If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with mesothelioma after working in Kansas, several claim paths may be open at the same time. These often include lawsuits against the companies that made and sold the asbestos products, claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts that were set up specifically to pay victims, and federal benefits for veterans and federal civilian workers.
Kansas generally gives you two years to file a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. An earlier asbestosis or pleural-scarring claim does not bar a later mesothelioma claim in Kansas, but the clock can start once the disease and its cause should have been known, so call us right away. If your loved one has already passed away, the family's wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years of the death, and only if the worker's own deadline had not already run out. The safest step is to call as soon as possible after diagnosis.
You do not need to know the name of the asbestos product before you call. Many Kansas cases begin with one sentence: "Dad worked at the Goodyear plant in Topeka" or "He was a pipefitter at the refinery in El Dorado." We reconstruct exposure from worksite records, coworker information, product handling patterns, and our national database.
You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
Quick answers
| How long do we have to file? | Usually two years, and to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. If your loved one has already passed away, the family's wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years of the death, and only if the worker's own two years had not already run out. Call as soon as possible. |
|---|---|
| Are pain-and-suffering damages capped in Kansas? | Not in personal-injury cases. In 2019 the Kansas Supreme Court struck down the state's cap on noneconomic damages in personal-injury cases. In a wrongful-death case, the family's damages for grief, companionship, and other nonfinancial losses are capped at $250,000 in total; financial losses and funeral expenses are not. |
| Does a claim always mean filing a lawsuit? | No. Some Kansas families recover only through asbestos trust claims and benefits, without ever going to court. |
| Who may be responsible? | The companies that made and sold the asbestos products, and, through the bankruptcy trust system, companies that have since reorganized. Kansas sharply limits claims against plant owners and employers for exposure that ended more than ten years ago. |
| What compensation may be available? | Medical bills, lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and in some cases punitive damages. |
| What evidence do we need to start? | A diagnosis and a general sense of where the work happened. You do not need product names, old pay stubs, or a complete employment history before calling. |
| Can an adult child or spouse call? | Yes. Most first calls come from an adult child or spouse. You do not need a power of attorney to ask questions. |
| Do I have to come to your office? | No. We work with Kansas families remotely by phone, video, and email. We can travel to you if needed. |
“I started this firm after learning that the cancers that killed my father and grandparents were caused by asbestos, something we did not realize until it was too late to hold anyone accountable. That experience is why we built this site: so that no other family misses their chance to ask the questions, hear the options, and decide for themselves what to do.”
Was the exposure at a Kansas refinery, power plant, or factory?
Kansas industry followed its rivers and its oil: the packinghouses, soap works, and refinery where the Kansas River meets the Missouri, the refineries of the south-central and southeast oil country, Wichita's aircraft plants, the utilities' power stations along the Kansas River valley, the cement plants of southeast Kansas, and the Army's powder plants.
The asbestos trusts' published lists hold more than 1,000 Kansas entries across 156 communities, from 27 asbestos trusts. One plant can appear many times, under different names or on different trusts' lists. Dozens of our clients worked at Kansas job sites. The W.R. Grace trust's list alone has 167 Kansas entries, for its Monokote spray fireproofing and Zonolite.
| Kansas worksite | City | Trust documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Procter & Gamble plant | Kansas City | At least 12 trusts, including Johns-Manville. The worksite most trusts recognize in Kansas. |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant | Topeka | At least 10 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Derby Refining Company refinery | Wichita | At least 10 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Skelly Oil refinery | El Dorado | At least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Later Getty, Texaco, and Frontier. |
| Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant (Hercules Powder) | De Soto | At least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville. An Army plant run by Hercules Powder. |
| Ash Grove Lime & Portland Cement plant | Chanute | At least 8 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Coffeyville municipal power plant | Coffeyville | At least 8 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| NCRA refinery | McPherson | At least 8 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Kansas Power & Light — Tecumseh Energy Center | Tecumseh | At least 8 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Boeing Wichita plant (Spirit AeroSystems) | Wichita | At least 7 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
Check Kansas asbestos exposure sites · Search the asbestos trusts' Kansas lists
Not seeing the worksite? That does not mean your family has no claim. Many Kansas claims are built from product-handling reconstruction, coworker information, historical invoices, trust documents, and records from similar worksites.
Your legal options after a Kansas mesothelioma diagnosis
Think in claim paths, not in one lawsuit. The right mix depends on where the work happened, when the exposure ended, which companies are still in business, whether the worker was a veteran, and what records exist.
Asbestos trust claims
Many of the companies that made the most dangerous asbestos products filed for bankruptcy and established asbestos trusts. These trusts hold billions of dollars set aside for asbestos victims, and they pay claims without a lawsuit or a trial. If a Kansas lawsuit is filed, Kansas requires the family to file every trust claim it can make, and to disclose them, at least 30 days before the court's deadline for finishing fact discovery; the order of filings is decided with you and our trial team. Learn more about asbestos trust claims.
