Is Kansas an At-Fault or No-Fault State for Car Accidents?

If you’ve ever needed to file a personal injury claim in Kansas, you may have heard the term “no-fault state” in relation to your claim. Insurance companies sometimes use such terms, which can be confusing for claimants.

“No-fault” and “at-fault” relate directly to the type of insurance required for car accidents—and how accident victims go about claiming compensation for their injuries in the state.

Essentially, in “no-fault” states like Kansas, those involved in the accident must initially open a claim for any medical expenses or lost wages from their own insurance company—even if they are not responsible for the accident.  However, in addition to mandatory “no-fault” benefits, Kansas victims can also bring a claim against the negligent party’s insurance company and file a lawsuit against the person who caused their injuries or harms.

So, how can an injured person receive the settlement they deserve for losses and suffering caused by a car accident in Kansas? Let’s find out.

In Kansas, all drivers must purchase the following types of insurance:

• Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This is no-fault insurance coverage, which covers medical bills and other losses for drivers/passengers, regardless of who was at fault.
• Liability coverage. This protects you from financial responsibility if you are at fault for an accident that causes injuries or damages to others.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance. This covers some losses if you are in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver.

The minimum PIP insurance covers the following expenses in car accidents:

• $4,500 for medical bills
• $900 per month in disability/loss of income for one year
• $25 per day for in-home services
• $4,500 in rehabilitation expenses
• $2,000 burial, funeral or cremation expense

If multiple people are involved in a car accident in Kansas, the standard procedure is for each injured party to claim from their own PIP insurance, even if the accident did not occur in your car. Benefits are paid regardless of who was at fault for the accident, which generally speeds up payments and reduces the need to negotiate with third parties.

On the downside, no-fault insurance often does not cover the full extent of your losses.  Thankfully, Kansas is a modified no-fault state. This means that accident victims may be entitled to additional compensation by filing a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance coverage in addition to receiving PIP benefits. However, drivers can only sue for non-economic damages if they meet a certain threshold.

Regardless of whether your PIP insurance fully covers your financial losses arising from an accident, you may be able to claim both economic and noneconomic pain and suffering damages by taking legal action against the person or company that caused your injuries.

Non-economic losses may be claimed by victims who suffered at least one of the following losses:

• Medical expenses of at least $2,000
• A fracture to a weight-bearing bone
• Loss of a body member
• Permanent loss of a body function
• Significant scarring or permanent disfigurement
• Permanent injuries within a reasonable medical possibility
• A displaced, comminuted, compression or compound fracture
• Wrongful death

Note that if the at-fault driver does not have sufficient insurance to cover your claim, you could claim the remaining balance of your damages from your insurance provider under your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

The assistance of an experienced car accident lawyer may be required to recover full and fair compensation in such cases.

Modified comparative negligence is another aspect of Kansas car accident law. Under these laws, drivers who are partially at fault for their accident are responsible for a portion of the damages sustained but can claim the remainder if they are not 50 percent or more at fault.

For instance, if a driver is deemed to be 25 percent at fault for a car accident and is awarded $100,000 by a judge, the driver would receive only $75,000 of the total award.

Under Kansas traffic laws, all drivers have a duty of care to maintain a safe distance from the cars in front. If a car is rear-ended, the law presumes that this safe distance was not applied and the driver who collided with the vehicle in front was negligent and to blame.

If the original collision forces your car into the vehicle in front, you may not be held liable for this subsequent collision. With the help of an experienced car accident lawyer, you can prove that the driver who caused the original collision to the rear of your car should be held liable.

There are a few exceptions to the rear-end collision liability law in Kansas, where the driver of the front car may be held partially or fully liable. Most notably, if the driver in the front car:

• Swerves the car violently or abruptly in front of another car for no reason
• Changes gears into reverse and backs into the front of another car
• Abruptly stops with no reason on a highway
• Knowingly fails to maintain the brake lights and drives without them functioning

Drives while impaired or intoxicated or is engaged in other illegal behavior that contributed to causing the accident, such as “road rage” or racing.

A qualified and experienced car accident lawyer can help you collect all no-fault PIP benefits available to you, and determine if you are eligible to file a lawsuit or otherwise prove the liability of the at-fault driver, which will often increase your total compensation following an injury accident.

Your lawyer will also handle all communications with the insurance company and fight for every component of the fair and reasonable compensation you deserve under the law, countering the various strategies that insurance companies often use to undervalue claims.

If you or a loved one has suffered car accident injuries in Topeka, speak to a car accident lawyer at Irigonegaray & Revenaugh during a free case evaluation. We will advise you of your legal options and assess how best to claim the compensation you deserve.