Skip to content
MyClaimWorth
KS
★ Kansas · workplace

Workplace settlements
in Kansas.

By 9 min read

A Kansas grain hauler hit head on by a driver who crossed the center line fractured a vertebra and was awarded permanent total disability. When he settled with the other driver’s insurer for $230,000, the Supreme Court held the comp fund was entitled to a lien. A widow receiving comp death benefits saw her separate wrongful death suit dismissed.

Facts that decide a workplace claim in Kansas

Third party recoveriesAn injured worker may sue a third party, but K.S.A. 44-504 prevents double recovery by giving the employer or fund a lien and credit against comp benefits.Turner v. Pleasant Acres (Kan. 2022)
Death benefitsComp death benefits can include a lump sum, burial expenses and continuing weekly payments to a surviving spouse, as the widow received in Heimerman.Heimerman v. Rose (Kan. 2018)
Deadline to sueTwo years for “an action for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract, and not herein enumerated,” which covers most injury claims.K.S.A. 60-513(a)(4)
★ band · US federal frame
Scheduled statutory benefits, no pain-and-suffering award
Workplace injury (workers compensation)
State workers-compensation schedules; value tracks the impairment rating, the wage rate and future medical, and most claims close by compromise-and-release rather than verdict.

The US band is the starting point. Kansas's fault rule and any applicable cap then adjust the figure.

united states · sister site
Your workplace claim in Kansas. See the number for your own case.

The range above is a starting point. FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own workplace case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ KS · reported workplace outcomes

What Kansas courts have awarded.

Real Kansas decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Turner v. Pleasant Acres
    Kansas Supreme Court · 2022
    Fund entitled to subrogation lien

    In December 2016, Turner was hauling grain on Highway 54 when an oncoming vehicle crossed the center line and hit his tractor trailer head on; the other driver died. An MRI showed a 20 percent compression fracture of his T12 vertebra. He settled with the other driver’s insurer for $230,000, and an administrative judge awarded permanent total disability at $578.34 a week up to $155,000. The Supreme Court held the fund was entitled to a subrogation credit.

  • Heimerman v. Rose
    Kansas Supreme Court · 2018
    Dismissal of wrongful death suit affirmed

    After Daniel Heimerman died in a work incident, his widow received comp death benefits: a $40,000 lump sum, $5,000 for burial and a weekly benefit of $578. She also brought a wrongful death suit against Rose and Payless Concrete. The Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of that suit.

★ KS · workplace · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a workplace settlement in Kansas.

  1. 1

    Third party settlements must account for the comp lien, as Turner’s $230,000 recovery shows.

  2. 2

    Comp death benefits and a separate tort suit do not always go together; Heimerman’s widow received benefits, and her wrongful death suit was dismissed.

  3. 3

    Keep future medical open in any comp settlement if possible.

★ KS · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513

★ KS · fault rule
Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault.

★ KS · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a workplace settlement in Kansas.

★ workplace · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Kansas's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for workplace claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWorkplace page
Kansas · you are hereModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injury—
MichiganModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMI · workplace →
MinnesotaModified comparative, 51% bar6 years for personal injury (uncommonly long); 4 years for medical malpracticeMN · workplace →
MissouriPure comparative negligence5 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeMO · workplace →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · workplace →
North DakotaModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeND · workplace →
OhioModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOH · workplace →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · workplace →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · workplace →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · workplace →
ArkansasModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeAR · workplace →
KentuckyPure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)KY · workplace →
LouisianaModified comparative, 51% bar1 year (la prescription), extended to 2 years by Act 423 (2024) for tort claims accruing on or after July 1, 2024LA · workplace →
★ KS · workplace · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29. Every figure on this page comes from one of these documents.

★ all of KS
Kansas overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Kansas as a whole.

★ federal frame
Workplace in United States

Workplace band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Workplace · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of workplace bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are starting points: the US band adjusted for Kansas's statutory framework. They are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Kansas. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.