Product liability lawsuits
Lawsuits against the companies that made and sold the asbestos products, and are still in business, proceed under the Kansas Product Liability Act. A family can claim that the products were defectively designed or sold without adequate warnings. Kansas has a special rule for asbestos that keeps these claims open decades after the exposure: the clock starts when the disease and its cause become known. Learn more about product liability lawsuits.
Premises liability lawsuits
Claims against the owners of refineries, power plants, and factories are much narrower in Kansas. They must be filed within ten years of the last exposure, so most claims for exposure decades ago are barred, and a Kansas statute adds further limits for asbestos claims against property owners. Learn more about premises liability lawsuits.
Workers' compensation, VA, FECA, and Social Security
Veterans with in-service asbestos exposure may have VA disability claims. Federal civilian employees, such as staff of the Kansas VA Medical Centers, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, and McConnell Air Force Base, may have FECA claims. Kansas workers' comp covers a worker's claim against their own employer, though it rarely pays for mesothelioma found decades after the exposure. Social Security disability is available to claimants under full retirement age. Some of these programs must be coordinated, because a few carry offsets or repayment rules. Learn more about asbestos disability claims.
"Can we choose not to sue?"
Yes. Some Kansas families decide they only want to pursue trust claims and disability benefits — no lawsuit, no court, no deposition. That is a legitimate decision and we respect it. We will explain every path that may apply to your family, lay out what each one realistically involves, and then follow your lead. We will not pressure you into a court case you do not want.
Uncomfortable with the idea of a lawsuit? So was Clarence Borel. He spent 33 years as an insulator on the Gulf Coast and didn't believe in suing anyone — until he realized his coworkers would die the same way he was dying. His 1969 lawsuit helped establish the product-liability law that protects families today, and the cases that followed it eventually led to the bankruptcy trusts that pay claims now. Read his story.
How long do I have to file a Kansas mesothelioma claim?
Kansas gives you two years to file a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. For claims against the companies that made and sold asbestos products, Kansas starts the clock when the disease and its cause were known, or should have been, not when the exposure happened decades earlier. An earlier asbestosis or pleural-scarring claim does not bar a later mesothelioma claim in Kansas, but the clock can start once the disease and its cause should have been known, so call us right away.
If your loved one has already passed away, the family's wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years of the death. But Kansas allows that claim only if the worker could still have sued at the time of death, so if the worker's own two years had already run out, the family's claim is gone too. The estate's claim for the worker's own losses keeps the worker's own deadline.
Kansas also has a ten-year outer limit, counted from the last exposure. Claims against the companies that made and sold asbestos products are exempt from it. Claims against plant owners, employers, and contractors that only did the work (rather than selling the products) are not, so for exposure that ended more than ten years ago those claims are usually barred.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS — free, confidential, no commitment to file.
Legal detail: Kansas filing deadlines
Personal injury. Two years, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(4). The claim accrues when the act first causes substantial injury or, if the injury is not reasonably ascertainable at first, when "the fact of injury becomes reasonably ascertainable to the injured party." § 60-513(b).
Product claims for latent disease. In a product liability claim against a product seller (which includes manufacturers), the ten-year limit of § 60-513 does not apply to a latent disease caused by a "harmful material," a term that includes asbestos; the claim accrues "when the disease and such disease's cause have been made known to the person or at the point the person should have been aware of the disease and such disease's cause." § 60-3303(d). Harding v. K.C. Wall Products, Inc., 250 Kan. 655 (1992), upheld the 1990 law that created this exception and revived claims barred before it.
Ten-year limit for other defendants. "In no event shall an action be commenced more than 10 years beyond the time of the act giving rise to the cause of action." § 60-513(b). In an asbestos case that period began, at the latest, with the plaintiff's last exposure. Tomlinson v. Celotex Corp., 244 Kan. 474 (1989). Claims against premises owners and employers, and against contractors that did not sell the product, are not product claims against a product seller, so § 60-3303(d) does not reach them.
Earlier nonmalignant disease. A claim for a nonmalignant asbestos condition "shall not preclude or bar a subsequent claim by the same exposed person for ... asbestos-related cancer." § 60-4904(b).
Wrongful death. Two years, § 60-513(a)(5). The action lies only "if the former might have maintained the action had such person lived." § 60-1901. Where the worker's own limitations period ran before death, no wrongful-death action can be maintained. Mason v. Gerin Corp., 231 Kan. 718 (1982).
Minors and incapacitated persons. One year after the disability ends, but no more than eight years after the act. § 60-515(a).
Who can be sued in a Kansas asbestos case?
A Kansas asbestos case usually involves several different kinds of defendants. Each plays a different role and is reached through a different legal theory.
