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KANSAS CITY CAR WRECK LAWYERS
CIVIL PROSECUTORS AND TRIAL ATTORNEYS FOR CAR WRECKS AND CRASHES
A car wreck can change a family's life in a second. When a driver chooses to text, speed, drive impaired or ignore the rules of the road, that driver should answer for the harm. At Sanders.Law, our Civil Prosecutors and trial attorneys stand with people hurt in car wrecks, and with families who have lost someone, across the Kansas City metro in Missouri and Kansas.
Whether you call it a car accident, a wreck or a crash, our question is the same: who made the choices that caused it, and how do we hold them accountable?
Call (816) 457-6006. Calls are answered 24/7, and consultations are free and confidential.
Holding careless drivers accountable
Many wrecks come from choices: looking at a phone, following too close, running a light, driving drunk. A traffic ticket or a criminal charge doesn't always make an injured person whole. A civil case asks the driver, and anyone else responsible, to answer for the harm they caused. We bring those cases because accountability is how roads get safer for the next family.
Drunk-driving crashes · Distracted-driving crashes · Aggressive-driving crashes · Uber and Lyft crashes
Who can be responsible for a car wreck?
Depending on the facts, more than one person or company may share responsibility:
- The driver who caused the crash
- The driver's employer, when the driver was on the job
- A shop that repaired or maintained a vehicle carelessly
- The maker of a defective vehicle or part
When the driver who caused the crash has little or no insurance, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may also come into play. We work to find everyone who shares responsibility, so the weight of the harm doesn't fall on you and your family alone.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims · Product liability
Car wreck injuries
Car wrecks can cause head and brain injuries, neck and back injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, burns, and death.
Crashes are one of the most common causes of serious brain injuries. In a CDC study of 2018 U.S. hospital data, motor-vehicle crashes caused 23.8% of brain injuries serious enough to need a hospital stay, second only to falls (51.0%).[1]
Some injuries may not show right away. The CDC says some concussion symptoms may appear right away, while others may not appear for hours or days after the injury.[2] That's why it's wise to get checked by a health care provider even if you feel fine at the scene, and to get care if new symptoms show up in the days after the wreck.
Traumatic brain injury · Concussion injuries · Spinal cord injury · Wrongful death
What to do after a car wreck
- Check on everyone, and call 911 if anyone is hurt.
- If no one is hurt and your car can be driven, move it out of traffic to the side of the road and turn on your hazard lights.[3][4] If it can't be moved, turn on your hazard lights and stay in a safe place until help arrives.[3] Don't move anyone who may have a neck or back injury; keep them still until help arrives.[5]
- Call the police so there is an official crash report, and ask the officer how to get a copy.
- Exchange names, phone numbers, license plate numbers, driver's license numbers and insurance information with the other driver. Ask witnesses for their contact information.
- Take photos of the vehicles, the scene, the road, any signs or signals, and your injuries.
- Get medical care, and keep your records, bills and the crash report number.
- Be careful with the other driver's insurer. You generally don't have to give it a recorded statement, and it's wise to talk with a lawyer first. Cooperating with police, and with your own insurer as your policy requires, is different.
- Call Sanders.Law at (816) 457-6006.
Documenting the scene of a car wreck · Do you need a lawyer after a car wreck?
Missouri and Kansas handle car wrecks differently
Missouri
Missouri requires vehicle owners to maintain financial responsibility, which for most drivers means liability insurance.[6] Missouri auto liability policies must also include uninsured motorist coverage, which protects people hurt by an uninsured driver.[7] Under Missouri's pure comparative fault rule, an injured person who was partly at fault can still recover, but the award is reduced by that person's share of the fault.[8]
Kansas
Kansas uses a no-fault system for certain benefits. Every Kansas auto policy must include personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, which include medical, disability (lost earnings), rehabilitation and other benefits, up to limits set by law.[9][10] Kansas also limits claims against the at-fault driver for pain, suffering and other non-economic loss: the injury must need medical treatment with a reasonable value of $2,000 or more, or be one of the injuries the law lists, such as permanent disfigurement, a fracture to a weight-bearing bone, a permanent injury or death.[11]
Kansas compares fault too. An injured person can recover only if their fault is less than the fault of the people they are claiming against, and the award is reduced by their share.[12] Which state's law applies depends on where the wreck happened and other facts.
How Sanders.Law builds a car wreck case
We work to prove that the other driver was careless or broke the rules of the road, that this caused the crash and your injuries, and the full extent of your losses, now and in the future. The evidence often includes:
- The crash report, photos, video and witness accounts
- Vehicle damage and vehicle data, which we work early to have preserved
- Your medical records, and the doctors who treat you
- The people closest to you, who can describe life before the crash and after it
Our trial attorneys prepare each case as if it may be tried in front of a jury, so our clients can focus on healing while we focus on accountability.
What the law allows after a car wreck
If someone else's negligence caused your injuries, Missouri and Kansas law may allow you to recover compensation for losses such as medical care, lost wages or income, damage to your vehicle, and pain, suffering and the ways the injury has changed your daily life. In Kansas, the threshold described above applies to the pain-and-suffering part of a claim against the at-fault driver.[11]
Filing deadlines in Missouri and Kansas
Don't let a deadline decide your case. Many Missouri personal injury claims must be filed within five years[13] and many Missouri wrongful-death claims within three years.[14] Many Kansas personal injury and wrongful-death claims must be filed within two years.[15] Exceptions can shorten or extend these periods, so call us about your own deadline. This is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do right after a car wreck in Kansas City?
