Construction Site Injuries in Kansas

Kansas workers' comp is generally the exclusive remedy: no employer or co-employee is liable for an injury for which comp is recoverable, except as the Act provides. A worker may still take comp and sue a negligent third party other than the employer or a co-employee. A construction design professional retained on the project is not liable for injuries from the employer's failure to follow safety standards unless it contractually assumed responsibility for safety, but this protection does not cover negligent preparation of design plans or specifications. A principal that contracts out part of its trade or business is liable for comp to the contractor's workers as if it employed them directly.

Modified comparative negligence (50% bar). An injured party can recover only if his or her negligence was less than the negligence of the party or parties being sued; damages are reduced in proportion to his or her negligence. In a wrongful death case, the deceased person's negligence is imputed to the person claiming damages.

A lawsuit for injury to the rights of another not arising from a contract (which includes personal injury) must be filed within two years. The time generally starts when the act first causes substantial injury, or when the injury becomes reasonably ascertainable if that is later, but no lawsuit may be filed more than 10 years after the act that caused it.