Product manufacturers and sellers
The companies that made and sold the asbestos insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory, joint compound, brake products, and other materials the worker actually handled. These claims proceed under the Kansas Product Liability Act, on design-defect and failure-to-warn theories, and Kansas's latent-disease rule keeps them timely decades after the exposure. Many of the largest manufacturers (Johns Manville, Owens Corning, Babcock & Wilcox, Eagle-Picher, Combustion Engineering, A.P. Green, and others) have filed for bankruptcy and now pay through trusts, but solvent successors and many other manufacturers remain available as lawsuit defendants.
Premises owners and site operators
The companies that owned and ran the refineries, power plants, and factories where the exposure happened. In Kansas these claims are limited in three ways. They must be filed within ten years of the last exposure. A Kansas statute bars them unless the person was exposed at or near the owner's property, presumes that an owner believed asbestos was used at safe levels before 1972, and limits an owner's liability for work done by a qualified contractor. And a plant owner that hired the worker's employer to do part of its own business can be treated as the worker's employer under workers' comp, and so cannot be sued.
Asbestos bankruptcy trusts
The companies that filed for bankruptcy and established asbestos trusts pay claims through the trust system rather than through lawsuits. The asbestos trusts' Kansas lists come from 27 asbestos trusts, and an asbestos claim can include a claim against each trust whose products were used where the worker was exposed.
Employers
Kansas workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy against the worker's own employer for injuries it covers. For a disease that appears long after the last exposure, comp usually pays nothing, and any claim against the employer would also face the ten-year limit. Almost all Kansas asbestos cases are claims against the companies that made and sold the products.
Legal detail: Kansas product liability, premises liability, and workers' compensation
Kansas Product Liability Act. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-3301 et seq. A "product liability claim" includes claims based on strict liability, negligence, warranty, failure to warn, and misrepresentation or concealment. § 60-3302(c).
- Useful safe life. Harm caused more than ten years after delivery is presumed to come after the product's useful safe life, rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence. § 60-3303(b)(1). The presumption does not apply where the seller fraudulently concealed information about the product, where "the harm was caused by prolonged exposure to a defective product," or where the harm did not manifest until after ten years. § 60-3303(b)(2)(B), (D).
- Government standards. A product that complied with legislative or administrative safety standards is deemed not defective unless the claimant shows a reasonably prudent seller could and would have taken more precautions. § 60-3304.
- Warnings. No duty to warn of precautions a reasonable user with the user's training should have taken, or of obvious dangers. § 60-3305.
- Sellers and evidence. A seller that did not make the product and could not have discovered the defect is not liable if the manufacturer can be sued and pay. § 60-3306. Later advances in knowledge and later product changes are not admissible, except to impeach a witness who denied that a measure was feasible. § 60-3307.
Asbestos claims act (2006). Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-4901 to 60-4911, for actions filed on or after July 1, 2006 (§ 60-4908).
- Filing. Every asbestos claim must include a sworn information form listing each exposure's location, manner, and dates and the manufacturer of each product, the employer at each exposure, and the disease, and, where the exposure came through another person, the same details for that person. § 60-4903(d).
- Medical criteria. "In a civil action alleging an asbestos claim based upon mesothelioma, no prima facie showing is required." § 60-4902(d).
- Causation. The party with the burden must show that the exposure attributable to each defendant "was a substantial factor in causing the injury," considering the manner, proximity, frequency, and length of exposure. § 60-4907.
- Premises owners. No liability unless the exposure "occurred while the individual was at or near the premises owner's property"; for exposure before January 1, 1972, a presumption that the owner believed asbestos was used below safe levels, rebutted by proof the owner knew or should have known the premises were unreasonably dangerous and let the condition persist; no liability for exposure caused by a qualified contractor's employees unless the owner directed the activity, gave or denied permission for the critical acts, or knowingly allowed a dangerous condition to persist; and, for exposure after January 1, 1972 caused by a contractor's employee, proof that the owner violated a safety standard in effect at the time, in the plaintiff's breathing zone, and that the violation caused the disease. § 60-4905.
Successor companies (2014). For a company that took on another's asbestos liabilities through a merger before January 1, 1972, those liabilities are capped at the acquired company's total gross assets at the time of the merger, adjusted yearly, unless the successor continued the asbestos business. Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 50-1301 to 50-1307.
Premises liability. Workers on a property on business are owed reasonable care; Jones v. Hansen, 254 Kan. 499 (1994), extended that duty to social guests. Asbestos claims are subject to § 60-4905 above and to the ten-year limit of § 60-513(b).
Assumption of risk. No longer a complete bar; it is weighed as part of comparative fault. Simmons v. Porter, 298 Kan. 299 (2013).
Workers' compensation. No employer is liable for an injury or occupational disease "for which compensation is recoverable under the workers compensation act." § 44-501b(d). A principal that contracts out work that is part of its own business is liable for comp to the contractor's workers on its premises, and so shares that protection. § 44-503. For occupational disease, no comp is owed "unless disablement results within one year ... after the last injurious exposure." § 44-5a01(c). Written notice is due within 90 days after disablement (and within 90 days after a death), and a claim within one year of disablement or death. § 44-5a17. Claims against third parties are preserved; an employer that paid benefits has a lien on the recovery (except consortium damages), and if the worker does not sue within one year of the injury (18 months for the family or estate of a worker who died) the claim is assigned to the employer. § 44-504.
