Bill would alter civil claims trials

The Senate advanced a bill Tuesday that would make Kansas the first state in the nation to stop attorneys from recommending an amount for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in civil lawsuits. 

By

State News

February 18, 2026 - 2:35 PM

Sen. Kellie Warren Photo by (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — The Senate advanced a bill Tuesday that would make Kansas the first state in the nation to stop attorneys from recommending an amount for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in civil lawsuits. 

Senate Bill 413 limits a process called “anchoring,” which refers to proposing an amount for damages early in a trial that then sticks with jurors, causing them to sometimes give “exorbitant” amounts in civil cases, said Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican who is an attorney.

“We had heard that sometimes this starts as early as when…

Related
March 4, 2021
March 6, 2020
June 17, 2019
February 15, 2019