If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence or intentional action, you might have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Personal injury claims allow you to seek compensation in the form of:
- Economic damages such as medical expenses and lost wages
- Noneconomic damages for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and harm to your mental health
- Punitive damages that could be awarded by the court to punish the defendant for particularly harmful behavior
In all but the rarest cases, there are no caps on damages for personal injury claims in Kansas. So you have a lot to gain by pursuing compensation.
However, the landscape of personal injury claims and compensation is constantly changing, especially with exponential advancements in technology.
Both you and your attorney need to keep up with changes to Kansas personal injury law in 2025 to maximize your chances of winning compensation.
To help you build the strongest possible case, here are the top trends and changes you need to be aware of for civil actions filed on or after January 1, 2025.
Upcoming changes to Kansas personal injury law in 2025
Greater use of technology for evidence gathering
Technology is a valuable tool for gathering concrete evidence to strengthen your case and protect yourself against attempts to dispute liability.
As certain technologies become more advanced, affordable, and widespread, law firms will see them crop up more and more in personal injury lawsuits.
One of the most common types of personal injury cases is automobile accidents. In this area, three of the most important evidence-gathering technologies for 2025 and beyond will be dash cams, police body cameras, and vehicle black box data.
Dash cams
In the United States, 10-18% of all drivers use dash cams – and this is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years.
If you can provide clear footage that demonstrates an automobile collision wasn’t your fault, you can build an extremely strong case for compensation.
That said, there are certain rules about dash cam placement that you should be aware of. Failing to comply with these rules could hurt your case more than help it.
In Kansas, it’s illegal to “substantially obstruct” your windshield with any non-transparent object, including a dash cam.
So you should never mount your camera on your front, side, or rear mirrors. Instead, make sure it’s mounted on your dashboard or behind your rearview mirror.
Police body cameras
If you’ve been in any car crash that’s more than a simple fender bender, you’ll need to call the police.
As of July 1, 2020, every law enforcement officer assigned to patrol duties (like those who turn up at the scene of a collision) are required to wear a body camera.
Those cameras will capture events that occur after the crash, such as driver behavior and scene conditions. This too can be valuable evidence to support your personal injury claim.
Similarly, artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to be used to analyze and transcribe police body cam footage. This could make it much easier to find additional evidence to support your case.
Vehicle black box data
A black box is a small GPS unit installed in modern vehicles that records information such as speed and braking habits. This data is vital for proving safe or reckless behavior during a collision.
All new vehicles manufactured since 2014 are legally required to have a black box installed.
Since vehicles in the US are 12.6 years old on average, this suggests that the majority of vehicles on the road are equipped with a black box.
As time goes on and more old cars are taken off the road, that number is sure to increase.
That means in 2025 and beyond, we’ll see a rise in the number of personal injury lawsuits that rely on vehicle black box data to make their case.
More focus on mental health claims
In Kansas, you have the right to seek compensation for noneconomic loss or injury such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety as part of your personal injury claim.
2024 saw a huge rise in courts awarding compensation for these types of mental and emotional distress. As we move into 2025, it’s highly likely that courts and insurance companies will continue to pay more attention to noneconomic suffering.
If your injury has affected your mental health, be sure to keep proper documentation through medical records and expert assessments. These can strengthen your personal injury claim, and your lawyer can help you seek additional compensation to cover these costs.
Increase in alternative dispute resolution
Following the COVID pandemic, methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) like mediation and arbitration have become more common.
ADR can be faster and more affordable than traditional court litigation. So for smaller claims with less at stake, they can be more favorable to claimants in cases involving personal injury law.
The ADR market size was estimated at $7.97bn in 2023. And it’s expected to reach $12.43bn by 2030.
So if you’re making a small personal injury claim – or you’re a personal injury lawyer helping a client do so – you need to be aware of the options available for ADR.
The rise of artificial intelligence
The time of spending weeks on end sifting through stacks of paper documents is almost over.
With the help of modern AI tools, personal injury firms can now gather evidence, analyze documents, and research case history in a fraction of the time.
This speeds up personal injury cases and could even reduce your legal costs, allowing you to take home a bigger proportion of your awarded compensation.
It also reduces the risk of human error and allows you to predict the likely outcome of the case based on similar examples from the past.
AI is poised to streamline personal injury case management in two main ways:
- Automated document review: Traditional document review is time-consuming and labor-intensive. But AI software can review documents, summarize relevant information, and highlight potential issues with unprecedented speed.
- Predictive analysis: By analyzing past case data, AI tools can predict how likely a claimant is to win compensation. They can also suggest appropriate settlement amounts. This allows lawyers and their clients to make better decisions about how to handle the claim.
More uninsured motorists
According to a 2023 study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC), around one in seven US drivers were uninsured in 2022. That’s around 14% of all motorists.
While some years estimate more than others, there’s a general trend showing that the number of uninsured drivers is increasing.
In Kansas, drivers are required by law to carry auto insurance. But vehicle insurance rates in Kansas have been increasing every year.
While Kansas is one of the most affordable states in terms of cost of living, we’re all feeling the pinch of rising economic challenges.
Some try to save money by not renewing their auto insurance, even if they need their car for work or childcare. So as money becomes harder and harder to spare, the number of uninsured drivers on the road is likely to increase in 2025.
Shorter deadlines for filing claims
Last year, the Kansas Statutes Chapter 60-513 set a limit of just two years to file a personal injury lawsuit.
This limit applies to lawsuits involving:
- Wrongful death and medical malpractice
- Dangerous or defective products
- Dangerous or improperly maintained properties
- Injuries caused by fraud
The clock typically starts from the date on which you were injured, provided you were aware at the time that you’d been hurt.
Similarly, the clock for medical malpractice claims runs from the date of the malpractice, again provided you were aware of the injury when it happened.
If you’re planning to file a personal injury lawsuit for an injury that’s nearing the two-year limit, contact Phalen Law immediately. We have over 50 years of experience managing personal injury claims in Kansas with a proven record of success.
The importance of expert legal advice in a changing landscape
Even legal veterans can have a tough time keeping up with the changing rules, regulations, tools, and precedents in personal injury law.
As such, non-experts seeking compensation for their injuries often find themselves out of their depth and utterly overwhelmed by the stalwart legal strategies of the defendant’s insurance providers.
In order to present a convincing argument in such a complex landscape, expert legal advice is utterly indispensable for making a claim.
With trusted legal representation, you can protect yourself against insurance companies trying to confuse you or pressure you into accepting a lower settlement than you deserve.
And looking at the upcoming changes to Kansas personal injury law in 2025, hiring a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney is more important than ever.
Discuss your claim with Kansas’s leading personal injury attorneys
Phalen Law has spent more than half a century helping people like you win suitable compensation for their injuries. We’re intimately familiar with Kansas personal injury law and case histories, and keep our finger on the pulse of recent changes to better support your case.
Call us today to book your free consultation, or complete our online Free Case Evaluation form to give us the details of your injury. We’ll let you know if you have grounds for a claim and how we can help you win the compensation you’re owed.
William L. Phalen
For 30 years, Bill Phalen has been representing families and workers whose lives have been devastated by workplace injuries, reckless drivers and the negligence of others. When tragedy needlessly strikes – because of the irresponsible behavior of an employer, corporation or an insurance company – Bill Phalen is an advocate for the people, always representing David in the fight against Goliath. Bill’s strong convictions have led to successful cases at the Court of Appeals and Kansas Supreme Court.