Expert evidence. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-456(b) (2014): expert testimony must rest on sufficient facts or data and reliable methods, reliably applied.
What compensation can a Kansas mesothelioma case recover?
Personal-injury compensation
- Medical expenses — past and future, including treatment at the University of Kansas Medical Center and other centers, and travel for specialty mesothelioma care
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity — past and future
- Pain and suffering, including loss of enjoyment of life — not capped in personal-injury cases since the Kansas Supreme Court's 2019 decision in Hilburn v. Enerpipe
- Disability and disfigurement
- Punitive damages, in some cases. The jury must find, by clear and convincing evidence, willful or wanton conduct, fraud, or malice; the judge then sets the amount, within a statutory cap. A punitive claim can be added to a lawsuit only with the court's permission.
Wrongful-death compensation
If the worker has passed away, two claims can follow. The estate's survival claim recovers the worker's own losses before death: pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, and, where the evidence supports them, punitive damages. The family's wrongful-death claim, brought by an heir on behalf of all the heirs, recovers their own losses: grief and mental anguish, lost companionship and care, lost financial support, and funeral expenses. The judge divides that recovery among the heirs according to each one's loss.
Kansas caps the family's wrongful-death damages for grief, companionship, and other nonfinancial losses at $250,000 in total. Financial losses and funeral expenses are outside the cap, and so are the worker's care expenses that an heir paid where no probate estate was opened. Punitive damages are not available in the wrongful-death claim itself, only in the estate's claim.
Legal detail: Kansas damages and wrongful death
Personal-injury noneconomic damages. Hilburn v. Enerpipe Ltd., 309 Kan. 1127, 442 P.3d 509 (2019), held "the cap on damages imposed by K.S.A. 60-19a02 is facially unconstitutional because it violates section 5 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights," the right to trial by jury, explaining that "the determination of noneconomic damages was a fundamental part of a jury trial at common law." The statute is still printed in the Kansas Statutes. Loss of enjoyment of life is part of pain and suffering, not a separate category. Leiker v. Gafford, 245 Kan. 325 (1989).
Wrongful death. Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-1901 to 60-1905. Any heir at law who sustained a loss may bring the action for all the heirs (§ 60-1902); damages include mental anguish, suffering or bereavement, loss of society, companionship, comfort, and marital, filial, or parental care, and reasonable funeral expenses (§ 60-1904); the judge apportions the net recovery by each heir's loss (§ 60-1905). Damages "other than pecuniary loss sustained by an heir at law, cannot exceed in the aggregate the sum of $250,000 and costs," and the jury is not told of the cap (§ 60-1903). Funeral expenses, and care expenses an heir paid where no probate estate was opened, are outside the cap (§ 60-1904(b)). The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the cap in Leiker v. Gafford, 245 Kan. 325 (1989), and a federal court applied it after Hilburn, predicting the Kansas Supreme Court would do the same. Yaple v. Jakel Trucking LLC, No. 2:21-cv-02045-JAR (D. Kan. July 27, 2023).
Survival. Claims for injury to the person survive death. § 60-1801.
Punitive damages. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-3702 (claims accruing on or after July 1, 1988). The trier of fact decides whether punitive damages are allowed; the plaintiff must prove "by clear and convincing evidence ... that the defendant acted toward the plaintiff with willful conduct, wanton conduct, fraud or malice"; the court sets the amount in a separate proceeding. An employer is not liable for an employee's conduct unless it authorized or ratified it. The award may not exceed the lesser of the defendant's highest annual gross income in any of the five years before the act (or up to 50% of its net worth if that is clearly inadequate) and $5 million, unless the court finds the misconduct's profitability exceeds that limit, in which case the limit is 1.5 times the profit. A punitive claim may be added only by a court order allowing an amended pleading, on a motion filed by the final pretrial conference. § 60-3703. Punitive damages "are not recoverable in a wrongful death action in Kansas," though they may be awarded on the estate's survival claim. Smith v. Printup, 254 Kan. 315 (1993).
What evidence do we need to prove a Kansas asbestos case?
