Personal Injury

It depends on the type of claim, and the differences are large enough to decide whether a matter is still viable.

Five years is the general period for personal injury. RSMo § 516.120 covers “any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract” — the category most negligence claims fall into.

Three years for wrongful death, under RSMo § 537.100, running from when the cause of action accrues. That section also carries a service requirement: where a petition is filed after the limitation period has expired, service must occur within 180 days or the action is dismissed.

Two years for claims against health care providers, under RSMo § 516.105, measured from the date of occurrence rather than discovery. There are narrow exceptions — a foreign object left in the body, or a negligent failure to inform a patient of test results, both of which run from discovery — and a minor generally has until their twentieth birthday. An absolute outer limit of ten years applies regardless.

Claims against public entities can carry much shorter notice requirements than any of these. If a city, county or state body may be involved, treat the matter as urgent.

In Missouri, generally yes. Missouri applies pure comparative fault, which means your own share of responsibility reduces what you recover proportionally rather than barring the claim outright.

The principle is codified for products liability at RSMo § 537.765, which provides that “any fault chargeable to the plaintiff shall diminish proportionately the amount awarded as compensatory damages but shall not bar recovery.”

In practice: if a jury values your damages at $100,000 and assigns you 30% of the fault, you recover $70,000. That is a meaningful difference from states where being more than half at fault ends the claim entirely.

It also means the insurer has an incentive to argue your share upward, which is why an early recorded statement accepting some blame — however polite or instinctive — can be expensive.

You are generally not obliged to give a recorded statement to the other party’s insurer, and there is rarely an advantage in doing so before you understand your own injuries.

The questions are not neutral. “How are you feeling today?” invites an optimistic answer that becomes evidence you recovered quickly. “Did you see them before the impact?” builds a comparative fault argument. Neither is dishonest of the adjuster — it is their job — but it is not a conversation you should have unprepared.

Your own insurer is different. Your policy will usually contain a cooperation clause requiring you to report the incident and assist, and failing to do so can put your own coverage at risk. Report the accident to your carrier; be careful with the other side’s.

Do not sign anything — particularly a medical authorisation or a release — before someone has read it. A broad authorisation opens your entire medical history, not just the treatment related to this injury.

Any lawyer who answers that at the first meeting with a specific number is guessing. What a claim is worth rests on documented components rather than impression.

Economic damages are the measurable ones: medical bills incurred, treatment still required, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity where an injury is lasting. These are proved with records and are the foundation of any valuation.

Non-economic damages cover pain, suffering, and the loss of things you can no longer do. These are genuinely harder to quantify, and they vary with the severity of the injury, the length of treatment, and how well the effect on your life is documented.

Two practical limits matter more than either. Comparative fault reduces recovery by your share. And available coverage often sets the real ceiling: a catastrophic injury caused by a driver carrying minimum limits may be worth far more than can actually be collected.

We give you a range once the medical picture is clear, and explain what would move it in each direction.

This is more common than people expect, and it is where your own policy often matters most.

Missouri’s minimum required liability coverage is modest. Under RSMo § 303.190, a policy must provide at least $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage. A single serious injury can exhaust $25,000 before treatment finishes.

That is what uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is for — it sits on your own policy and responds when the at-fault driver has no coverage or not enough. Many people carry it without realising, and claiming under it is not the same as making a claim against yourself.

Other sources sometimes exist: a second vehicle on your household policy, a resident relative’s policy, an employer’s coverage if the at-fault driver was working, or a commercial policy behind a business vehicle. Identifying every applicable policy early is one of the most valuable things done in an injury case.

Personal injury matters are typically handled on a contingency fee basis: there is no fee up front, and the fee comes from the recovery rather than from you. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.

Case expenses — filing fees, records, deposition transcripts, expert witnesses — are separate from the fee, and how they are handled is set out in the engagement agreement rather than assumed.

Every term is confirmed in a written agreement before any work begins, and we walk through it with you. The consultation itself is free and carries no obligation.

Probably not. The large majority of injury claims resolve by settlement, many without a suit ever being filed.

That said, cases settle on the terms the preparation supports. An insurer evaluating a well-documented claim handled by someone visibly prepared to try it values the file very differently from one that appears to be looking for a quick resolution.

If your matter does need to be tried, we tell you in advance what that involves — the preparation asked of you, the time, and the realistic range of outcomes.

The single largest factor is your medical treatment. Presenting a demand before you have reached maximum medical improvement means valuing an injury before anyone knows its full extent — which is exactly the mistake early settlement offers invite.

A straightforward claim where treatment concludes within a few months may resolve in six months to a year. A claim requiring surgery, or where liability is genuinely disputed, takes longer. If suit is filed, add the litigation timeline — often a further year or more.

We would rather take the time to document the claim properly than settle it quickly and cheaply, and we tell you at the outset which parts of the timeline we control.

Generally yes — the at-fault party’s insurer does not pay your providers as you go. It pays once, at resolution.

Several sources may cover treatment in the meantime. Medical payments coverage on your own auto policy pays a set amount regardless of fault. Health insurance usually covers treatment in the ordinary way. Some providers will treat on a lien, agreeing to be paid from the eventual recovery.

Be aware that health insurers and government programmes frequently assert a right of reimbursement out of any settlement. Those interests have to be identified and resolved before funds are distributed — a step that is straightforward when handled early and disruptive when discovered late.

Get medical attention promptly, even if you feel able to wait. Adrenaline masks injury, some conditions present days later, and a delay between the incident and the first treatment is the argument insurers make most often.

Document the scene if you are able: photographs of the vehicles, the location, visible injuries and any conditions that contributed. Get the names and contact details of witnesses, who become very difficult to find later.

Report it — to the police where appropriate, and to your own insurer as your policy requires.

Keep everything: bills, receipts, out-of-pocket costs, correspondence, and a simple diary of symptoms and missed work. That diary is often the best evidence of how an injury actually affected daily life.

And do not post about the accident or your recovery on social media. Photographs intended to reassure family are routinely used to argue that an injury was not serious.

Missouri’s wrongful death statute defines a specific class of people entitled to sue, structured in tiers — beginning with the spouse, children and their descendants, and the parents of the deceased. The right does not simply belong to whoever was closest to the person.

The claim must be brought within three years of accrual under RSMo § 537.100, which is shorter than the general personal injury period and catches families out during a time when litigation is the last thing on their minds.

Recoverable losses include funeral expenses, the value of lost support and services, and the family’s loss of the deceased’s companionship and guidance. Where the underlying conduct was sufficiently egregious, punitive damages may be available — subject to the demanding standard in RSMo § 510.261.

Because a wrongful death claim belongs to the statutory class rather than to the estate, coordinating it with the probate estate matters — something our estate settlement practice deals with regularly.

Usually the answer runs through workers’ compensation rather than a negligence claim. Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against an employer, and it pays regardless of fault — but it does not compensate pain and suffering.

The important exception is a third party. If someone other than your employer caused the injury — another driver, a contractor on site, a defective machine’s manufacturer — a separate claim may exist alongside the compensation claim.

Where both proceed, the workers’ compensation carrier will usually assert a right to be repaid out of any third-party recovery, and coordinating the two determines how much you actually keep.

We do not handle workers’ compensation claims themselves and refer those to attorneys who do. Where a third-party claim exists, that is work we can take on.