How Is Fault Determined in a Kansas Car Accident?
Car accidents can be disastrous. They can leave you battling injuries that prevent you from working while also leaving you struggling to find ways of paying for the medical care you need. On top of all of that, Kansas requires you to demonstrate that you were not the person most at fault for the auto accident before you’re able to claim compensation for serious injuries that your personal injury protection insurance doesn’t cover. That prompts one vital question: How is fault determined in a Kansas car accident?
At Palmer Law Group, we recognize the importance of the answer to that question. We’ll help you understand your rights under Kansas law and exactly what determines fault in an auto accident. Our firm was founded in 1980, so we have decades of experience representing people who are facing medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress after a collision.
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Understanding Kansas’ No-Fault System
What It Means for Your Personal Injury Claim
The first thing that our car accident lawyers always make sure clients understand is that Kansas has a no-fault system when it comes to traffic collisions. A no-fault system requires that you get compensation from your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. PIP insurance covers medical bills for the injuries you sustain as well as lost wages, no matter who was to blame for the accident.
The problem arises, however, when your losses go beyond what your PIP covers because you’ve sustained a serious injury. Once you breach the threshold of a serious injury, you have the chance to file a negligence-based claim against the person who caused the accident. But what constitutes a serious injury? By Kansas law, it means having one of the following:
Permanent loss of a body function
Permanent disfigurement
Break in a weight-bearing bone
Permanent injury
Compound, compressed, comminuted, or displaced fracture of any bone.
If you’ve suffered a serious injury and choose to pursue a fault-based claim, it becomes essential to determine fault in the car collision. Kansas has a modified comparative negligence system in place that requires you to show that you’re less than 50% responsible for the accident. If you’re 50% or more at fault, you can’t claim losses beyond that which your PIP covers.
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How to Prove Fault in Negligence-Based Claims
If the car collisions occurred because of someone’s negligent conduct, you will need to establish a few key points. For one, you have to show that the other party owed you a duty of care and they breached it. Anyone behind the wheel on a public road owes others the responsibility to follow traffic laws and drive safely. If they did anything to break the law, they breached their responsibility to others.
The next step is to show that their breach resulted in losses for which you can be compensated. If you suffered injuries as a result of the collision and those injuries left you with medical bills and lost wages, then you can hold the other party responsible.
Of course, to establish fault in a Kansas car accident that resulted in serious injuries, you’ll have to present evidence. Let’s look at some of the most crucial pieces you can rely on.
Police Reports
If there are injuries or property damage as a result of an accident, you have to report it to the police. That ensures that you obey the law while also helping you start a record of exactly what happened. The police officer isn’t a witness to the collision, but law enforcement is trained to analyze crash sites and know what signs to look for that demonstrate who was at fault. Everything they glean from the accident, they’ll write down in their report.
Keep in mind that this is just one piece of evidence that you can rely on. It’s not conclusive evidence, however.
Eyewitness Statements
Eyewitness statements are some of the most crucial pieces of evidence you can have to show who was at fault in a Kansas car accident. They can give a neutral idea of how the accident occurred and provide information you may not know about how the other driver behaved. Because of this, it’s important to reach out to witnesses after the accident and get their contact information.
Videos and Photographs
There’s nothing quite like seeing how something happened with your own eyes. Getting photos and videos of the collision and its aftermath is important, just as it’s crucial to ask for any copies of these from witnesses. Dashcam videos are particularly useful, as are clips of traffic footage and even videos from nearby security cameras. Our lawyers will always perform a comprehensive search to find any cameras in the area.
Expert Witness Testimony
It may also be a good idea to have expert witness testimonies if the accident was complex or a number of parties were involved. Accident reconstructionists, for example, can give a clearer idea of how the crash occurred.
Medical Records
Sometimes, medical records can also offer insight into the collision. For example, if the other party is claiming that they were traveling at a much slower speed than they were, your injuries can show the force the vehicle exerted.
What Damages Can You Claim in a Negligence-Based Claim?
Compensation for Financial and Non-Financial Losses
If you’ve been in an accident that resulted in injuries serious enough to let you step outside of no-fault laws in Kansas, you can claim both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages refer to the compensation you can receive for financial losses. They cover all medical expenses, including hospital stays and rehabilitative therapy, as well as any future medical expenses you will have. These damages can even cover changes you need to make to your home or vehicle if you’re left with a disability.
Suffering a serious injury means not being able to work. You deserve compensation for lost income in the form of salaries, bonuses, and commissions. You can also receive damages for loss of earning potential if you won’t be able to return to work.
Non-Economic Damages
Some losses you suffer as a result of a car accident aren’t financial. These can include pain and suffering, which compensates you for any mental and physical distress you suffered because of the collision. If a loved one dies in the accident, you can also claim loss of consortium to get compensation for loss of support and companionship.
Palmer Law Group Can Help You Prove Your Claim
After being in an accident that resulted in serious injuries, Kansas allows you to pursue a personal injury claim as long as you can prove that the other party was most at fault for the collision. To do this, you need a team of lawyers with decades of experience. At Palmer Law Group, that’s exactly who we are.
Our law firm can help show that you deserve compensation and aggressively negotiate with insurance companies to get you the help you need after what you’ve suffered. We’ll guide you through the entire claims process.
Call Palmer Law Group to schedule a free consultation.