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J Philip Davidson

J. Philip Davidson

Member

Philip has represented clients in litigation, arbitration and mediation in more than 30 states and he has tried numerous civil jury trials, including high-exposure personal injury and wrongful death cases.

overview

J. Philip Davidson contact information

Phone: 316-660-6205
Fax: 316-264-1556

Email: pdavidson@hinklaw.com
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As leader of Hinkle Law Firm LLC’s Transportation; Food, Beverage and Hospitality; Insurance and Construction litigation practice groups, Mr. Davidson handles the defense of a full range of property and casualty, construction, motor carrier/transportation, construction (including blasting and explosives liability), industrial products, and professional liability matters.

Philip has represented clients in litigation, arbitration and mediation in more than 30 states and he has tried numerous civil jury trials, including high-exposure personal injury and wrongful death cases. He is a frequent presenter and industry consultant in transportation industry/motor carrier litigation and risk management.

He leads the firm’s Critical Occurrence Response Team which provides early investigation, planning, and legal management services to clients responding to catastrophic events such as transportation/motor carrier incidents, falls from height, fires, electrocution, carbon monoxide exposure, explosion, product liability (industrial and consumer), building failures, foodborne illness outbreaks, workplace investigations, claims against clergy and religious entities, mass torts and governmental inquiries/enforcement actions.

Philip has served as national coordinating/trial counsel for several clients including food ingredient manufacturers and national restaurants in claims involving food-borne illness (listeria, salmonella, e-coli) and diacetyl exposure/popcorn worker’s lung. Philip also served as national coordinating and trial counsel to The International Pizza Hut Franchise Holders Association. Mr. Davidson is a member of the International Association for Food Safety (IAFS) and the steering committee of the Hospitality Practice Group of ALFA International. In addition, he has experience in food and feed ingredient contamination by adulteration or inclusion of unintended foreign substances; alleged contamination in municipal water and consumer point of use water purification systems; and, non-FDA approved supplements and off-label non-medical naturopathic modalities such as chelation therapy.

Philip has extensive experience in liability claims including wrongful death allegations involving the provision of security, third-party criminal conduct and customer safety involving retailers, travel companies and tour directors, banks, hotels, shopping centers, restaurants and bar/taverns owners and operators. He represents motor carriers in relation to the Food Safety Modernization Act in the transportation of human and animal food and cross-contamination claims involving food and beverage ingredients.

With bar admissions in the state courts of both Kansas and Missouri, Philip is a Litigation Counsel of America Fellow and is annually elected to both Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America.

J. Philip Davidson Badge J. Philip Davidson Badge

Presentations

Davidson is a frequent lecturer to the insurance industry as well as client industry professional and trade organizations.

The following is a partial list of presentations given by Davidson:

  • Fleet Fatigue Risk Management and Obstructive Sleep Apnea. American Trucking Association Management Conference and Exhibition. Las Vegas, Nevada – October 2012.
  • Fleet Fatigue Risk Management and Obstructive Sleep Apnea. American Trucking Association General Counsel  Conference. San Francisco, California – July 2012.
  • Transportation Safety Issues and Regulatory Update. ALFA Transportation Practice Group event. Amelia Island, Florida – May 2012

Significant cases

  • Progressive Cas. Ins. Co. v. Lancer Ins. Co., 83 P.3d 1270, 2004 WL 292120 (Kan. App., Feb. 13, 2004)
  • Narron v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., 78 P.3d 1188, 32 Kan. App.2d 28 (2003)
  • Beck v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc., 273 Kan. 668 (2002)
  • Howell v. Kansas Newman College, Inc., 268 Kan. 698 (2000)
  • State Farm Fire and Cas. Co. v. Martinez, 26 Kan. App.2d 869 (2000)

Representative Clients

Motor Carrier/Transportation:

  • American Trucking and Transportation Insurance Company, a Risk Retention Group (“ATTIC, RRG”)
  • Cardinal Logistics
  • Central Transport, LLC
  • Dart Transit Company
  • FirstGroup America
  • Forward Air Corporation
  • Groendyke Transport
  • Landstar System, Inc.
  • Marten Transport, Ltd.
  • Mercer Transportation Co., Inc.
  • Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.
  • Prime, Inc.
  • Roadrunner Transportation Systems
  • Ryder System, Inc.
  • Saia Motor Freight Line, LLC
  • Trans-Systems, Inc.
  • USA Truck (DB Schenker)
  • Waste Management, Inc.
  • Williams Transportation, Inc.
  • XPO Logistics

Insurance/Risk Management:

  • Advantage Loss Services
  • Arch Insurance
  • Central Mutual Insurance Company
  • Chubb Excess Casualty
  • Cornerstone Risk Solutions
  • Cottingham & Butler Claims Services
  • ESIS a Chubb Company
  • Gallagher Bassett
  • Great West Casualty Company
  • Hallmark Financial Services, Inc.
  • IMA Bedrock Captive Insurance
  • Lancer Insurance Company
  • Markel Insurance
  • Midway Insurance Management Insurance
  • National American Ins. Co.
  • North American Roofers Insurance (NARI)
  • National Claim Services
  • National Indemnity Company
  • National Interstate Insurance
  • Protective Insurance
  • Sompo International
  • Starr Indemnity and Liability
  • The Cincinnati Insurance Companies
  • West Bend Mutual Insurance Company/NFI

Construction:

  • Bedrock Concrete, LLC
  • Beran Concrete
  • IMA Bedrock*
  • McElroy’s, Inc.
  • North American Roofers Insurance (NARI)*

Manufacturing—Product Integrity/Liability:

  • Great Western Manufacturing Co. (Industrial Milling Equipment)*
  • Mother Murphy’s Laboratories (Food Ingredients) *

*Denotes National Coordinating/Trial Counsel

Affiliations, Activities & Honors

  • ALFA International
    — Transportation and Practice Group Steering Committee
  • American Bar Association
  • Best Lawyers
    — 2008 – 2018 & 2021 – Present (Construction Law)
    — 2011 – Present (Litigation – Construction)
    — 2018 – Present (Insurance Law)
    — 2021 – Present (Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
  • Best Lawyers ‘Lawyer of the Year’
    —  2019 (Insurance Law)
    —  2023 (Construction Law)
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, Disciplinary Board
  • Litigation Counsel of America 
  • Kansas Association of Defense Counsel
  • Kansas Bar Association
  • Missouri Bar Association
  • St. John’s Episcopal Church, Former Sr. Warden, Chairperson of Capital Campaign and Rector Search CommitteeSuper Lawyers
    —  2005, 2006, & 2009 – Present (Civil Litigation Defense)
  • The International Society of Explosives Engineers
  • Trucking Industry Defense Association (T.I.D.A.)
  • Wichita Bar Association

Education 

  • Washburn University School of Law, J.D., 1990
  • University of Kansas, B.G.S., political science, 1987

Bar Admissions 

  • Kansas Supreme Court
  • Missouri Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
  • United States District Court, District of Kansas
  • United States District Court, Western District of Missouri