You do not need to gather everything before calling. We build the evidence record — that is the work we do. The table below is what a complete Kansas case typically rests on; gaps are normal.
| Evidence | Why it helps | What if you do not have it? |
|---|---|---|
| Pathology report and medical records | Confirms mesothelioma and identifies the anatomical type and histology, which guide both medical and legal strategy. | We request records directly from the treating hospital and oncologist. You sign one authorization. |
| Employment history | Identifies the worksites where exposure happened and connects the worker to specific products and trades. | A spouse or adult child's general knowledge ("he worked at Goodyear for 30 years") is often enough to start. We reconstruct dates from Social Security records, union records, and our database. |
| Military service records | Establishes VA eligibility and identifies shipboard or shore-based exposure pathways. | The VA can produce DD-214 and service medical records on request. We help with this. |
| Coworker contacts | Coworker testimony is often the single most powerful piece of product-identification evidence in an asbestos case. | We have decades of coworker lists from Kansas refineries, power plants, and industrial sites. |
| Product names | Direct product identification supports specific manufacturer and trust claims. | Most workers and families never knew product names. We reconstruct product handling from job description, trade, era, and worksite — and from our exposure database. |
| Records of asbestos diagnosis or asbestosis in coworkers | Strengthens the worksite-level exposure record and supports broader claims. | We have these records for many Kansas sites already. |
Two phrases that frequently lead to strong Kansas cases: "Dad worked at the Goodyear plant in Topeka" and "He was a pipefitter at a refinery — I think Phillips, maybe Skelly." That is enough to start.
How does Kansas divide responsibility when many asbestos companies were involved?
Mesothelioma is almost always caused by exposures from many different companies over many years. Kansas law handles this in a specific way that you should understand at the outset.
Kansas follows a modified comparative fault rule. The jury assigns a percentage of fault to each company and to the worker. The worker can recover only if their own fault is less than the fault of the companies the claim is made against, and the award is reduced by the worker's share. In a death case, the worker's own fault is counted against the family.
Each company pays only its own share. The jury can be asked to assign fault to other companies that contributed, including bankrupt companies and companies that are not in the case, and those shares are not paid by the companies that are. Kansas decides everyone's fault in one case, so companies left out generally cannot be sued later. Trust claims are a separate source of recovery, and Kansas requires them to be disclosed in the lawsuit.
Legal detail: comparative fault and several liability
Comparative fault. A party recovers if its negligence "was less than the causal negligence of the party or parties against whom a claim is made," with damages reduced in proportion; in a wrongful-death claim the decedent's negligence is imputed to the claimant. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a(a). Others whose negligence contributed must be joined on motion. § 60-258a(c).
Several liability. Each party is liable only for its proportion of the total damages. § 60-258a(d). "Contribution among joint judgment debtors is no longer necessary." Kennedy v. City of Sawyer, 228 Kan. 439 (1980).
One action. "Under the doctrine of comparative fault all parties to an occurrence must have their fault determined in one action, even though some parties cannot be formally joined or held legally responsible." Mick v. Mani, 244 Kan. 81 (1988).
How trust claims, lawsuits, and benefits can work together
Many Kansas families recover from more than one source. Some must be coordinated, because a few programs carry offsets or repayment rules, and the order of filings is decided case by case.
| Path | What it pays for | How it interacts |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos bankruptcy trust claims | Scheduled amounts for the bankrupt manufacturers | In a Kansas lawsuit, all available trust claims must be filed and disclosed at least 30 days before fact discovery closes; if a trust claim is filed after judgment with a trust that already existed, the court can reduce the judgment |
| Kansas lawsuit against solvent companies | Economic and non-economic damages; punitive damages in some cases | Filed in Kansas district court or federal court; resolved by settlement or verdict |
| VA disability compensation | Monthly benefits and health care for veterans with in-service exposure | Not reduced by a lawsuit or trust recovery; VA and FECA benefits for the same disease generally require an election |
| FECA | Benefits for federal employees | Repaid from a recovery against a third party |
| Workers' compensation | Benefits from the worker's own employer, where still available | The employer has a lien on a third-party recovery; comp can reduce Social Security disability |
| Social Security disability | Monthly benefits for claimants under full retirement age | Can be reduced by workers' comp |
Railroad workers sue the railroad under the federal FELA rather than through workers' comp. In a 2026 Kansas mesothelioma case, the Kansas Court of Appeals held a railroad entitled to a dollar-for-dollar setoff against the estate's FELA damages for the family's asbestos trust payments and VA disability benefits. Kemper v. BNSF Ry. Co., No. 126,956 (Kan. Ct. App. Jan. 23, 2026).
Kansas military and federal-facility exposure
Kansas's federal sites matter mainly for benefits. Federal installations are not sued as premises owners; a federal civilian employee's remedy against the United States is FECA, and a household member's own claim against the United States goes through the Federal Tort Claims Act.
- Fort Leavenworth — founded 1827, the oldest active U.S. Army post west of the Mississippi River. Home of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks.
- Fort Riley — home of the 1st Infantry Division.
- McConnell Air Force Base at Wichita — home of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing.
- Forbes Field at Topeka — a former Air Force base, now home of the Kansas Air National Guard's 190th Air Refueling Wing.
- VA Medical Centers across Kansas, including the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center at Wichita.
- Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant at De Soto — an Army plant run by Hercules Powder; its workers were Hercules employees, covered by Kansas workers' comp rather than FECA.
