Kansas Senate Bill 136:  Kansas recently enacted a bill that would prohibit a driver from recovering noneconomic losses if they fail to maintain the mandatory personal injury protection coverage required in the state.  The bill applies to personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death causes of action and bars recovery of noneconomic losses when someone is driving an automobile without the mandatory PIP benefits required by Kansas automobile injury reparations act, article 31 of chapter 40 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated. Two exceptions are noted: (1) if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the plaintiff was not knowingly driving without PIP coverage at the time of the loss; and (2) if the person’s failure to maintain PIP coverage at the time of the loss is within 45 days or less of carrying a full year of continuous coverage.   Otherwise, a driver must maintain the required PIP coverage to recoup noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in a bodily injury or wrongful death cause of action.

Additionally, any person convicted or pleading guilty to a violation of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Kansas or another state would be prohibited from seeking noneconomic damages in a bodily injury or wrongful death cause of action.  The bill was signed into law by the Governor on May 12, 2011.

Thanks to Sheri McKee with Aetna for identifying and advising NASP of this bill.

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This entry was posted by cmonfils on Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Kansas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.