Personal Injury Claims & Lawsuits In Kansas

Common Types of Personal Injury Claims in Kansas

Some types of personal injury claims & lawsuits in Kansas are more common than others. It’s important to understand the key differences between them. Keep in mind that for most cases, if an insurer denies your claim or the other party disputes fault, you have the option of suing the insurer or the responsible party through a lawsuit.

Motor Vehicle Accident

Kansas has a modified no-fault system for motor vehicle accidents. When you’re in a crash, your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance covers your medical expenses and lost wages. If your losses surpass PIP coverage, you can file a claim against the responsible party.

As the plaintiff, you can begin a personal injury claim if your medical bills surpass $2,000, you suffer an injury to a weight-bearing bone or you meet a few other criteria.

Kansas also has modified comparative negligence laws. You can still recover losses if you were partly responsible for the accident, but your liability has to be lower than 50%. Nationally, the trial success rate for plaintiffs in these cases is 61%.

General Injury

Any injury you sustain because of another party’s negligent or wrongful conduct can allow plaintiffs to begin a claim. You would typically file it against the defendant’s auto or homeowners insurance. Many injuries could fall under this umbrella, such as those from defective products. Defective product cases see a 38% success rate for plaintiffs.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ comp covers work-related injuries or illnesses. You can receive assistance with medical bills and lost wages, but not for pain and suffering. You also can’t file a lawsuit unless there’s a third party involved in the accident that caused your injury. Only about 5% of these claims go to trial, so there isn’t an average success rate.

Sexual Assault

In a sexual assault claim, which falls under an intentional tort, plaintiffs can file against the perpetrator’s general liability insurance. You may also be entitled to hold other parties responsible, such as religious organizations or schools, that owed you a duty of care that they breached.

While sexual assault figures in particular aren’t available, the trial success rates for plaintiffs in intentional tort cases is 52%.

Dog Bite

Kansas has a one-bite rule. This means that the owner may not be responsible for your losses if a dog without a previous history of aggression bit you. If the owner did know that the dog was aggressive, they could be held liable for negligence.

Plaintiffs usually file against the liable party’s homeowners insurance. The trial success rate estimate of 75% includes dog bite lawsuits nationwide.

Slip and Fall

If you slipped and fell on someone else’s property because there was a hazard they failed to address, it may be possible to hold them responsible. Plaintiffs have to show that a defendant was aware or should have been aware that the hazard existed. About 39% of premises liability trials end in the plaintiff’s favor.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice claims occur when a healthcare provider offers care that falls below the standard. In these cases, plaintiffs can file a claim against the provider and their employer, such as a hospital. The trial success rate for these cases nationwide is 19% for plaintiffs.

Filing a Personal Injury Claim

You’ll want to start by getting prompt medical care. Keep a record of all of your expenses, and ensure that there’s a police report of the incident.

You should also hire an attorney as quickly as possible. In most cases, you only have two years to file a claim in Kansas.

Your attorney can then negotiate with insurers. You should not attempt these negotiations on your own. Insurers are often on the lookout for ways to minimize your claim, and you could end up with much less than you deserve. Between 60% and 70% of personal injury claims reach a settlement.

Typical Personal Injury Settlement Amounts in Kansas

Settlement amounts aren’t available specifically for Kansas, but nationally, average personal injury settlement amounts are about $40,500. Medical malpractice amounts vary significantly depending on the severity of the injuries involved. The average payout for cancer misdiagnosis, for example, is $450,000, while average dog bite settlement amounts are $69,300.

When You Need to File a Lawsuit

You may need to file a lawsuit if the other parties are disputing who was to blame for the accident, if insurers aren’t negotiating in good faith or if your insurance claim was denied outright.

Your lawyer can file a formal lawsuit with the pertinent court. This leads to the discovery phase, where all parties exchange information on the case. Up to the day that the trial starts, it’s still possible to reach a settlement. Only about 15% to 20% of cases result in lawsuits, and of those, only 3% to 5% go to trial.

Get Matched With a Personal Injury Lawyer in Kansas

Having a lawyer who knows Kansas law and has the necessary local resources is invaluable. With the right advocate, the process is smoother and less stressful. At ConsumerShield, we carefully vet attorneys to help you easily find reliable representation. Contact us to get started.