Federal program coverage. VA disability for veterans with in-service asbestos exposure: the VA has no automatic presumption for asbestos diseases, and a claim needs a described in-service exposure, a diagnosis, and a doctor's opinion linking the disease to service. FECA for federal civilian employees, with repayment from any third-party recovery. Social Security disability for claimants under full retirement age.
What happens after you call?
A free case review is a conversation, not a commitment to file a lawsuit.
- The first call. A short conversation about the diagnosis, the work history, and the family situation. No pressure, no commitment. If the case is not a fit, we will tell you directly and where possible point you somewhere that is.
- Records gathering. With your authorization we request medical, employment, military, and Social Security records. You do not chase these down yourself.
- Exposure reconstruction. We use our Kansas exposure database, coworker lists, and historical worksite records to identify every product and every defendant the evidence supports.
- We send a simple retainer if you want to move forward. No fee unless we recover. Contingent fee.
- Trust claim preparation. Kansas requires every available trust claim to be filed, with a sworn statement and the trust papers, at least 30 days before the court's fact-discovery deadline; the order of filings is decided with you and our trial team.
- Lawsuit filing. Where solvent defendants exist, we file in Kansas district court or federal court with the sworn exposure form Kansas requires. Mesothelioma cases do not need the medical report Kansas requires for other asbestos diseases.
- Federal benefits. We coordinate VA, FECA, workers' comp, and Social Security claims, including the offsets and repayment rules some of them carry.
- Resolution. Most asbestos cases settle. Where they do not, we try them.
In Kansas, the side that wins usually recovers its court costs, and a family that turns down a defendant's offer to allow judgment and then does no better at trial pays the costs incurred after the offer. We discuss every settlement offer with the family before anyone responds to it.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS — free, confidential, no commitment to file.
How Kansas's laws may work in practice
Worker recognition. Daniel is a 71-year-old retired pipefitter from El Dorado. From 1973 through 2005 (age 18 to 50) he worked for a mechanical contractor at the Skelly refinery in El Dorado (later Getty, Texaco, and Frontier), doing pipefitting and steam-system maintenance: pipe insulation on high-temperature process piping, refractory replacement in process heaters, and gasket and packing work on pumps and valves. In late 2025 Daniel developed abdominal pain, bloating, and unexplained weight loss. Imaging showed peritoneal thickening with fluid, and in February 2026 a laparoscopic biopsy confirmed peritoneal mesothelioma of the sarcomatoid subtype.
What this may mean for Daniel's family. Daniel's family may recover through more than one path. The Skelly refinery is documented by at least 9 asbestos trusts, including Johns-Manville, so his trust claims are prepared alongside the lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in the District Court of Butler County with the sworn exposure form Kansas requires, names the solvent companies that made or sold the pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and refractory he handled. Kansas's latent-disease rule keeps those claims timely even though his exposure ended in 2005. It names no claim against the refinery's owner or Daniel's employer: Kansas's ten-year limit on those claims ran out in 2015, ten years after his last exposure. Daniel's pain and suffering is not capped, and punitive damages may be added with the court's permission. Daniel's wife and children lived with the asbestos dust on his clothes for decades. As part of our representation, we offer free asbestos health screening to family members of every client who may have been exposed at home. The screening is a chest X-ray read by a B-reader, with a CT scan if needed; it looks for asbestos-related changes in the lungs and isn't a diagnosis or a reliable way to find mesothelioma early. If a family member is later diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, they may have their own claims against the companies that made the products and against the trusts. If Daniel passes away during the case, his estate's claim continues on his own deadline, and his wife and children have their own wrongful-death claim.
Legal analysis of this hypothetical
Deadline. Two years, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(4); for the product claims, accrual when the disease and its cause were known or should have been (§ 60-3303(d)). Filing deadline February 2028 at the latest, counted from the February 2026 biopsy; the case is filed well before it.
Claims. Product liability claims (defective design and failure to warn) against the manufacturers and sellers of the insulation, gaskets, packing, and refractory, under the Kansas Product Liability Act (§ 60-3301 et seq.). The ten-year limit of § 60-513(b) does not apply to them (§ 60-3303(d)), and the useful-safe-life presumption does not apply to harm from prolonged exposure (§ 60-3303(b)(2)(D)). Causation under § 60-4907: each defendant's product must have been a substantial factor, judged by the manner, proximity, frequency, and length of exposure.
No premises or employer claim. Daniel's last exposure was in 2005, so claims against the refinery owners and his employer were barred in 2015 (§ 60-513(b); Tomlinson v. Celotex Corp., 244 Kan. 474 (1989)). They would also face § 60-4905 and the workers' comp rules (§§ 44-501b(d), 44-503).
Filing requirements. Sworn information form with the petition (§ 60-4903(d)); no medical prima facie showing for mesothelioma (§ 60-4902(d)); all available trust claims filed, with a sworn statement and the trust claim materials, at least 30 days before the close of fact discovery (§ 60-4914).