Check on everyone and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Don't move anyone who may have a neck or back injury; keep them still until help arrives.[5] Call the police so there is a crash report, exchange information with the other driver, take photos and get medical care. Then call (816) 457-6006.
Is Kansas a no-fault state?
In part. Every Kansas auto policy must include personal injury protection (PIP) benefits.[9] You can bring a claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering only if the injury meets a threshold in Kansas law, such as medical treatment with a reasonable value of $2,000 or more, a fracture to a weight-bearing bone, a permanent injury or death.[11]
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
Often, yes. In Missouri, your award is reduced by your share of the fault.[8] In Kansas, you can recover only if your fault is less than the fault of the people you are claiming against, and your award is reduced by your share.[12]
What if the driver who hit me has no insurance?
Your own policy may help. Missouri auto liability policies must include uninsured motorist coverage.[7] Kansas auto liability policies must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, though the policyholder can reject, in writing, coverage above the state minimum.[16] We can review your policy and the facts with you in a confidential consultation.
The other driver's insurer called me. What should I do?
Get medical care first. You generally don't have to give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement, and it's wise to talk with a lawyer first. Cooperating with police, and with your own insurer as your policy requires, is different. Then call (816) 457-6006.
How long do I have to file a car wreck case in Missouri or Kansas?
It depends on the state and the type of claim. Many Missouri personal injury claims must be filed within five years,[13] and many Kansas personal injury claims within two years.[15] Exceptions can change these periods, so call us early.
Talk with a Kansas City trial attorney
If you or someone you love was hurt in a car wreck that someone else caused, call (816) 457-6006. Let us help you obtain justice – not only for your family, but for the sake of our community. Calls are answered 24/7, and consultations are confidential.
Meet your attorneys · Steve Sanders · Contact us · Read client reviews · Personal injury
Sources
- Peterson AB, Thomas KE. "Incidence of Nonfatal Traumatic Brain Injury–Related Hospitalizations — United States, 2018." CDC MMWR, Dec. 3, 2021;70(48):1664–1668, Table 2. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7048a3.htm
- CDC, "Symptoms of Mild TBI and Concussion" (Sept. 15, 2025). https://www.cdc.gov/traumatic-brain-injury/signs-symptoms/index.html
- Kansas Department of Transportation, "What to Do in Case of a Crash" (undated; accessed Oct 21, 2026). https://www.ksdot.gov/travel/traveler-safety/what-to-do-in-case-of-a-crash
- Missouri Department of Transportation, "Road Wise – Parent/Teen Safe Driving Guide" (Feb. 27, 2025), "Steer Clear," p. 42. https://www.modot.org/sites/default/files/documents/Roadwise%20-%20Teen%20Driving%20Guide%202025.pdf
- Mayo Clinic, "Spinal cord injury – Symptoms and causes" (May 22, 2026). https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20377890
- RSMo 303.025.1 (owner must maintain financial responsibility). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=303.025
- RSMo 379.203.1 (auto liability policies must include uninsured motorist coverage). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=379.203
- Gustafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11, 15–16 (Mo. banc 1983) (pure comparative fault). https://law.justia.com/cases/missouri/supreme-court/1983/63857-0.html
- K.S.A. 40-3107(f) (Kansas policies must include personal injury protection benefits). https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch40/040_031_0007.html
- K.S.A. 40-3103(q) (PIP benefits = disability, funeral, medical, rehabilitation, substitution and survivors' benefits). https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch40/040_031_0003.html
- K.S.A. 40-3117 (conditions for recovering pain, suffering and other non-pecuniary loss). https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch40/040_031_0017.html
- K.S.A. 60-258a(a) (comparative negligence). https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_002_0058a.html
- RSMo 516.120(4) (five years). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=516.120
- RSMo 537.100.1 (wrongful death, three years). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=537.100
- K.S.A. 60-513(a)(4), (a)(5) (two years). https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_005_0013.html
- K.S.A. 40-284(a)–(c) (uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage; written rejection of coverage above the state minimum). ksrevisor.gov, accessed Oct 21, 2026. https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch40/040_002_0084.html
$250,000
Car Wreck · Settlement
Heirs of an elderly woman who died from injuries sustained in a car wreck settled their two separate Johnson County actions for wrongful death and survival for a total of $250,000.
$125,000
Car Wreck Settlement
A car crash victim’s insurance claims were paid in a negligence and personal injury case before settlement discussions were started.
$100,000
Car Wreck Settlement
A man whose back was broken when his car rolled after being forced into a drainage ditch by a car he was passing has settled his Jackson County personal injury case against the driver of the other vehicle.
Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. Client testimonials do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter.
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent®, 2026
Super Lawyers, 2011–2026
Avvo Rating 10.0 (Superb)
Steve Sanders, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum member
AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished℠ and Martindale-Hubbell Notable℠ are Certification Marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell® certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards. About Martindale-Hubbell ratings.
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Lawyers Licensed In Missouri and Kansas
Committed to Keeping the Community Safe
We Don’t Represent Drunk Drivers, We Sue Drunk Drivers
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“Mr. Sanders was wonderful to work with. His conversations are very engaging, but concise. He provided a wealth of information while remaining patient with my questions and attentive to my needs.”
“These are the guys you need if you need an injury attorney. Very helpful, and informative, they look out for their clients. Thank you Sanders.Law for taking great care of us.”