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. Non-Economic Damages
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 Kansas district court has general original jurisdiction over this civil tort action under K.S.A. § 20-301.

3.2 Venue is proper in [COUNTY] County because the Collision and injury occurred here. For a resident individual Defendant, K.S.A. § 60-603(3) permits venue where the cause arose; for a nonresident individual Defendant, K.S.A. § 60-605(3) does so.

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 Plaintiff seeks damages arising from a motor-vehicle collision. Plaintiff’s claim for noneconomic loss is subject to K.S.A. § 40-3117.

5.2 Plaintiff required medical treatment with a reasonable value of $2,000 or more and/or sustained a qualifying injury under § 40-3117, supporting a claim for noneconomic damages.

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 to be determined on the evidence, 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. If comparative negligence is at issue, K.S.A. § 60-258a requires findings on the parties' relative causal negligence and permits a defendant to move to join another person alleged to have contributed to the harm. Plaintiff may recover only if Plaintiff's negligence is less than the combined causal negligence of the party or parties against whom recovery is sought; any recovery is reduced in proportion to Plaintiff's own negligence. K.S.A. § 60-258a(a)–(c).

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 excess of $75,000, without a specific amount / in the specific amount of $[AMOUNT, if $75,000 or less]], selecting the applicable demand under K.S.A. § 60-208(a)(2);
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 § 5 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights.

10. NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES

10.1 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. INITIAL SERVICE REQUEST

Upon filing this Petition, request the clerk to issue a summons for each Defendant under K.S.A. § 60-301. Serve each summons together with a copy of the Petition by a method authorized by §§ 60-303 and 60-304, and file proof of actual service as required. Section 60-205 governs later pleadings and papers; e-filing this Petition does not itself serve initial process.

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