Allocation and trust coordination. Each defendant pays its own share (§ 60-258a(d)); the fault of bankrupt and absent companies can be placed on the verdict form (Mick v. Mani, 244 Kan. 81 (1988)). Skelly refinery trusts: A.P. Green, Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, Fibreboard, GAF, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois, Raytech, and Johns-Manville. If a trust claim is filed after judgment with a trust that existed at judgment, the court can reopen the judgment and reduce it by the trust's payments, on a defendant's motion within one year (§ 60-4917).
Damages. No cap on noneconomic damages (Hilburn). Punitive damages under § 60-3702, added by leave of court under § 60-3703; the judge sets the amount within the cap.
Post-death framework. The estate's survival claim (§ 60-1801) keeps Daniel's own deadline and can carry punitive damages (Smith v. Printup, 254 Kan. 315 (1993)). His wife and children's wrongful-death claim (§§ 60-1901 to 60-1905) is due within two years of death, provided Daniel's own claim was still timely when he died (Mason v. Gerin Corp., 231 Kan. 718 (1982)); their nonfinancial damages are capped at $250,000 in total (§ 60-1903).
Federal programs. No Social Security disability (past full retirement age). VA only with described in-service exposure.
This example is general. Every case depends on the diagnosis, exposure history, dates, defendants, applicable law, and available evidence.
Why families choose our firm
Our firm has recovered over $400 million for asbestos clients nationally. Our Kansas work is supported by a database of 200,000+ verified asbestos exposure sites nationally, including the more than 1,000 Kansas entries on 27 asbestos trusts' lists.
For Kansas families, that means:
- No investigation lag. We often know on day one which trusts list your worksite: Procter & Gamble in Kansas City, Goodyear in Topeka, the Derby, Skelly, NCRA, and Coffeyville refineries, the Kansas River valley power stations, Boeing and Beech in Wichita, and hundreds more.
- Kansas's asbestos filing rules. We prepare the sworn exposure form and the trust disclosures Kansas requires.
- Filing during life. Filing while the worker is living lets them take part in the case and tell their own story. Call as soon as possible after diagnosis.
- Benefits coordination. VA, FECA, workers' comp, and Social Security disability coordinated case by case with the civil case and trust claims, including the offsets and repayment rules some of them carry.
- Remote case handling. We work with Kansas families by phone, video, and email. You do not need to travel.
- No fee unless we recover. Contingent fee.
Court decisions: 14 asbestos cases from Kansas courts
Frequently asked questions
What is the statute of limitations for mesothelioma in Kansas?
Usually two years. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. For claims against the companies that made and sold asbestos products, Kansas starts the clock when the disease and its cause were known or should have been. An earlier asbestosis or pleural-scarring claim does not bar a later mesothelioma claim in Kansas, but the clock can start once the disease and its cause should have been known, so call us right away.
What is the deadline if my loved one already died of mesothelioma?
The family's wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years of the death, but only if the worker's own two-year deadline had not already run out before the death. The estate's claim for the worker's own losses keeps the worker's own deadline. Call as soon as possible, especially if the diagnosis was more than a year ago.
Can my family still call if my loved one already died?
Yes. Many of our first calls come from a surviving spouse or adult child after a death. Depending on the deadlines, we can pursue the family's wrongful-death claim, the estate's survival claim, and asbestos bankruptcy trust claims.
Do I need to know the asbestos product names?
No. Most workers and families never knew the product names. We reconstruct product handling from job description, trade, era, worksite, coworker information, and our exposure database.
Do I need old employment records before calling?
No. A spouse or adult child's general knowledge — "he worked at Goodyear" or "he was a pipefitter at the refinery" — is enough to start. We obtain Social Security and union records with your authorization.
Can an adult child call for a parent?
Yes. Most first calls come from adult children. You do not need a power of attorney to ask questions and get information.
Will we have to file a lawsuit?
Not always. Some Kansas families recover through asbestos trust claims and benefits alone. Many cases involve both trust claims and a lawsuit against companies still in business, but the choice of paths is yours.
Are trust claims separate from lawsuits?
Yes. Asbestos bankruptcy trust claims are filed directly with the trusts and do not require a lawsuit or a trial. If a Kansas lawsuit is filed, Kansas requires the trust claims to be filed and disclosed in it at least 30 days before the court's fact-discovery deadline.
Can I file a Kansas claim if I no longer live in Kansas?
Often yes, if the exposure happened in Kansas. Whether a Kansas court can hear the claim against each out-of-state company, and which state's law applies, is checked defendant by defendant.
What if the exposure happened at work?
Most Kansas asbestos cases are exposure-at-work cases. Your own employer is usually not a lawsuit defendant, because Kansas workers' comp covers claims against the employer, but the companies that made and sold the asbestos products are reachable through product claims. Claims against the owners of the worksites must be filed within ten years of the last exposure.
What if the exposure happened through a spouse's work clothes?
