Economic damages: the documented, countable losses
Economic damages are the straightforward, receipt-backed part of a claim. In a Kansas personal injury case, this generally includes medical expenses already incurred, lost wages from time away from work, property damage, and reasonably anticipated future medical care or lost earning capacity tied directly to the injury.
Non-economic damages: the subjective losses
Non-economic damages cover the losses that don't come with a receipt: pain and suffering, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. These are inherently harder to quantify, which is exactly why the multiplier method exists — to translate a documented economic figure into a reasoned estimate of the non-economic side.
Why this split matters much less than it used to, for a living plaintiff
Before 2019, Kansas capped the non-economic category specifically, so this split determined exactly what was limited. Since Hilburn v. Enerpipe struck down that cap, both categories are currently uncapped in an ordinary Kansas personal injury case — so while the split still matters for calculating the multiplier (which applies specifically to your economic total), it no longer determines a hard ceiling.
Why this split still decides everything in a wrongful death case
Kansas Code § 60-1903 uses slightly different terminology for a wrongful death action: it caps "non-pecuniary" damages — the wrongful death equivalent of non-economic damages — at $250,000, while "pecuniary" (economic) damages for the heirs remain entirely uncapped. In a wrongful death claim, correctly classifying a loss as pecuniary rather than non-pecuniary can be the difference between full recovery and a capped one.
Fault treats both categories the same way
Kansas's 50% fault bar doesn't distinguish between economic and non-economic (or pecuniary and non-pecuniary) damages. If your fault bars the claim, it bars recovery of both categories together.