Donald Taylor | Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer

I believe I have made a big difference in all the cases I have worked over the span of my carrier. I have helped craft settlements that have changed the lives of my clients and their families. In addition to helping our clients recover compensation. we try to be a positive influence on our clients.

Our firms success was built upon dedication to the client's needs and good old fashioned hard work.

Integrity, sincerity and practicality.

An attorney must be familiar with the applicable venue and it's idiosyncrasies. A good analogy would be your favorite sports team playing at home vs. playing an away game in a hostile environment.

We provide our prospective client's with a basis to understand their respective claims so that they can decide if they need legal assistance and if they want us to provide that assistance. We describe the basic legal principles applicable to their case. We educate them as to their rights and possible remedies.

We need the potential client to provide us with an explanation of their legal issue, provide us with a synopsis of what has occurred so far and invite them to ask all questions they have up to that point.

We are dedicate, hard working, reliable and make ourselves available to our clients when they need us the most.

Providing help to people when they need the help the most.

I have been a avid runner. I have completed thirteen marathons, including the Boston, Chicago and New York Marathons. I enjoy volunteering for various charitable and/or church activities. I enjoy the outdoors including hiking, canoeing and fishing.

I volunteer for many committees at my church including serving on our church council for over ten years. I am a past president of our local bar association. I served our country for twenty two years in the United States Army reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

• U.S. District Court, District of Kansas  | 1987
  U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri | 1987
  U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit | 1989
  
  Member | Wyandotte County and Johnson County Kansas Trial Lawyers Association
  Member | Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association

• Taylor has served his church in countless ways and activities. He has served as President of the St. John the Baptist Croatian Catholic Church Council since 2011 as well as a council member in the 1990’s. He has been a member of the church choir since 1988. He has served as an officer in the St. John’s Catholic Club on Historic Strawberry Hill since 1987, including President and Sergeant at Arms. He is a member of the Croatian musical group Hrvatski Obicaj since 2011, performing all over the region including numerous ethnic festivals. He is also a member of the Good Shepherd Church in Shawnee, Kansas and is a member of their Knights of Columbus. Taylor and his wife of over thirty-three (33) years served as co-chairs of various committees, as well and volunteers for Harvesters and the local food kitchen.
  
  As the father of four daughters Taylor coached youth soccer for over twenty years. He also assisted in coaching his daughter’s youth basketball teams. As a consequence of his military career he became an avid runner, competing in 13 marathons including the Boston, New York and Chicago marathons. Taylor still runs over 22 miles per week. He is an avid handball player and enjoys various other sports and physical activity.
  
  Taylor is a member and/or participates in various civil and/or social activities including local Historical Societies being awarded a past Historian of the Year by the Wyandotte County Historical Society.

• Sample of Taylor's Notable Legal Achievements:
  Hamilton vs. State Farm, 263 Kan. 875 (1998). Taylor represented plaintiff Hamilton before the Wyandotte County District Court, the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court. After successful jury trial, the defense appealed. Upon appeal we successfully achieved an award of attorney fees under KSA 40-908. The importance of the case confirmed that consumers can recover attorney fees under the statute so they can be made whole when they suffer a smaller loss and cannot otherwise afford to pursue their damages. Hembree vs. Wal-Mart of Kansas, 29 Kan.App. 2d 900 (2001). In Hembree, we confirmed through the appellate process that the “Mode of Operation Rule” applied in Kansas. Following our appeal, the rule became part of the Pattern Instructions Kansas 4th, Jury Instruction 126.05. This allows for a jury instruction that when a business adopts a mode of operation in which a dangerous condition could regularly occur and the owner fails to use reasonable measures to discover and remove it, an injured person can recover their damages. Adams vs. Continental Cas. Co. 364 F. 3d 952 (8th Cir. 2004). Taylor represented plaintiff Adams before the Honorable H. Dean Whipple of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case was significant in addressing the distinctions between the application of interpretations of the law for traditional insurance carriers compared to ERISA types of benefits. Richardson vs. QuikTrip Corp., 81 S.W.3d (Mo. App. 2002). Taylor represented plaintiff Richardson before the Circuit Court of Jackson County Missouri. After defense Summary Judgment, Taylor helped plaintiffs reverse the circuit court decision establishing that a business owed a duty of reasonable care to keep its premises in a reasonably safe condition when it knew or had reason to know that patrons may suffer harm from criminal activity and failing to take reasonable steps in keeping their customers safe. Angus vs. Second Injury Fund, 328 S.W.3d 294 (Mo. App. 2011). Taylor represented claimant Angus before the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Western District Court of Appeals. After judgment for the Second Injury Fund, the appellate court reversed administrative law judge finding the court had simply failed to articulate any reasonable basis to disregard the uncontradicted expert medical opinion before it and, instead, to create its own medical causation opinions without the aid or assistance from a qualified medical professional. Angus is repeated cited favorably in subsequent rulings assisting workers’ compensation claimants in their claims.

Donald Thomas Taylor has been a Premium Member since March 15, 2022.
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• About | Donald Taylor