60-1901.
Cause of action.
(a) If the death of a person is caused by the wrongful act or omission of another, an action may be maintained for the damages resulting therefrom if the former might have maintained the action had such person lived, in accordance with the provisions of this article, against the wrongdoer, or such wrongdoer's personal representative if such wrongdoer is deceased.
(b) As used in article 19 of chapter 60 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, the term "person" includes an unborn child.
(c) As used in this section, the term "unborn child" means a living individual organism of the species homo sapiens, in utero, at any stage of gestation from fertilization to birth.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a wrongful death action if the death is of an unborn child by means of:
(1) Any act committed by the mother of the unborn child;
(2) any lawful medical procedure performed by a physician or other licensed medical professional at the request of the pregnant woman or her legal guardian;
(3) the lawful dispensation or administration of lawfully prescribed medication; or
(4) a legal abortion.
(e) If any provision or clause of this act or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
History:
L. 1963, ch. 303, 60-1901; L. 2013, ch. 48, § 2; July 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
83
cases (
12 in the last 5 years), 1965–2026 · leading case:
Martin v. Naik, 300 P.3d 625 (Kan. 2013).
Martin v. Naik, 300 P.3d 625 (Kan. 2013).
· cites it 14× “In this discussion, the Nesbit court discussed a version of the wrongful death act that predates the current act found at K.S.A. 60-1901 et seq. Nevertheless, Nesbit is helpful to our analysis because the two versions of the wrongful death act are substantively *249 the same in…”
Siruta Ex Rel. Heirs at Law of Siruta v. Siruta, 348 P.3d 549 (Kan. 2015).
· cites it 6× “But this case is not the typical suit brought pursuant to the Kansas Wrongful Death Act, K.S.A. 60-1901 et seq., due to a few unusual iterations: Here a bereaved father sues his wife, the bereaved mother; the two parties are the sole heirs at law of a decedent child; and, to add…”
Johnson v. McArthur, 596 P.2d 148 (Kan. 1979).
· cites it 8× “The sole question involved in this appeal is who is an heir at *130 law of a deceased so as to be the real party in interest in bringing an action for wrongful death under the provisions of K.S.A. 60-1901 et seq. This is a question of first impression.”
Natalini v. Little, 92 P.3d 567 (Kan. 2004).
· cites it 6× “60-513(c), which includes a statute of repose for med *143 ical malpractice lawsuits, and K.S.A. 60-1901, which outlines the requirements for a Kansas wrongful death action.”
Patrons Mut. Ins. v. Kerl Ex Rel. Harmon, 732 P.2d 741 (Kan. 1987).
· cites it 3× “60-1801), which are excluded under the policy, but damages “for his losses as an heir” (K.S.A. 60-1901). In addition, the court held that the policy clauses excluding coverage for bodily injury to any insured and excluding coverage for intentional or expected acts were ambiguous…”
Mason v. Gerin Corp., 647 P.2d 1340 (Kan. 1982).
· cites it 4× “The two years expired in October 1979, and since Texaco was not brought in as a defendant until July 1980, Otis Mason’s action for personal injuries was time barred.”
Est. of Randolph v. City of Wichita, 459 P.3d 802 (Kan. Ct. App. 2020).
· cites it 2× “The estate also alleges what it characterizes as a wrongful death claim against Brown and Snyder under K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 60-1901(a). The wrongful death statute allows the recovery of specified damages when one person's "wrongful act or omission" results in the death of another…”
Hodes & Nauser, MDS, P.A. v. Schmidt, 440 P.3d 461 (Kan. 2019).
“22-4009 (prohibition against execution of a pregnant convict); K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 60-1901(b) (action for wrongful death of unborn child); K.”
Stevens v. Stevens, 647 P.2d 1346 (Kan. 1982).
· cites it 6× “The defendant, Mary Connie Stevens, filed a motion to dismiss the action on the ground interspousal tort immunity would have barred an action by the father against his wife and under the wrongful death statute, K.S.A. 60-1901, an action by the children is barred also.”
M.F. v. Adt, Inc., 357 F. Supp. 3d 1116 (D. Kan. 2018).
· cites it 6× “("ADT") for wrongful death under K.S.A. § 60-1901. Plaintiff Charles E. Frost, Jr.”
Smith v. Printup, 866 P.2d 985 (Kan. 1993).
· cites it 2× “K.S.A. 60-1901. Moreover, K.S.A. 1992 Supp.”
— K.S.A. § 60-1901(a) — 5 cases
Est. of Randolph v. City of Wichita, 459 P.3d 802 (Kan. Ct. App. 2020).
“The estate also alleges what it characterizes as a wrongful death claim against Brown and Snyder under K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 60-1901(a). The wrongful death statute allows the recovery of specified damages when one person's "wrongful act or omission" results in the death of another…”
— K.S.A. § 60-1901(b) — 1 case
Hodes & Nauser, MDS, P.A. v. Schmidt, 440 P.3d 461 (Kan. 2019).
“22-4009 (prohibition against execution of a pregnant convict); K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 60-1901(b) (action for wrongful death of unborn child); K.”
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