Missouri injury rights, deadlines, and help

If you were hurt in Missouri, you probably want to know one thing first: how long do I have to act? This page gives you Missouri's main injury deadlines, what to do right now, and where free help is.

We are the injured person's advocate. Our help is always free to you.

The deadline box: Missouri's key time limits

• Personal injury lawsuit: 5 years. Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120(4), most injury lawsuits must be filed within 5 years, one of the longest windows in the country. This is the statute of limitations (the legal deadline to file a lawsuit). (Source)
• Work injury, report to your employer: 30 days, in writing. Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.420, you must give written notice within 30 days of the accident, or within 30 days of diagnosis for an occupational disease or repetitive-motion injury. Late notice can be excused if the employer was not harmed by the delay, but do not count on it. (Source)
• Work injury, file the claim: 2 years. Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.430, a workers compensation claim (the state system that pays for work injuries) must be filed within 2 years after the injury, death, or last benefit payment. If the employer never filed its required injury report, the window extends to 3 years. (Source)
• Injury involving the government: special rules, sometimes 90 days. Missouri has no general pre-suit notice statute, and government bodies are protected by sovereign immunity except mainly for motor-vehicle negligence and dangerous property conditions (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.600). But street and sidewalk defect claims against cities of 100,000 or more, such as Kansas City and St. Louis, require written notice to the mayor within 90 days. (Source, source)

Two warnings. First, the long 5-year clock hides two short ones: the 30-day written work notice and the 90-day big-city sidewalk notice. Those are the traps that catch people. Some city charters add their own notice rules, so check early whenever a public entity is involved. Second, medical claims can have different, often shorter deadlines. Do not assume the 5-year rule covers a hospital or doctor case.

What to do first

1. Get medical care now. Your health comes first, and the records also document your injury.
2. If it happened at work, give your employer written notice today. In Missouri the statute says written. A hallway conversation is not the safe path. Keep a copy.
3. Write down what happened while it is fresh: date, time, place, people, and conditions.
4. Take photos of the scene, your injuries, and anything involved (a vehicle, a broken sidewalk, a machine).
5. Get names and contact information for witnesses.
6. Do not sign anything from an insurance company before you understand your full costs.
7. Note who owns the place where you were hurt. If a Kansas City or St. Louis sidewalk is involved, the 90-day clock is already running.

Common situations in Missouri

Hurt at work. The written 30-day notice is the step people skip, especially when an injury seems minor. Report in writing anyway, the same day. Injuries that "seem fine" can get worse, and the written record protects you. Telling your supervisor is not the same as filing the claim, which has its own 2-year deadline with the state.

Hurt on the road. Missouri follows pure comparative negligence (a rule that reduces your recovery by your share of fault but never blocks it completely). Missouri courts adopted this rule in Gustafson v. Benda. (Source) You can recover even if you were mostly at fault, but every percentage point the insurer assigns to you costs real money. Early photos, witnesses, and the crash report keep your percentage honest.

Hurt on someone's property. Falls, dog bites, and unsafe conditions follow the same 5-year lawsuit clock. Dog bites are covered by a modern strict liability statute. Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 273.036, the owner is liable for an unprovoked bite when you are on public property or lawfully on private property, without any need to prove the dog bit before. Damages can be reduced by your share of fault, and the owner also faces a fine of up to $1,000. (Source) Older articles still call Missouri a "one bite" state. That changed years ago.

A true story: the lawyer who spent his client's settlement

In 2012, 18-year-old Branden Thornton was hit by a vehicle while walking along a road in Pennsylvania. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, spent three months in a coma, and needed around-the-clock care. His family hired a lawyer who settled the case for more than $1.1 million. Then, prosecutors say, that lawyer took his fee and drained more than $563,000 of Branden's remaining funds on home renovations, vacations, plastic surgery, tuition, and online shopping. He was disbarred in 2019 after Branden's mother complained, and charged with felony theft in 2020. (Source: ABA Journal)

The story is from Pennsylvania, but the lesson travels. Winning the settlement is only half the job. Check any lawyer's discipline record before hiring, and demand a written accounting of every settlement dollar. An advocate in your corner makes those checks routine instead of awkward.

What we can help with

We are on your side, and our help is free to injured people. We can help you:

• Understand which Missouri deadlines apply to your situation
• Put your written work-injury notice together correctly, today
• Organize your records, photos, and timeline
• Find the right next step: medical care, therapy, state benefits, or a licensed attorney when your case needs one
• Check a lawyer's discipline record and prepare questions before you hire anyone

We do not give legal advice, and we never take money from injured people. We explain your rights in plain language and connect you with licensed help when you need it.

Tell us what happened

If you or someone you love was hurt in Missouri, you do not have to sort this out alone. Tell us what happened. It is free, private, and there is no pressure.

Sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 (personal injury time limit)
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.420 (workers comp written notice)
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.430 (workers comp claim deadline)
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.600 (sovereign immunity waivers)
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 82.210 (big-city street defect notice)
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 273.036 (dog bite statute)
• Gustafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11 (Mo. banc 1983)
• ABA Journal: disbarred attorney took client settlement funds

Last reviewed: 2026-08-16

This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines can change or vary with the facts. A licensed attorney can confirm the rule for your situation.