Kansas Car Accident Law
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Kansas Law For Car Accident Injury Victims
The law in Kansas for people involved in a car accident or motor vehicle injury accident is discussed in this page so that injury victims can understand their legal rights after a motor vehicle collision.
Bull Attorneys® have experienced car accident attorneys and case managers who work to maximize your compensation after a crash. We use the law, safety rules, and expert opinions from doctors and specialists to prove the other driver or their employer was more at fault and to determine the full value of your claim.
Our car accident lawyers use a proven process to review fault and damages and build a strong injury case. We are trained to understand medical issues related to your injuries, and we work with investigators and accident reconstruction experts to prove the other driver was at fault.
Who Pays for Medical Bills, Wage Loss, and Property Damage?
Car insurance on your vehicle will normally pay the initial medical bills and wage loss through the Personal Injury Protection Benefits on the vehicle. Passengers injured in a car accident will also have the same level of benefits but if they own their own car they must turn to their car insurance policy.
What is Kansas No-Fault Law?
Kansas is one of the states that has a no-fault system of insurance coverage. This means that when a person is in a motor vehicle accident the insurance on their car pays initial medical bills, wage loss, and other PIP benefits regardless of who is at fault.
How Much are Kansas Personal Injury Protection Benefits (PIP)?
Kansas law requires a minimum of $4,500 for medical expenses, $900 a month for up to one year in wage loss, $4,500 for rehabilitation expenses, $25 per day for substitution benefits and $2,000 for funeral expenses. We recommend you always purchase higher coverage.
Can I Buy More than Minimum PIP Benefits?
Yes, different insurance carriers like State Farm, American Family, Allstate, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Geico and other carriers have higher levels that can be purchased for an additional premium.
Does My Motorcycle Insurance Policy Have Medical and Wage loss or PIP Benefits?
Some do and some do not. Kansas is unique in allowing motorcycle riders who buy insurance coverage to be able to reject the Personal Injury Protection Benefits (PIP) to get a lower premium which is always a bad idea because bikers are more likely to be injured in a motorcycle crash than a car wreck.
What are the minimum Kansas Insurance Limits for Liability Insurance?
Kansas law on minimum levels of insurance under KSA 40-3107 requires that all vehicles carry a minimum level of liability insurance in the amount of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. This is from Kansas statute KSA 40-3107.
How Much Underinsured Motorist Insurance Do I have?
Under Kansas law, if you are in a crash caused by another driver who has less insurance than you do, your underinsured motorist coverage may apply. This coverage lets you collect the difference between the other driver's insurance limits and your higher policy limits.
How much Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Insurance should I buy?
It's smart to carry at least $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident in uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. This helps protect you and your passengers if the other driver has little or no insurance and can help pay for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
What is Full Coverage Insurance?
Full coverage insurance means that the policy of insurance has coverage for multiple types of insurance coverage on a motor vehicle.
Liability Coverage covers others that you crash into for your fault.
Comprehensive Coverage for losses from theft, hail, vandalism, and other similar acts.
Collision Coverage covers property damage to your vehicle even when you are at fault.
Uninsured and Motorist Insurance Coverage provides mandatory insurance in Kansas and comes on all car insurance policies unless rejected. It is equal to the level of liability coverage by law unless rejected to a lower level.
How Does Liability Coverage Differ from Full Coverage?
Liability coverage pays for when you cause damage or hurt others in a crash while full coverage pays for damages to your car even when you are at fault.
Property Damage Insurance in Kansas
Kansas law provides that the at fault driver who causes a car or motor vehicle accident which causes property damage must pay for the damages to the damaged vehicle. The at fault driver's insurance should also pay for towing charges and car rental expenses.
How much property damage insurance coverage is required in Kansas?
Kansas law requires all motor vehicles traveling on Kansas roads and highways to carry a minimum of $25,000 of property damage insurance coverage to the other driver.
How much property damage insurance should I buy?
A simple rule is to buy full-coverage insurance that can pay for your car if it gets totaled. If your car is worth $50,000, you should have at least that much coverage. If it's worth more, make sure your full-coverage amount matches the car's fair market value.
Should I Buy Gap Insurance?
You should always buy gap insurance to pay off your car loan.
How Much Will the Insurance Company Pay for My Totaled Car?
Insurance companies look at the damage to your car and often use a system called CCC to decide its value. This system can undervalue totaled cars. To protect yourself, find online listings for cars like yours with the same make, model, and mileage, and share those prices with the insurance adjuster.
How Do I Get a Rental Car After My Car Wreck?
There are 2 normal ways. 1) If you have full coverage car insurance and added rental to your policy then you can easily contact your insurance company to start the rental immediately after a collision; 2) The at fault driver's insurance should set up a car rental while your car is being repaired.
What Compensation and Damages Can I Get After My Car Wreck?
Under Kansas law, if the other driver is at fault, you can recover damages for your injuries. This includes economic losses like medical bills and lost wages, and noneconomic losses like pain and suffering. Kansas removed limits on pain and suffering damages in injury cases, except for wrongful death claims, where limits still apply.
Economic Damages
Medical Expenses includes medical care, hospitalization, and treatment related to the person's personal injury. It includes medication, physical therapy diagnostic tests, radiology tests like CT scans and MRIs and is for your past and future medical expenses.
