How Long Do You Have to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Kansas?

There is arguably no feeling more devastating than that experienced when a loved one dies unexpectedly. That sadness can, unfortunately, be compounded when you come to realize that their death was caused by the negligent actions of another party. Between anger and sadness, you may feel overcome with grief for months or even years; and though that is completely natural, it can prevent you from seeking and potentially obtaining financial compensation for the loss of your loved one.

In Kansas, just as throughout the rest of the country, there are limits to the time that you have to file a wrongful death claim. If you wait too long, you will run out of legal options. With that in mind, how long do you have to file a wrongful death claim in Kansas? That is the first question you should ask your lawyer when you schedule a free consultation with Palmer Law Group.

Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Claims in Kansas

As a wrongful death claim is a form of personal injury claim, it is subject to a statute of limitations, the time limit for filing a lawsuit. The deadline is designed to create a fair legal playing field for defendants; if you could wait indefinitely to file a lawsuit, you could potentially preserve evidence that supports your claim and then wait years before filing a lawsuit, all while any evidence that could support the defendant has disappeared over time. That would create an unfair legal environment. Understanding that, the Kansas state legislature determined that two years is a fair compromise between giving plaintiffs a reasonable amount of time to act and not requiring defendants to live in indefinite fear of a lawsuit.

How the Statute of Limitations Applies to Settlements

Technically, the statute of limitations applies only to lawsuits: You have two years after the death of a loved one to file a lawsuit in Kansas state court. However, that time frame effectively applies to settlements as well. Once you have lost the right to file a lawsuit, the insurance companies no longer have a reason to negotiate with you and thus give you a settlement. They have the right to deny your claim, and you have no legal options for preventing that. With that in mind, you might want to file a lawsuit if settlement negotiations are going on for too long, just to keep your options open. Once you have filed the lawsuit, the statute of limitations no longer matters.

While the statute of limitations technically is a deadline for filing a lawsuit, it effectively also places a deadline on settlement negotiations with an insurance company.

The Discovery Rule

Normally, the two-year deadline for filing a wrongful death claim in Kansas starts on the day that your loved one dies. However, all personal injury claims in Kansas are subject to the discovery rule: the deadline is determined and applied when you become aware of (or reasonably should have become aware of) the cause of your loved one’s death. In other words, it may seem at first that your loved one died of natural causes, but an autopsy shows that they died of medical malpractice. In this instance, the two-year clock would start when the autopsy report became available, not on the day of death. Depending on the circumstances, that may add only a few days to the deadline, but any time could be valuable.

Did you lose a loved one due to the negligent actions of another party? Contact Palmer Law Group at (785) 233-1836 right away to make sure you don’t run out of time to take advantage of your legal options.

Statute of Repose

For every exception, there seems to be another exception that gets in the way. The discovery rule is limited by the statute of repose, which states that you have, at most, ten years from the event that caused the death of your loved one to take legal action. That period is cut down to four years for medical malpractice cases. These limits apply even if you don’t discover the cause of your loved one’s death until after the repose period has ended.

Extensions to the Statute of Limitations

For a rule that is so seemingly simple, the statute of limitations has a fair number of exceptions. The following are situations in which a Kansas court will extend the deadline to take legal action after the loss of your loved one:

Legally Disabled

The most common exception for personal injury claims applies to individuals who are legally disabled — a minor or someone who is incapacitated or imprisoned for less than a life sentence and without access to the courts. However, that exception rarely applies in wrongful death claims, as there is usually someone else who can legally file the claim on your (and your loved one’s) behalf. You would have to be the only heir at law available to file a lawsuit in order for the exception to apply. Nevertheless, if it does, your deadline will be extended to one year from when your disability is removed or eight years from the act that caused your loved one’s death.

Defendant in Hiding

In the event that your loved one was killed in a car accident and the other driver fled the scene, you would have no way of identifying that other party to file a lawsuit against them. According to Kansas law, if the defendant flees the state or otherwise hides, thereby making it impossible for you to serve them with a lawsuit, the clock doesn’t run down on the statute of limitations while that person is in hiding. As soon as they return to the state or otherwise stop hiding, the time limit starts again. If you think a defendant is evading a lawsuit, contact Palmer Law Group right away so we can document that behavior and prove it to a court.

Contact Our Law Firm as Soon as Possible After the Death of a Loved One in Kansas

Since its founding in January 1980, Palmer Law Group has compassionately and successfully helped people file wrongful death lawsuits in Kansas. We understand how hard it can be to deal with legal issues when you are mourning the death of a loved one, but we strive to make it as painless as possible.

Want to protect your rights after the unfortunate death of a loved one? Contact Palmer Law Group to schedule a free consultation today.