Missouri car accident settlement calculator

Missouri filing deadlines

Wrongful death: 'Every action instituted under section 537.080 shall be commenced within three years after the cause of action shall accrue' (537.100).

If you were partly at fault

Missouri follows pure comparative negligence. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you can recover something even if you were mostly to blame.

• With $100,000 in damages and 30% of the fault, you would recover $70,000.
• With 55% of the fault, you would recover $45,000.

Missouri follows pure comparative fault by Missouri Supreme Court decision (Gustafson v. Benda, 1983), not a general statute; plaintiff's recovery is reduced by own percentage at any level. RSMo 273.036 (dog bites) also applies proportional reduction for the victim's fault.

Source: Gustafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11 (Mo. banc 1983) (judicial adoption of pure comparative fault); RSMo 537.765 applies pure comparative fault to products liability. Compare all states in the comparative negligence table.

At-fault (tort) state

In Missouri the driver who caused the crash is responsible for the damage, so you claim against their liability insurance or sue them. Your own medical payments or health coverage can pay bills while the claim is pending.

Missouri is a tort state with compulsory liability insurance and no PIP requirement.

Minimum car insurance in Missouri

$25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries, $25,000 for property damage. Uninsured motorist coverage is required.

Many drivers carry only the minimum, so the bodily injury limit is often the most the at-fault driver's insurer will pay one person. RSMo 379.203.1: no auto liability policy issued 'unless coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto... in not less than the limits for bodily injury or death set forth in section 303.030' for uninsured motorists (UM bodily injury mandatory at 25/50).

Damage caps

Missouri does not cap pain and suffering in ordinary car accident cases. Punitive damages: Statutory cap: greater of $500,000 or 5 times the net judgment (exceptions: state as plaintiff, felony conviction, certain discrimination cases). Missouri Supreme Court (Lewellen v. Franklin, 2014) held the cap unconstitutional as applied to common-law claims that existed in 1820, which limits its reach.

No cap on noneconomic damages in ordinary personal injury cases (medical malpractice cap under RSMo 538.210 only).

Dog bite law

Strict liability statute. Strict liability for unprovoked bites where the victim is in public or lawfully on private property (including the owner's). Owners are also strictly liable for damage to property or livestock. Damages reduced by the injured party's percentage of fault. Owner also faces a $1,000 fine.

Source: RSMo 273.036.1. Estimate a claim with the dog bite calculator.