Kansas Statutes 66-1811. Effect of violation of act, liability for damages; application of other laws
Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 66-1811
- Damage: means any impact or contact with an underground facility, its appurtenances or its protective coating, or any weakening of the support for the facility or protective housing that requires repair. See Kansas Statutes 66-1802
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Excavator: means any person who engages directly in excavation activities within the state of Kansas, but shall not include any occupant of a dwelling who: (1) Uses such dwelling as a primary residence; and (2) excavates on the premises of such dwelling. See Kansas Statutes 66-1802
- Facility: means any sanitary sewer or underground line, system or structure used for transporting, gathering, storing, conveying, transmitting or distributing potable water, gas, electricity, communication, crude oil, refined or processed petroleum, petroleum products or hazardous liquids. See Kansas Statutes 66-1802
- Operator: means any person who owns or leases an underground tier 1 or tier 2 facility, except for any person who is the owner of real property wherein is located underground facilities for the purpose of furnishing services or materials only to such person or occupants of such property. See Kansas Statutes 66-1802
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Tolerance zone: means the area not more than 24 inches of the outside dimensions in all horizontal directions of an underground facility, except that a larger tolerance zone for a tier 1, 2 or 3 facility may be established by rules and regulations adopted under Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1802
(a) In a civil action in a court of this state when it is shown by competent evidence that personal injury, death or other damages, including damage to any underground facilities, occurred as a result of a violation of this act, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of negligence on the part of the violator.
(b) In no event shall the excavator be responsible for any damage to underground facilities if such damage was caused by the failure of the operator to correctly and properly mark the location of the tolerance zone of the damaged facility.
(c) Nothing in this act is intended to limit or modify the provisions of:
(1) Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a, and amendments thereto; or
(2) the national electrical safety code, which would otherwise be applicable.