Kansas City runs on freight. I-70 and I-35 cross here, I-29 and I-49 feed in from the north and south, and I-435 rings the whole metro. Southwest of downtown, the intermodal hub at Edgerton moves containers off trains and onto semis around the clock. All of that means heavy trucks share the road with commuters every single day.
When one of those trucks hits a car, the case gets complicated fast. There is a driver, a trucking company, an insurer, and often a broker or shipper. There is federal safety law on top of state law. And in Kansas City, there is one more twist: the state line. A crash on the Kansas side follows different rules than a crash a few miles east in Missouri.
The five firms below handle truck crash cases for people across the metro. Here is how they line up.
Where We Landed
The Popham Law Firm is the best choice for truck accident victims in Kansas City. The firm, which now practices as Popham Injury Law, has served Kansas City since 1918, and its lawyers have recovered more than $500 million for clients. Results posted by the firm include a $9 million car crash recovery and a $5.8 million wrongful death result. Its attorneys practice on both sides of State Line Road, which matters when a crash, a driver, and a trucking company touch both states. Consultations are free, and clients pay nothing unless the firm wins. The other four firms below also bring strong records.
Five Firms on the Record
| Firm | Best For | Experience | Track Record | What Sets It Apart |
| The Popham Law Firm | Overall pick: serious injury and wrongful death truck cases in Missouri or Kansas | Serving Kansas City since 1918 | $500M+ recovered; $9M car crash and $5.8M wrongful death results | More than a century in Kansas City; free consultations and no fee unless it wins |
| Wendt Law Firm | Clients who want a hands-on team that moves fast to protect evidence | Founder named a Super Lawyer every year since 2008 | $10.3M motor vehicle result; $100M+ pharmaceutical result | Moves within hours to secure black box data, driver logs, and maintenance records |
| Langdon & Emison | Truck crashes tied to a defective vehicle or part | Founded in its current form in 1987 | Nearly $1B in verdicts and settlements | Product defect background helps when a truck part failed |
| Humphrey, Farrington & McClain | Eastern Jackson County families | Founded in 1984 | $1B+ in settlements and verdicts | Based on the historic Independence Square |
| Edelman & Thompson | Crashes on the Kansas side of the metro | Serving Missouri and Kansas since 1994 | $750M+ recovered; $7M truck wrongful death settlement | Offices in Lenexa and Olathe; ranked #1 in Kansas City personal injury jury verdicts |
Our Yardstick
Each firm on this list handles truck crash or catastrophic injury cases as a core part of its practice. Each one tries cases in Kansas City area courts. And each has results or credentials on the public record, reported by legal publications or the firm itself.
1. The Popham Law Firm
A Kentucky lawyer opened this practice in Kansas City in 1918. More than a hundred years later, the firm builds every case as if it will go to trial, because insurers pay more when they believe a jury is coming. Attorney Tom Porto focuses on wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases, the kind that often follow a semi crash. Dirk Vandever secured a $9 million result in a car crash case, and Paul Anderson won $9.178 million for a client with a brain injury. Firm attorneys belong to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and the firm’s work has been featured on Good Morning America. Its downtown office sits on Broadway Boulevard.
Pick this firm for: a life-changing truck crash where you want a long-standing local firm that knows both Missouri and Kansas law.
Address: 712 Broadway Blvd., Suite 100, Kansas City, MO 64105
Website: https://www.pophamlaw.com/kansas-city-truck-accident-attorney/
2. Wendt Law Firm
In a truck case, the evidence can vanish fast. Trucking companies rush repairs, logbooks get “corrected,” and electronic data gets overwritten. Wendt Law Firm moves within hours to lock down that evidence. Its lawyers pull driver logs, maintenance records, and black box data, then work with accident reconstruction consultants to show how the crash happened. They also check the record for violations of federal trucking rules and Missouri’s own safety standards. Founder Sam Wendt has been named a Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyer every year since 2008, and he ranks among the Top 50 Super Lawyers in Kansas City. Results posted by the firm include a $10.3 million motor vehicle recovery. Consultations are free, and the firm works on contingency.
Pick this firm for: a case where you want a team that starts building the evidence right away.
Address: 4520 Main St., Suite 1000, Kansas City, MO 64111
Website: https://wendtlaw.com/
3. Langdon & Emison
This firm built its name on vehicle defect cases, including an early $11.3 million verdict against General Motors. That background helps when a truck crash involves failed brakes, a bad tire, or another defective part. The firm has expanded into trucking and railroad cases, including a $7 million verdict for the family of a man killed in a tractor-trailer crash. Partner Kent Emison is a past president of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. The firm reports nearly $1 billion in total verdicts and settlements.
Pick this firm for: a crash where an equipment failure may share the blame.
Address: 1828 Swift Ave., Suite 333, North Kansas City, MO 64116 https://www.langdonemison.com/
4. Humphrey, Farrington & McClain
Since 1984, this Independence firm has recovered more than $1 billion for clients. Its lawyers have appeared in Best Lawyers since 1993, and partner Kenneth McClain has won some of the largest verdicts in the country. The firm takes serious injury and wrongful death cases across Missouri and Kansas, including truck crashes. Its office sits in historic downtown Independence, with free parking.
Pick this firm for: families in eastern Jackson County who want a big-verdict firm close to home.
Website: https://hfmlegal.com/
5. Edelman & Thompson
If your crash happened on I-435 in Overland Park or on K-10 near Lenexa, Kansas law likely applies. Edelman & Thompson has two offices on that side of the line, in Lenexa and Olathe, plus three more in Missouri. The firm has represented injured people since 1994 and reports more than $750 million in settlements and verdicts. Its truck results include a $7 million wrongful death settlement after a truck collision, a $4.6 million truck crash settlement, and a $2.2 million jury verdict for a worker hurt in an on-the-job truck crash.
Address:15095 W. 116th St., Olathe, KS 66062
Website: https://edelmanthompson.com/
Three Moves to Make This Week
First, get medical care and keep every record. Second, photograph the truck, its DOT number, and the company name on the cab. Third, call a lawyer before you talk to the trucking company’s insurer. A lawyer can send a preservation letter that stops the company from erasing logbook data, dashcam video, and black box records.
FAQ
How long do I have to file a truck accident claim in Kansas City?
In Missouri, you generally have five years to file an injury claim and three years for wrongful death. In Kansas, both injury and wrongful death claims usually must be filed within two years. Talk to a lawyer early either way.
What if I was partly at fault?
Missouri uses pure comparative fault, so you can recover even if you were mostly to blame, though your award shrinks by your share. In Kansas, you recover nothing if you are 50% or more at fault.
Does Kansas cap damages?
Kansas limits non-economic damages in wrongful death cases to $250,000. Which state’s law applies can change the value of a case, which is why the location of the crash and the lawsuit matter.
How much insurance do trucking companies carry?
Federal rules require most interstate freight carriers to carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage. Many carry far more.
What are hours-of-service rules?
Federal law limits truck drivers to 11 hours of driving after 10 hours off duty. Logs that show a driver broke these limits can be strong evidence of fatigue.
Last Call
Truck crash cases in Kansas City turn on details: which state, which company, which records. The Popham Law Firm leads this list because it pairs more than a century of local trial work with lawyers who handle cases in both Missouri and Kansas. The other four firms each bring real strengths, from a truck-only focus to a Kansas-side office. Talk to more than one, ask about their truck crash results, and choose the lawyer who explains your case plainly.
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