Car accident claims: what to do next in Kansas

Who pays first: PIP

Kansas law calls its no-fault system the injury reparations act. It aims to pay people quickly for crash injuries. Every Kansas auto policy must include personal injury protection, or PIP, for you, relatives who live with you, drivers of your car, passengers and people your car hits.

PIP medical benefits are at least $4,500 per person. If you cannot work, PIP pays 85 percent of lost income, up to at least $900 a month, for up to one year. It also pays up to $25 a day for help with tasks you can no longer do, for up to 365 days.

Source: Kansas Statutes 40-3103: PIP benefit definitions · as of Oct 5, 2026

Source: Kansas Statutes 40-3103: PIP benefit definitions · as of Oct 5, 2026

Source: Kansas Statutes 40-3103: PIP benefit definitions · as of Oct 5, 2026

Your insurer must pay a PIP claim within 30 days after it gets written proof of the loss. Late payments earn interest of 18 percent a year.

Claiming against the other driver

Kansas limits claims for pain and suffering after a crash. Your medical care must have a reasonable value of $2,000 or more. Otherwise, the injury must be serious, such as permanent disfigurement, a broken weight-bearing bone or certain other serious breaks, the loss of a body part, a permanent injury or death.

Source: Kansas Statutes 40-3117: When you can sue for pain and suffering · as of Oct 5, 2026

How fault is shared

Kansas uses a 50 percent bar. You can recover only if your own fault is less than the fault of the people you claim against. If you are found 50 percent at fault or more, you get nothing. In a claim for a death, the fault of the person who died counts against the family.

Coverage drivers must carry

Kansas requires every car owner to carry insurance. A policy must cover at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries you cause, plus $25,000 for property damage. It must also include PIP.

Source: Kansas Statutes 40-3107: Required policy contents · as of Oct 5, 2026

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage helps when the other driver has too little insurance or none. In Kansas, it must match your injury coverage. You can turn down in writing only the part above the state minimum.

Reporting the crash

After a crash with an injury or death, drivers must stop and stay at the scene. If no officer is there, the driver or an adult in the car must report the crash to the nearest police office right away. This applies when someone is hurt or killed, or when damage looks like $1,000 or more.

Source: Kansas Statutes 8-1604: Duty to report a crash · as of Oct 5, 2026

Kansas repealed its general rule for drivers to file their own written crash report in 2011. The state's vehicle division can still ask a driver or owner for one. Officers who investigate serious crashes send their report to the Kansas Department of Transportation within 10 days.

Deadlines

Most Kansas injury lawsuits must be filed within 2 years, and a claim for a death has the same limit. A PIP claim with your own insurer must be made within 2 years of the injury. In most cases, no lawsuit can start more than 10 years after the act that caused the harm.

Kansas has two separate 2-year limits after a crash, and exceptions can apply to either one. People's Justice is not a law firm. We do not review your crash or recommend a lawyer. If you want, you can use the form on this page to ask to be connected with a law firm that pays us to advertise.