Kansas Personal Injury Law Overview

Personal injury law is a very broad area of law that encompasses cases such as medical malpractice, vehicle accidents, premises liability and defective products. Personal injury can also mean financial injury and emotional injury as seen in identity theft and defamation claims, respectively.

Statute of limitations

All fifty states have time limits, or statutes of limitations, regarding how much time you have to file a personal injury lawsuit following your accident and injury. In Kansas, as in many other states, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years, but in certain cases, that can be longer or shorter. Once that time limit expires, you are no longer able to file suit.

Negligence

Kansas law follows the doctrine of "modified comparative negligence," which means that if even if you were partly responsible for your injuries, you can still collect monetary damages from other responsible parties. In Kansas, as long as you were less than 50% responsible for your injuries you can collect compensation.

There are three elements necessary to prove negligence in Kansas personal injury lawsuits:

• The defendant failed to use reasonable care
• That failure was the cause of your injury
• You suffered damages

Compensation

In Kansas, if you win your personal injury suit, you can collect for any of the following:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages and earning capacity
• Disability and/or disfigurement
• Emotional distress
• Property damage
• Expenses incurred as a direct result of your injury

Punitive damages are those damages awarded to the plaintiff to "punish" the responsible party. Many states have caps, or limits, on punitive damages and Kansas is no exception. In Kansas, punitive damages are determined by the judge and not by the jury. In most personal injury cases, punitive damages cannot exceed the defendant's gross annual income or 50% of the defendant's net assets, up to $5 million.

Liability

In Kansas, if there is more than one party responsible for your injuries, Kansas law follows the doctrine of "several liability," which means that all parties are responsible for their part of the blame. If one party cannot pay for his share of the award, the other responsible parties cannot be asked to pay his amount.

If you live in Kansas and feel you may have a personal injury claim, please contact an experienced Kansas personal injury lawyer in your area to schedule a confidential consultation.