other surrounding communities. Don’t delay. Take action. Contact Castle Law Office today. You deserve justice. Now demand it.