T-bone collision with commercial carrier results in $2.5M settlement

Image of a scale of justice on a table in the foreground with two long rows of chairs facing a long, rectangular table in the background. The entire image has a heavy blue tint to it.

Depositphotos.com image

Alan Scher Zagier//July 11, 2024//

Listen to this article

A Kansas City law firm successfully negotiated a $2.5 million settlement on behalf of a 43-year-old driver injured in a two-vehicle collision with a commercial carrier in Johnson County, Kansas.

The identities of both drivers, as well as the vehicle’s owner and defense counsel, remain confidential as a condition of the pre-suit settlement, said lead plaintiff’s attorney Kasey Klenda.

According to a Spring Hill Police Department accident report, the plaintiff was driving southbound on State Highway 169 when he T-boned into the other vehicle, which was traveling west on 191^st Street.

The collision occurred on March 9, 2023, shortly after 10:30 a.m., with both vehicles totaled as a result.

Klenda said her client suffered injuries to his head, neck, back, brain and spine, requiring

an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at the C5-C6 spinal segment. A subsequent surgery to his lumbar spine consisted of an anterior interbody fusion with interval cage and screws at L5-S1 and total disc replacement at L4-L5, she added.

Those past medical costs totaled $400,000, she said, with lost wages of nearly $33,000.

Klenda said her client was traveling 65 mph and unable to avoid the collision with the other driver, whom she suggested “failed to keep a proper lookout.” The driver told police that he “believed he could cross the southbound lanes safely before the (other) vehicle was an issue.”

The dispute was settled in mid-May, records provided by Klenda show.

$2.5 million settlement

Motor vehicle collision