Missouri Car Accident Laws

Missouri combines two genuinely claimant-friendly features: a five-year deadline (among the longest in the country) and a fault rule with no cutoff. A 2025 legislative attempt to shorten the deadline didn't pass, so it remains five years for 2026.

A bill to shorten Missouri's five-year deadline passed the House in 2025 but died in the Senate — worth knowing if you've seen conflicting information.

Statute of limitations: 5 years

Under Mo. Rev. Stat. §516.120, you generally have five years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury or property damage lawsuit — notably longer than the two-year deadline common in most states. Wrongful death claims have a shorter, three-year deadline.

Fault rule: pure comparative negligence — no bar

Under Missouri's pure comparative negligence rule (established in Gustafson v. Benda, 1983), your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but there is no cutoff. Even if you're found 90% at fault, you can still recover the remaining 10%.

Insurance: at-fault system, 25/50/25 minimum

Missouri is an at-fault state — there is no PIP mandate. Minimum liability limits are 25/50/25: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage. Uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000/$50,000 is mandatory.

How this plays out in a real claim

Take a rear-end collision where the trailing driver was following too closely, but the lead driver's brake lights weren't working. An insurer might assign 70% fault to the trailing driver and 30% to the lead driver. Because Missouri follows pure comparative negligence, the lead driver's compensation is reduced by their 30% share — not eliminated by it, and not eliminated even if their share were 90%. This is also why insurers in Missouri tend to focus heavily on negotiating your fault percentage upward, rather than trying to push you past a bar that doesn't exist here.

A mistake worth avoiding in Missouri

Because Missouri's rule has no bar at all, some people assume a high fault percentage means there's no point pursuing a claim. That's rarely true here — even a driver found 80% or 90% at fault can still recover their remaining share, so it's worth having the claim properly valued rather than assuming a disputed-fault situation isn't worth pursuing.

If a government vehicle or agency was involved

Missouri specifically waives sovereign immunity for injuries caused by a public employee's negligent operation of a motor vehicle (Mo. Rev. Stat. §537.600), so most government-vehicle crash claims face less procedural friction here than in many states. Damages are capped at $300,000 per person and $2,000,000 per occurrence (§537.610), and a claim against the state itself goes to the Commissioner of Administration within two years.

If the crash resulted in a death

Missouri gives three years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim (Mo. Rev. Stat. §537.100), following a strict priority order — spouse and children first, then parents, then siblings, with the court able to appoint someone to sue if no qualifying relative comes forward. Missouri places no cap on damages in an ordinary wrongful death case; caps apply only in medical malpractice wrongful death claims.

Beyond the deadline and the fault rule

The statute of limitations and the fault rule above decide whether you have a claim and how much of it survives — they don't decide what the claim is actually worth, or whether it's worth handling yourself. For that, see our guides on what affects a settlement, who pays your medical bills while a claim is pending, and whether Missouri law makes a lawyer worth it for your specific situation.

When it's worth talking to someone

With no fault cutoff, disputes in Missouri tend to focus on the exact fault percentage. A free, no-obligation conversation can help if fault is contested.