Personal Injury Complaint - Auto Accident - Kansas

DRAFT – FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW AND CUSTOMIZATION ONLY
Kansas District Court – Civil Action

PETITION FOR PERSONAL INJURY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE

(Motor Vehicle Collision – Kansas Tort Action)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Document Header
2. Definitions
3. Jurisdiction & Venue
4. Factual Allegations
5. Compliance With Kansas No-Fault Statute
6. Causes of Action (Negligence)
7. Damages
8. Comparative Fault Allegations
9. Prayer for Relief & Jury Demand
10. Reservation of Rights
11. Verification (Optional)
12. Certificate of Service

1. DOCUMENT HEADER

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY, KANSAS
CIVIL DEPARTMENT

Case No.: _____________

PETITION FOR PERSONAL INJURIES AND PROPERTY DAMAGE (Auto Accident)

2. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this Petition, capitalized terms have the meanings set forth below. Terms defined in the singular include the plural and vice-versa.

“Collision” means the motor-vehicle accident that occurred on the Incident Date described herein.

“Defendant” means [DEFENDANT FULL LEGAL NAME] and any agents, employees, or entities for which Defendant may be vicariously liable.

“Incident Date” means [DATE OF ACCIDENT].

“PIP Benefits” means personal-injury-protection benefits required under Kansas no-fault law.

“Plaintiff” means [PLAINTIFF FULL LEGAL NAME], individually and in any representative capacity permitted by law.

3. JURISDICTION & VENUE

3.1 This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to Kan. Stat. Ann. ch. 60 because this action is a civil tort claim seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional minimum.

3.2 Venue is proper in [COUNTY] County under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-604 because (a) Defendant resides in, is found in, or may be served in this county, and/or (b) the Collision occurred within this county.

3.3 Personal jurisdiction exists because Defendant operated a motor vehicle on public roadways in Kansas, thereby purposefully availing himself/herself of the protections and obligations of Kansas law.

4. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

4.1 On or about the Incident Date, at approximately [TIME], Defendant operated a [YEAR/MAKE/MODEL] motor vehicle traveling [CARDINAL DIRECTION] on [ROADWAY/INTERSECTION] in [CITY], Kansas.

4.2 Plaintiff lawfully operated/occupied a [YEAR/MAKE/MODEL] motor vehicle traveling [CARDINAL DIRECTION] on the same roadway.

4.3 Defendant failed to exercise ordinary care in one or more of the following non-exclusive ways:
 a. Exceeding the posted speed limit;
 b. Failing to yield the right-of-way;
 c. Operating a vehicle while distracted and/or impaired;
 d. Disobeying traffic control devices; and
 e. Failing to maintain proper lookout and control.

4.4 Defendant’s vehicle struck Plaintiff’s vehicle, causing substantial physical injuries and property damage (the “Collision”).

5. COMPLIANCE WITH KANSAS NO-FAULT STATUTE

5.1 Kansas is a “no-fault” state. Plaintiff has applied for, and/or exhausted, all available PIP Benefits or otherwise satisfies statutory thresholds permitting this tort action.

5.2 Plaintiff’s medical expenses exceed the statutory threshold and/or Plaintiff sustained a qualifying permanent injury, thereby permitting the pursuit of non-economic damages under Kansas law.

6. CAUSES OF ACTION – NEGLIGENCE

COUNT I – Negligence

6.1 Plaintiff realleges and incorporates paragraphs 1-5 as though fully set forth herein.

Duty
6.2 Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty of reasonable care to operate a motor vehicle in a safe, lawful, and prudent manner.

Breach
6.3 Defendant breached that duty by the acts and omissions identified in ¶ 4.3, each constituting negligence per se or common-law negligence.

Causation
6.4 Defendant’s breach was the direct and proximate cause of the Collision and Plaintiff’s injuries.

Damages
6.5 Plaintiff sustained damages described in Section 7, entitling Plaintiff to recovery.

7. DAMAGES

7.1 Plaintiff seeks damages within the jurisdictional limits of this Court, including but not limited to:

a. Past and future medical expenses;
 b. Past and future lost wages and impairment of earning capacity;
 c. Past and future non-economic damages (pain, suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life);
 d. Property damage to Plaintiff’s vehicle and personal property;
 e. Pre- and post-judgment interest as allowed by law; and
 f. Costs of this action and any other relief the Court deems just and equitable.

8. COMPARATIVE FAULT ALLEGATIONS

8.1 Plaintiff denies any comparative negligence. However, pursuant to the Kansas Comparative Fault Act (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a), the relative fault of all parties and non-parties shall be compared. Under Kansas's modified comparative fault rule, Plaintiff's recovery is diminished in proportion to Plaintiff's percentage of fault, if any, but Plaintiff is completely barred from recovery if Plaintiff's fault is found to equal or exceed 50% of the total fault attributed to all parties. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a(a).

8.2 Liability among multiple defendants, if any, is several — not joint and several. Each defendant found at fault is liable only for the proportionate share of damages corresponding to that defendant's percentage of causal fault. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a(d).

9. PRAYER FOR RELIEF & JURY DEMAND

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that judgment be entered in Plaintiff’s favor and against Defendant as follows:

1. For general and special damages in such amounts as are determined fair and just;
2. For costs, statutory interest, and such further relief as the Court deems appropriate; and
3. For a trial by jury on all issues so triable.

PLAINTIFF HEREBY DEMANDS A TRIAL BY JURY pursuant to Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-238 and Article I of the Kansas Constitution.

10. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

10.1 Punitive Damages. Plaintiff reserves the right to seek leave of Court to assert punitive damages pursuant to Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-3703 upon a proper evidentiary showing. If leave is granted, any award is governed by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-3702, which caps punitive damages at the lesser of the defendant's highest gross annual income for any one of the five years preceding the act (or, if the court finds that amount clearly inadequate to penalize the defendant, up to 50% of the defendant's net worth) or $5,000,000, subject to the profitability exception in § 60-3702(f).

10.2 Non-Economic Damages Are Not Statutorily Capped. The former statutory cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury actions, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-19a02, was declared facially unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court in Hilburn v. Enerpipe, Ltd., 309 Kan. 1127, 442 P.3d 509 (2019), as a violation of the right to jury trial under § 5 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. Accordingly, Plaintiff's noneconomic damages are not subject to that statutory limitation.

11. VERIFICATION (OPTIONAL)

STATE OF KANSAS, COUNTY OF [COUNTY], ss.

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], being first duly sworn on oath, state that I have read the foregoing Petition and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

_____________________________
[PLAINTIFF NAME]

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___ day of __________, 20___.

_____________________________
Notary Public
My Commission Expires: __________

12. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on this ___ day of __________, 20___, a true and correct copy of the foregoing Petition was served upon the following counsel/party(ies) by [state method—e-file, U.S. Mail, hand delivery, etc.] pursuant to Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-205:

[NAME & ADDRESS OF COUNSEL/DEFENDANT]

_____________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME], #_______
Attorney for Plaintiff

ATTORNEY SIGNATURE BLOCK

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]
[Street Address]
[City], Kansas [ZIP]
Telephone: [(XXX) XXX-XXXX]
Email: [EMAIL ADDRESS]

By: ____________________________
 [ATTORNEY NAME], KS Bar #_______
 Counsel for Plaintiff