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Kansas car accident laws
Is Kansas a no-fault state? Yes. Kansas is a no-fault state: your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays first, with at least $4,500 in medical benefits (plus other PIP benefits at statutory limits) required, and you can sue the other driver only past the state's threshold.
Kansas gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(4)).
The legal minimum liability coverage in Kansas is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 for property (25/50/25).
If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you recover nothing unless your negligence was less than the other party's, so a 50% share bars recovery.
Quoted from Kansas statutes and official pages, checked October 2, 2026 · not legal advice
The rules in one table
| Rule | Kansas | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to sue for an injury | Two years; the action accrues when the act first causes substantial injury or the injury becomes reasonably ascertainable (60-513(b)), with a 10-year outer limit | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(4) |
| Deadline for vehicle damage | Two years (injuring personal property) | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(2) |
| Deadline for a wrongful death claim | Two years; 60-513(b) delays accrual until the act first causes substantial injury (the statute does not say 'from the date of death') | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(5) |
| Claims against a government body | Before suing a city, county or other municipality (or its employee) under the Kansas Tort Claims Act you must file a written notice of claim with its clerk or governing body, and you cannot sue until the claim is denied or 120 days pass (the 120 days is a waiting period; there is no separate short filing deadline in this subsection beyond the two-year limitation). | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 12-105b(d)(1) |
| Insurance system | no-fault; PIP required ($4,500 in medical benefits (plus other PIP benefits at statutory limits)). To sue: You can sue for pain and suffering and other non-economic losses only if your medical treatment has a reasonable value of $2,000 or more, or the injury involves permanent disfigurement, a fracture to a weight-bearing bone, a compound, comminuted, displaced or compressed fracture, loss of a body member, permanent injury, permanent loss of a bodily function, or death. | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 40-3117; § 40-3107(f); § 40-3103(k) |
| If you were partly at fault | modified comparative (50% bar). If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you recover nothing unless your negligence was less than the other party's, so a 50% share bars recovery. | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a(a) |
| Minimum liability coverage | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per crash / $25,000 property | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 40-3107(e) |
| Dog bites | one-bite (negligence). Kansas has no dog-bite statute; an owner who does not know the dog is abnormally dangerous is liable only if they intentionally cause the harm or are negligent in failing to prevent it. | No Kansas dog-bite statute; Justia 50-State Survey (secondary source) |
| Cap on pain-and-suffering damages | No general cap for injury cases | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-19a02(b) (held unconstitutional in Hilburn v. Enerpipe Ltd., 309 Kan. 1127 (2019)) |
Deadlines can be shorter or longer for minors, for injuries found later, and for claims against a government. A lawyer licensed in Kansas can tell you the date that applies to you.
Next steps after a Kansas crash
How to get a Kansas crash report ($5.00 per crash report; $2.00 per witness statement).
Check your deadline and a rough claim range
A filing date and a rough value range for Kansas. Both take under a minute.
Questions
How long do you have to sue after a car accident in Kansas?
Two years for an injury claim (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(4)) and two years for vehicle damage. Shorter notice rules can apply to claims against a government.
Is Kansas a no-fault state?
Yes. Kansas is a no-fault state: your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays first, with at least $4,500 in medical benefits (plus other PIP benefits at statutory limits) required, and you can sue the other driver only past the state's threshold.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault in Kansas?
Kansas follows modified comparative (50% bar). If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you recover nothing unless your negligence was less than the other party's, so a 50% share bars recovery.
What is the minimum car insurance in Kansas?
The legal minimum liability coverage in Kansas is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 for property (25/50/25).
Sources
- Deadline to sue for an injury (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(4)): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_005_0013.html
60-513. Actions limited to two years. (a) The following actions shall be brought within two years: [...] (4) An action for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract, and not herein enumerated.
- Deadline for vehicle damage (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(2)): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_005_0013.html
60-513. Actions limited to two years. (a) The following actions shall be brought within two years: [...] (2) An action for taking, detaining or injuring personal property, including actions for the specific recovery thereof.
- Deadline for a wrongful death claim (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(5)): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_005_0013.html
60-513. Actions limited to two years. (a) The following actions shall be brought within two years: [...] (5) An action for wrongful death.
- Claims against a government body (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 12-105b(d)(1)): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch12/012_001_0005b.html
(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person having a claim against a municipality or against an employee of a municipality which could give rise to an action brought under the Kansas tort claims act shall file a written notice as provided in this subsection before commencing such action.
- Insurance system (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 40-3117; § 40-3107(f); § 40-3103(k)): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch40/040_031_0017.html
40-3117. Tort actions; conditions precedent to recovery of damages for pain and suffering. In any action for tort brought against the owner, operator or occupant of a motor vehicle or against any person legally responsible for the acts or omissions of such owner, operator or occupant, a plaintiff may recover damages in tort for pain, suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience and other non-pecuniary loss because of injury only in the event the injury requires medical treatment of a kind described in this act as medical benefits, having a reasonable value of $2,000 or more, or the injury consists…
- If you were partly at fault (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a(a)): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_002_0058a.html
60-258a. Comparative negligence. (a) Effect of contributory negligence. The contributory negligence of a party in a civil action does not bar that party or its legal representative from recovering damages for negligence resulting in death, personal injury, property damage or economic loss, if that party's negligence was less than the causal negligence of the party or parties against whom a claim is made, but the award of damages to that party must be reduced in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to that party.
- Minimum liability coverage (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 40-3107(e)): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch40/040_031_0007.html
(e) contain stated limits of liability, exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to each vehicle for which coverage is granted, not less than $25,000 because of bodily injury to, or death of, one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person, to a limit of not less than $50,000 because of bodily injury to, or death of, two or more persons in any one accident, and to a limit of not less than $25,000 because of harm to or destruction of property of others in any one accident;
- Dog bites (No Kansas dog-bite statute; Justia 50-State Survey (secondary source)): www.justia.com/injury/premises-liability/animal-dog-bites/dog-bite-law-50-state-
There is no Kansas dog bite statute. The Kansas Court of Appeals has ruled that a dog owner who does not know or have reason to know that their dog is abnormally dangerous is subject to liability for harm caused by the dog only if they intentionally cause the dog to do the harm or if they are negligent in failing to prevent the harm.
- Cap on pain-and-suffering damages (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-19a02(b) (held unconstitutional in Hilburn v. Enerpipe Ltd., 309 Kan. 1127 (2019))): www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_019a_0002.html
(b) In any personal injury action, the total amount recoverable by each party from all defendants for all claims for noneconomic loss shall not exceed a sum total of: (1) $250,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 1988, and before July 1, 2014; (2) $300,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2018; (3) $325,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2022; or (4) $350,000 for causes of action accruing on or after July 1, 2022.
Read October 2, 2026. Laws and fees change; the linked page is the authority.