Economic Losses allows compensation for loss of income, loss of time and all medical expenses you are expected to incur over your lifetime.
Noneconomic Losses allows compensation for losses like pain, suffering, disabilities, disfigurement, and any mental anguish from your personal injury over your lifetime.
Property Damage covers compensation for your property damage to your car or other vehicle, along with personal items that are broken or destroyed.
Loss of Services (Loss of Consortium)
Loss of services, also called loss of consortium, means losing the help and support a spouse normally provides after an injury. This can include household chores, companionship, care, comfort, affection, and the loss of a normal marital relationship when one spouse is unable to perform their usual role because of an accident.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful Death happens when someone dies because of a car, truck, or motorcycle accident, the heirs can recover compensation if the other driver was at fault. They may recover both economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages—such as medical bills, funeral costs, and lost income—are not capped in Kansas. Noneconomic damages, called nonpecuniary losses, are limited to $250,000 under the Kansas Wrongful Death statute.
Economic Damages
include:
- Loss of marital care, attention, advice, counseling, and protection
- Loss of earnings that they would have provided to you
- All expenses for care of the of the spouse up to their death
- Funeral expenses
Noneconomic Damages
include:
- Mental anguish, suffering, and bereavement
- Loss of society, comfort, and companionship
Conscious Pain and Suffering in Kansas
In Kansas, if a person is injured in an accident and later dies, the estate (through a survival action) can seek compensation for the pain and suffering the person experienced while they were conscious before death. This is called conscious pain and suffering and is part of a survival claim under Kansas law.
The person who dies must be consciously aware of their pain. We utilize unique forensics experts and techniques to help establish the pain and suffering that was from their conscious or aware state of mind.
A survival action is brought by the deceased's estate to recover conscious pain and suffering, medical bills and any lost wages that had they lived would have been recoverable.
Evidence Required to Prove Conscious Pain and Suffering
Kansas law requires enough evidence to show that an injured person was conscious and experienced pain and suffering after the accident but before their death. Your personal injury lawyer can prove this using several types of evidence, including:
- Passengers or witnesses who saw the injured person breathing, groaning, moaning, or showing other signs of pain before they died.
- Witnesses at the scene, such as other drivers, pedestrians, EMS personnel, law enforcement, or even the at-fault driver who observed conscious pain and suffering.
- Ambulance and EMS records indicating the person's pupils responded to light and their surroundings.
- Autopsy reports and lab tests from the coroner, including carbon monoxide levels in the blood, which can help indicate consciousness.
- Expert testimony from medical doctors.
Limitations on Damages in Kansas
Kansas law provides limits on the amount of recovery following a motor vehicle accident leading to bodily injury or death. The different limitations are:
50% Comparative Fault Rule
Kansas law provides that an injured person bringing a claim against another driver cannot recover any compensation if they are 50% at fault or more.
Fault Determination by Jury or Court
In most cases, the jury decides what percentage of fault each person in the lawsuit is responsible for. If the injured person is found to be less than 50% at fault, the court will reduce their verdict by the same percentage of fault assigned to them.
Example of Comparative Fault
If the jury determines that the injured person bringing a claim against the at fault driver is 25% at fault the amount of the final verdict and judgment is reduced by cutting the final recovery by 25%.
Insurance Companies Claim Comparative Fault
Insurance carriers routinely assert comparative fault as a strategy to diminish or avoid financial responsibility for an injured party's losses. An experienced car accident attorney is essential to investigate the facts, challenge these strategically manufactured allegations, and demonstrate that the insurer's assertions lack evidentiary support.
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Trusted Expertise for Car Accident Bodily Injury Claims and Wrongful Death Claims
Bradley A. Pistotnik has extensive personal experience handling serious car accident injury claims and wrongful death cases. He is the CEO of Bull Attorneys, P.A., graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1981, and has served the citizens of Wichita and communities across Kansas for decades. He is also a Board Member of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association.
Over the past four decades, Mr. Pistotnik has handled thousands of car and motor vehicle accident cases and has earned a high level of respect from insurance companies and members of the defense bar in Kansas. That experience has shaped how car accident cases are handled at Bull Attorneys today.
Our attorneys are trained under Mr. Pistotnik's very unique and highly experienced approach to building a car accident and the entire case into more than a routine car accident. The approach teaches the lawyers additional legal claims that enhance your case for greater compensation. It is essential that you have a highly experienced car accident attorney who gives personal attention to your case, takes a tailored approach based on your specific injuries and circumstances, and is fully committed to pursuing a favorable outcome for you and your family.
Most of our car accident clients find these benefits and strengths highly valuable when choosing a personal injury law firm in Wichita:
- •Personalized legal strategies that relate specifically to you and your specific case
- •Clear explanations of your legal rights, responsibilities to help on your case, and what the Judge or Court will expect from you
- •Skilled preparation for all hearings and depositions within Sedgwick County and any other county you had an accident in
- •Support staff that helps you and your lawyer meet all deadlines and discovery requests
- •Medical-legal evaluation that helps our clients obtain the best medical care for their particular injury
- •Knowledgeable trial attorneys who know the law and help you understand it
Page last reviewed: 01/26/2026 by Bradley A. Pistotnik.
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