A family member who developed an asbestos disease from dust brought home on a worker's clothes may have their own claims against the companies that made the products and against the trusts. Kansas law bars such a claim against the owner of the worksite, because a site owner is liable only for exposure at or near its property, and we are not aware of a Kansas appellate decision recognizing an employer's duty to a worker's household. Every client's family is offered free asbestos health screening.
Are punitive damages available in Kansas asbestos cases?
Sometimes. The jury must find, by clear and convincing evidence, willful or wanton conduct, fraud, or malice, and the judge then sets the amount. The award is generally capped at the lesser of the company's highest annual gross income in the five years before the conduct (or up to half its net worth, if that is clearly inadequate) and $5 million, unless the misconduct's profit was larger, in which case the cap is 1.5 times the profit. A punitive claim can be added only with the court's permission.
Are pain-and-suffering damages capped in a Kansas wrongful-death case?
Yes. The family's wrongful-death damages for grief, companionship, and other nonfinancial losses are capped at $250,000 in total. Financial losses and funeral expenses are not capped, and the worker's own pain and suffering before death is recovered through the estate's claim, which is not capped.
Where will my Kansas case be filed?
Usually in the Kansas district court for a county where a defendant lives or does business, or where the claim arose, or in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas where the parties are from different states.
Talk with a Kansas mesothelioma lawyer
Whether your family is dealing with a new diagnosis, a very sick loved one, or a death from mesothelioma, we are ready to help. Kansas's deadlines are strict, especially after a death, so call as soon as you can.
You do not need to know the product names. You do not need to have all the records. You do not need to travel to our office. A spouse or adult child can call for the family.
Related resources
Sources and references
Statutes
- Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a), (b) — two-year limitations periods for injury and wrongful death; accrual; ten-year outer limit.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-515(a) — minors and incapacitated persons.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-1801, 60-1901 to 60-1905 — survival; wrongful death; $250,000 cap on nonpecuniary wrongful-death damages (§ 60-1903).
- Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-19a02 — personal-injury noneconomic damages cap, held unconstitutional in Hilburn.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-258a — comparative fault; several liability.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-3301 to 60-3307 — Kansas Product Liability Act, including the useful-safe-life rule and the latent-disease exception (§ 60-3303).
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-3702, 60-3703 — punitive damages standard, procedure, and cap; leave to plead.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-4901 to 60-4911 — silica and asbestos claims act (sworn information form, medical criteria, premises-owner limits, causation).
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-4912 to 60-4918 — asbestos trust claims transparency act.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 50-1301 to 50-1307 — successor corporation asbestos-related liability limits.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 44-501b(d), 44-503, 44-504, 44-5a01, 44-5a17 — workers' compensation exclusivity, statutory employers, third-party claims and lien, occupational disease.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-2002 — court costs; offers of judgment.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-456(b) — expert testimony.
- Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-603 to 60-605 — venue (residents, corporations, nonresidents).
Constitutional provisions
- Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights § 5 — right to trial by jury (basis of Hilburn).
Federal statutes
- 5 U.S.C. §§ 8116(c), 8132 — FECA exclusivity against the United States; repayment from third-party recoveries.
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2675 — Federal Tort Claims Act; administrative claim first.
- 45 U.S.C. § 51 — FELA (railroad workers).
Cases
- Hilburn v. Enerpipe Ltd., 309 Kan. 1127, 442 P.3d 509 (2019) — personal-injury noneconomic damages cap unconstitutional.
- Leiker v. Gafford, 245 Kan. 325 (1989) — wrongful-death cap upheld; loss of enjoyment of life not a separate category of damages.
- Yaple v. Jakel Trucking LLC, No. 2:21-cv-02045-JAR (D. Kan. July 27, 2023) — wrongful-death cap applied after Hilburn.
- Tomlinson v. Celotex Corp., 244 Kan. 474 (1989) — ten-year limit runs from the last asbestos exposure.
- Harding v. K.C. Wall Products, Inc., 250 Kan. 655 (1992) — latent-disease exception and revival upheld.
- Mason v. Gerin Corp., 231 Kan. 718 (1982) — no wrongful-death action where the decedent's own claim was time-barred at death.
- Smith v. Printup, 254 Kan. 315 (1993) — no punitive damages in a wrongful-death action.
- Jones v. Hansen, 254 Kan. 499 (1994) — reasonable care owed to licensees and invitees.
- Simmons v. Porter, 298 Kan. 299 (2013) — assumption of risk folded into comparative fault.
- Kennedy v. City of Sawyer, 228 Kan. 439 (1980) — several liability; contribution no longer necessary.
- Mick v. Mani, 244 Kan. 81 (1988) — all parties' fault determined in one action.
- Kemper v. BNSF Ry. Co., No. 126,956 (Kan. Ct. App. Jan. 23, 2026) — FELA damages set off by asbestos trust and VA payments.
Last reviewed: October 2026. The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. — PLLC | Round Rock, TX · Mesa, AZ · Redmond, WA. We partner with firms in every relevant jurisdiction so claims can be handled in the appropriate court or claims system.
This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.