Kansas Personal Injury Laws and Statutes of Limitations

Kansas Personal Injury Lawsuit Filing Deadlines

A "statute of limitations" is a law that puts a deadline on your time to file a lawsuit in court. Kansas has several of them that apply to personal injury cases. We start with the two-year general rule. Then we'll cover some other deadlines that apply in particular kinds of PI cases.

Kansas' General Rule: Two Years From the Date of Injury

As a general rule, you have two years to file a Kansas personal injury lawsuit. (Kan. Stat. § 60-513(a)(4) (2024).) This two-year deadline applies to lawsuits involving:

• dangerous or defective products
• dangerous or improperly maintained properties
• medical malpractice (Kan. Stat. § 60-513(a)(7) (2024)
• injuries caused by fraud (Kan. Stat. § 60-513(a)(3) (2024), and
• injuries that cause death (Kan. Stat. § 60-513(a)(5) (2024).)

(Learn more about Kansas medical malpractice and wrongful death laws.)

When Does the Statute of Limitations Start to Run?

The limitation clock usually starts to run on the date you're injured, as long as you're aware that you've been hurt. (Kan. Stat. § 60-513(b) (2024).) The clock on your malpractice claim runs from the date the malpractice occurs—provided, once again, that you're aware of your injury when it happens. (Kan. Stat. § 60-513(c) (2024).)

The Discovery Rule

What happens if you don't know right away that you're injured? It might sound far-fetched, but consider this example. You have abdominal surgery on June 1, 2021. During the operation, your surgeon accidentally leaves a surgical sponge inside you. On August 15, 2023, you see your family doctor for complaints of abdominal pain. The doctor orders an X-ray that day, revealing the leftover sponge.

Through no fault of your own, by the time you discover your injury the two-year filing deadline has already run out. To avoid this unfair result, Kansas has adopted the "discovery rule," which might give you extra time to file your lawsuit. Here's how it works.

When the discovery rule applies. The discovery rule applies when the fact that you've been injured isn't "reasonably ascertainable." (See Kan. Stat. § 60-513(b)-(c) (2024).) This generally means you couldn't have known right away that you were hurt, even if you were being reasonably careful to look for the signs and symptoms of an injury.

What the discovery rule does. When the discovery rule applies, the lawsuit-filing deadline doesn't begin running on the date you're injured. Instead, it starts on the date your injury becomes "ascertainable" through the use of reasonable care. Simply stated, the discovery rule pauses the running of the statute of limitations until you discover your injury.

But there's a catch. Kansas law puts a deadline on the time you have to discover your injury. This deadline is called a "statute of repose." In medical malpractice cases, the statute of repose deadline is four years from the date of the malpractice. In all other personal injury cases, the statute of repose is 10 years from the date of the act or event that caused an injury or death.

What does the statute of repose do? The statute of repose clock runs regardless of whether you've discovered your injury. In other words, when the statute of repose deadline expires—if there's no exception that gives you more time—your lawsuit is time barred even if you never discovered your injury.

Note that special rules might apply when you're injured by a dangerous product. (See Kan. Stat. § 60-3303 (2024).)

Different Statutes of Limitations in Specific Cases

The Kansas two-year general rule doesn't apply in every personal injury case. Be on the lookout for more specific statutes of limitations that are a closer fit for your kind of case. Here are a couple of examples.

Intentional torts. Most PI cases involve a claim that the person who injured you acted negligently, meaning carelessly. When someone injures you deliberately or on purpose, the law calls that an "intentional tort." Kansas law gives you just one year from the date you're injured to file a lawsuit for these intentional torts:

• assault or battery
• defamation
• false imprisonment, or
• malicious prosecution.

(Kan. Stat. § 60-514 (2023).)

No-fault auto insurance claim and lawsuit deadlines. Kansas is a no-fault auto insurance state. When you're injured in a wreck—regardless of who was to blame—at least part of your medical bills, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket costs will be covered by your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. You must bring a claim for PIP benefits within two years from the date of your injury. (Kan. Stat. § 40-3110(a) (2024).)

You're allowed to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver when your injuries satisfy one of Kansas' "tort thresholds." (See Kan. Stat. § 40-3117 (2024).) You have 18 months after the date of the accident to sue. If you don't, your failure acts as an assignment to your PIP insurer of your right to sue. (Kan. Stat. § 40-3113a(c) (2024).)

(Learn more about Kansas auto insurance laws.)

Can the Lawsuit Filing Deadline Be Extended?

In addition to the discovery rule, discussed above, there are situations when Kansas law extends the lawsuit filing deadline. Here are two common examples.

People with a legal disability. The statute of limitations doesn't run or it's temporarily paused when:

• a person with a legal disability is injured, or
• a person who's been injured later suffers a legal disability.

• a minor (younger than 18 years old)
• "incapacitated," or
• imprisoned for less than a term of life and without access to the courts to file suit.

A legally disabled person must file suit within the earlier of:

• one year from the date the disability is removed, or
• eight years from the date of the act that caused their injury.

(Kan. Stat. § 60-515(a) (2024).)

Defendant leaves Kansas or goes into hiding. The statute of limitations doesn't run while the person you're suing (the "defendant") is outside of Kansas or is hiding and you're unable to serve them with your lawsuit. The clock starts (or resumes) running when the defendant returns to Kansas or comes out of hiding. (Kan. Stat. § 60-517 (2024).)