Wrongful Death Laws And Amount Of Damages In Kansas

Wrongful death statute of limitations

Appointing a wrongful death lawyer

Having to lose someone in your life is really painful. The grief can haunt for years to come. The case will be much worse if the death was due to some kind of wrongful actions or someone else’s negligence. Besides losing your dear one, you might also have suffered other damages due to his or her loss. So who is to be responsible for this and is there any way that you can get some alleviation for the pain and damage you suffered from this? If this happens to be in Kansas, you may consider filing a wrongful death lawsuit. The wrongful death lawyer can help you get justice and recover damages quickly.

Usually the wrongful death lawsuits are filed by the deceased person’s spouse, child, parent or some other relative. In U.S. different states have separate laws for considering punitive damages. Each state’s statutes take into account several things while considering cases of wrongful death.

Kansas wrongful death statute of limitations

  • Medical negligence or mistakes
  • Road and airplane accidents
  • Criminal attacks
  • Dangerous working conditions and harmful exposure
  • Death under a supervised activity

Depending upon the pecuniary injury, the court will decide how much will be your amount of damages. Pecuniary injury means the loss the family or the plaintiff (who files the lawsuit) had suffered in terms of support, services, medical and funeral costs etc. If going for a wrongful death lawsuit, the case must be filed in court within two years of the date of death. If the time period exceeds 10 years, such a lawsuit won’t be considered in Kansas.

Amount of Damages for a wrongful death lawsuit

Punitive damages

Wrongful death claims

As mentioned earlier, the amount of damages is dependent on pecuniary injuries suffered by the deceased person’s family. The maximum amount dispensed on account of damages cannot exceed $250,000. After considering the case in detail, the Kansas court will declare the final amount of damages. The jury will not be informed about the pecuniary damages limit. If the judgment exceeds the permissible limit, the plaintiff will be eligible to get the maximum amount of $250,000. Depending on the situation, damages can include interest from the date the family member died.

The courts of the state may proceed with other penalties if it deems that the act was too blatant and that the person had ignored all procedures set on stone to cause this unfortunate incident. Out of court settlements too have now become popular thereby avoiding the long legal procedures. But this has to be done before the Wrongful death statute of limitations expires as then, the accused may not have any reason to compensate the family.