Missouri injury rights, deadlines, and help

You are dealing with a lot right now. This page can help. If you were hurt in Missouri, you probably want to know one thing first: how long do I have to act?

Are you in an emergency right now?

• Check yourself and others for injuries, breathing, and bleeding.
• Call 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is not safe.
• Get somewhere safe if you can do it safely.
• Get medical care even if you feel fine. Some injuries hide for days.
• This page is for after you are safe.

This page covers Missouri injury deadlines and what to do right now. We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

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)

Warning: don't wait! Missouri's long 5-year clock is a trap in disguise. It hides the 30-day written work notice and the 90-day big-city sidewalk notice, so people relax, and waiting kills cases. The longer you wait, the fuzzier memories get and documents get lost. Collect and save what you can, then talk to an advocate immediately. And important: medical claims can have different, often shorter deadlines. Do not assume the standard rule covers a hospital or doctor case.

Protect your case

1. Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.
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 and anything involved (a vehicle, a broken sidewalk, a machine).
5. Get names and contact information for witnesses.
6. 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.

Talk to an advocate. You do not have to sort out these deadlines alone.

Never do these

• Never sign anything from an insurance company before you understand your full costs, and never do it without talking to an advocate first.
• Never give a recorded statement to an insurance company, even your own. Talk to an advocate first.
• Never report a work injury by conversation alone. Missouri's notice statute requires it in writing.
• Never post about the incident or your recovery on social media. Insurers use these posts against you.

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. Get early photos, witnesses, and the crash report to 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.

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
• Understand why a written work-injury notice, sent today, matters
• Know what records, photos, and timeline details to keep
• Connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves
• A nearby hospital, lab, or doctor can document your condition for your claim
• Explain how to check a lawyer's discipline record 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 a lawyer who handles cases like yours.

Talk to an advocate. A settlement should reflect what your recovery is really worth. Let us help you connect with a lawyer who handles cases like yours. Start the form or open the chat.

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)

Last reviewed: 2026-08-17

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.