Terms Used In Kansas Statutes > Chapter 40 > Article 31 - Kansas Automobile Injury Reparations Act

• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Commissioner: means the state commissioner of insurance. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Director: means the director of vehicles. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Disability benefits: means allowances for loss of monthly earnings due to an injured person's inability to engage in available and appropriate gainful activity, subject to the following conditions and limitations: (1) The injury sustained is the proximate cause of the injured person's inability to engage in available and appropriate gainful activity; (2) subject to the maximum benefits stated herein, allowances shall equal 100% of any such loss per individual, unless such allowances are deemed not includable in gross income for federal income tax purposes, in which event such allowances shall be limited to 85%; and (3) allowances shall be made up to a maximum of not less than $900 per month for not to exceed one year after the date the injured person becomes unable to engage in available and appropriate gainful activity. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• Funeral benefits: means allowances for funeral, burial or cremation expenses in an amount not to exceed $2,000 per individual. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained, when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Implement of husbandry: means every vehicle designed or adapted and used exclusively for agricultural operations and only incidentally operated or moved upon the highways. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Injured person: means any person suffering injury. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Injury: means bodily harm, sickness, disease or death resulting from an accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Insurer: means any insurance company, as defined by Kan. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lienholder: means a person holding a security interest in a vehicle. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Medical benefits: means and includes allowances for all reasonable expenses, up to a limit of not less than $4,500, for necessary health care rendered by practitioners licensed by the state board of healing arts to practice any branch of the healing arts or licensed psychologists, surgical, x-ray and dental services, including prosthetic devices and necessary ambulance, hospital and nursing services; and such term also includes allowances for services recognized and permitted under the laws of this state for an injured person who relies upon spiritual means through prayer alone for healing in accordance with such person's religious beliefs. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Monthly earnings: means : (1) In the case of a regularly employed person or a person regularly self-employed, 1/12 of the annual earnings at the time of injury; or (2) in the case of a person not regularly employed or self-employed, or of an unemployed person, 1/12 of the anticipated annual earnings from the time such person would reasonably have been expected to be regularly employed. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Motor vehicle: means every self-propelled vehicle of a kind required to be registered in this state, including any trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer designed for use with such vehicle, but such term does not include a motorized bicycle. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Operator: means any person who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having property in or title to a motor vehicle, including a person who is entitled to the use and possession of a motor vehicle subject to a security interest held by another person, but such term does not include a lessee under a lease not intended as security. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation or other association of persons. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Personal injury protection benefits: means the disability benefits, funeral benefits, medical benefits, rehabilitation benefits, substitution benefits and survivors' benefits required to be provided in motor vehicle liability insurance policies pursuant to this act. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Property: includes personal and real property. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Rehabilitation benefits: means allowances for all reasonable expenses, up to a limit of not less than $4,500, for necessary psychiatric or psychological services, occupational therapy and such occupational training and retraining as may be reasonably necessary to enable the injured person to obtain suitable employment. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Residence: means the place which is adopted by a person as the person's place of habitation and to which, whenever the person is absent, the person has the intention of returning. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• road: include public bridges and may be construed to be equivalent to "county way" "county road" "common road" "state road" and "territorial road. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Security interest: means an interest in a vehicle reserved or created by agreement and which secures payment or performance of an obligation. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Self-insurer: means any person effecting self-insurance pursuant to subsection (f) of Kan. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Special mobile equipment: means every vehicle not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or property and only incidentally operated or moved over a highway, including but not limited to: Ditch-digging apparatus, well-boring apparatus and road construction and maintenance machinery such as asphalt spreaders, bituminous mixers, bucket loaders, tractors other than truck tractors, ditchers, leveling graders, finishing machines, motor graders, road rollers, scarifiers, earth moving carryalls and scrapers, power shovels and drag lines and self-propelled cranes and earth moving equipment. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Substitution benefits: means allowances for appropriate and reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining other ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those that, but for the injury, the injured person would have performed for the benefit of such person or such person's family, subject to a maximum of $25 per day for not longer than 365 days after the date such expenses are incurred. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Survivor: means a decedent's spouse, or child under the age of 18 years, where death of the decedent resulted from an injury. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Uninsured motor vehicle: means any motor vehicle which is not included under an approved self-insurance plan of a self-insurer or for which there is not in effect a motor vehicle liability insurance policy meeting the requirements of this act. See Kansas Statutes 40-3103