Police Chase Accident Attorneys

Kansas City Police Car Accidents Injure Innocent PeopleFiling a Claim Against the Government Requires Specific Legal Knowledge

Police pursuit accidents are not standard car crash claims. The defendant is a government entitya city, county, or state agencyprotected by sovereign immunity under the Kansas Tort Claims Act (K.S.A. 75-6101 et seq.). Sovereign immunity bars most lawsuits against the government unless a specific exception applies. Filing deadlines are shorter. Procedural requirements are stricter. The officer, the department, and the municipality will each claim they are immune from liability.

In Kansas City alone, high-speed police pursuits have killed and seriously injured hundreds of bystanders, pedestrians, and uninvolved drivers over the past two decades. Innocent people are struck by fleeing suspects, by the police vehicles themselves, or by debris from the collision. Survivors face traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, crushed limbs, and burns.

Tarak Alexander Devkota, Esq. and Devkota Law Firm have recovered millions for injury victims across Kansas and Missouri over 27 years. We represent people injured by Kansas City police car accidents, highway patrol pursuits, and sheriff department chases in Kansas City, North Kansas City, Independence, Wichita, and Overland Park.

What goes wrong without a police chase accident attorney:

• The government claim notice deadline passes before you fileKansas requires written notice to the government entity, and deadlines can be as short as 120 days

• The city or county invokes sovereign immunity under K.S.A. 75-6104 and the claim is dismissed on procedural grounds

• The officer's conduct during the pursuit is never examined because no independent investigation was done

• The fleeing suspect is blamed entirely for your injuries, even though Kansas case law holds that an officer's pursuit can be a proximate cause of a bystander collision

Kansas Case Law on Police Pursuits and Bystander Injuries

1. K.S.A. 8-1506 Emergency Vehicle Liability. This statute allows officers in pursuit of a suspect to exceed speed limits, run red lights, and disregard traffic signals. But subsection (d) states clearly: these privileges do not relieve the officer from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, and do not protect the officer from the consequences of reckless disregard for the safety of others. The Kansas Supreme Court confirmed in Robbins v. City of Wichita (2007) that "reckless disregard" is the standard of care for emergency vehicle drivers. An officer who pursues a suspect at high speed through a residential intersection without slowing, without activating warning signals, or without calling off the pursuit when the risk to bystanders becomes obvious may be held liable under this statute.

2. K.S.A. 75-6103 Kansas Tort Claims Act (Liability). This statute waives sovereign immunity for government entities when an employee acting within the scope of employment causes injury through negligenceunder the same conditions that would make a private person liable. A police department that authorizes or fails to terminate a reckless pursuit can be held vicariously liable for the resulting injuries.

3. K.S.A. 75-6104 Exceptions to Liability. The Kansas Tort Claims Act lists specific exceptions where the government retains immunity. The Kansas Supreme Court held in Montgomery v. Saleh (2020) that a law enforcement officer's pursuit of a fleeing suspect does not fall within the discretionary function exception in subsection (e) or the police protection exception in subsection (n). This ruling confirmed that pursuit-related injury claims can proceed against the officer and the state.

4. Montgomery v. Saleh, 311 Kan. 649 (2020). In this Kansas Supreme Court decision, two people were injured when a suspect fleeing a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper ran a red light and crashed into their truck. The district court dismissed the case on summary judgment. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that a law enforcement officer's pursuit of a fleeing suspect may be the proximate cause of a collision between the suspect and a third party, and that genuine issues of fact precluded dismissal. This case established that Kansas bystanders injured in police pursuits can hold the pursuing officer and the state liable if the evidence supports a finding that the officer's conduct contributed to the crash.

5. K.S.A. 60-513Statute of Limitations. You have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. But claims against government entities require written notice far earlierdeadlines can be as short as 120 days. Missing the notice deadline can bar your claim before the two-year statute even becomes relevant.

Claims against a Kansas city, county, or state agency require written notice to the government entity within a specific deadlineoften 120 days from the date of injury. If you miss this notice deadline, you may lose the right to file a lawsuit even though the two-year statute of limitations has not expired. Contact a police chase accident attorney before speaking to anyone from the police department, the city attorney's office, or the department's insurer.

Types of Police Pursuit and Law Enforcement Accident Cases We Handle

• Bystander struck by a fleeing suspect's vehicle during a Kansas City police chase on city streets or highways

• Bystander struck directly by the pursuing police vehicle during a high-speed pursuit

• Pedestrian hit by a fleeing suspect or a patrol car that ran a red light or stop sign during a pursuit

• Multi-vehicle pileup caused by a police chase on I-35, I-70, I-435, or K-10 in the Kansas City metro

• Head-on collision caused by a suspect fleeing the wrong way on a Kansas City highway during a police pursuit

• Passenger in the suspect's vehicle injured because the officer used excessive forceincluding ramming, PIT maneuvers, or roadblock tacticswithout justification

• Wrongful death of a bystander, pedestrian, or occupant killed during a Kansas City police chase

• Injuries caused by an officer's unmarked vehicle responding without lights or sirens and striking another vehicle at an intersection

Devkota Law Firm Represents Police Chase Accident Victims Across Kansas and Missouri

Kansas gives you 2 years to file suitbut government notice deadlines can be as short as 120 days.

If a police pursuit caused your accident, the clock starts running on the date of the crash. The two-year statute of limitations under K.S.A. 60-513 applies to the lawsuit itself. But you must provide written notice to the government entitythe city, county, or statewithin a much shorter window. Miss the notice deadline and the lawsuit may be barred before it is ever filed. Missouri claims carry their own notice deadlines. Contact a police chase accident attorney now.

Mistakes That Weaken or Destroy Police Chase Accident Claims

1. Missing the government notice deadline This is the single most common reason police pursuit claims fail in Kansas. The two-year statute of limitations under K.S.A. 60-513 is not your first deadline. You must file written notice with the government entityoften within 120 days of the accident. Once you miss it, the claim is barred.

2. Assuming the fleeing suspect is solely responsible Kansas case law police pursuits accident decisions, including Montgomery v. Saleh (2020), have established that the pursuing officer can share liability when the officer's conduct contributed to the crash. The officer's decision to initiate, continue, or escalate a pursuit through residential areas or busy intersections is subject to scrutiny under K.S.A. 8-1506(d).

3. Speaking to the city attorney's office or the police department's internal affairs unit without a lawyer These entities represent the government, not you. Statements you make can be used to argue that the officer acted within policy, that the pursuit was justified, or that your own driving caused the collision.

4. Failing to preserve independent evidence Dashcam footage, body camera recordings, dispatch audio, and pursuit authorization records are controlled by the police department. If you do not demand preservation of this evidence immediately through legal channels, it may be deleted or overwritten under standard retention schedules.

5. Accepting a settlement before understanding the full scope of your injuries Government insurers will move to settle police pursuit claims quickly and quietly. The initial number will not reflect future surgeries, long-term rehabilitation, or lost earning capacity. Do not accept any offer without a police chase accident attorney reviewing it.