Defective Commercial Truck Lawyers Serving the Kansas City Metro Area

Commercial trucks, including Class 8 vehicles, eighteen-wheelers, and semi-trucks, are the largest and heaviest vehicles on U.S. roads, weighing up to 80,000 pounds. When they're involved in a crash, the consequences are rarely minor, and when the truck itself is defective, the consequences are almost always catastrophic.

McCartney Stucky's Lenexa, KS office holds manufacturers accountable for commercial and heavy truck defects, including post-collision fires, underride crashes, and structural failures, that cause catastrophic injuries or wrongful death throughout Kansas and Missouri. These are product liability claims, and they require a trial team with the technical depth and courtroom experience to prove what the manufacturer got wrong and why it mattered.

Nationally Recognized in Commercial Truck Crashworthiness Litigation

Founding partners Terry McCartney and Chris Stucky are recognized among the top plaintiffs' attorneys in commercial truck defect and crashworthiness litigation, with decades of trial experience and technical knowledge built specifically around how heavy trucks fail and why manufacturers are responsible when they do.

We limit our caseload so we can immerse ourselves fully in the evidence, work directly with leading safety engineers and forensic experts, and prepare every case for trial. We also maintain an in-house evidence storage facility with a vehicle lift, built specifically because truck defect cases are won or lost on physical proof.

Commercial Truck Defect Cases We Handle

Post-Collision Fuel-Fed Fires

Post-collision fires are among the most devastating outcomes of a truck crash, and they are almost always preventable. These are claims built on proving that a manufacturer's fuel tank placement, frame design, or failure to shield critical components created a fire risk that should never have reached the road.

Roof Crush in Rollovers

Roof crush cases are crashworthiness claims. The argument is not that the crash shouldn't have happened, but that the truck's cab structure was so poorly designed that it failed to protect occupants when a rollover occurred. Stronger alternatives existed. Manufacturers chose not to use them.

Rear and Side Underride Collisions

Underride crashes are product liability claims against the trailer manufacturer or trucking company for failure to equip adequate underride guards. These are technically complex cases that turn on what guard design was available, what standards applied, and whether the guard failed by design or by maintenance.

Failure to Equip with Modern Safety Technology

These are claims based on the argument that manufacturers had access to proven collision avoidance technology and chose not to install it, a decision that directly contributed to a crash that caused catastrophic injury or death. Many heavy trucks still lack proven safety features such as frontal collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning systems.

We Know the Kansas City Roads Where These Crashes Happen

The Kansas City Metro is a major commercial freight hub. I-70, I-35, and I-29 converge in the metro, and Missouri River crossings at the state line generate some of the highest commercial truck traffic volumes in the Midwest. Crashes on these corridors involving defective trucks are a consistent part of our Kansas City practice.

Our attorneys are admitted in Kansas and Missouri courts and handle cases on both sides of the state line, including the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas and the Western District of Missouri. If the crash happened on an interstate near Kansas City, or anywhere in the country, we can handle the case.