What Personal Injury Damages Cannot Be Limited by Missouri Law

When you’re injured due to someone else’s negligence in Missouri, understanding your rights to compensation is crucial. Unlike many states that impose broad damage caps across all personal injury cases, Missouri offers strong protections for injury victims seeking full compensation. The state’s approach to damage limitations is surprisingly victim-friendly, with most types of compensation remaining uncapped.

Missouri’s Unique Protection for Economic Damages

Economic damages remain fully protected under Missouri law. These tangible losses include medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and rehabilitation costs. Missouri has never capped economic damages in personal injury cases, recognizing that victims shouldn’t bear the financial burden of someone else’s negligence.

Injuries cost the United States $4.2 trillion in 2019, with $327 billion spent on medical care and $69 billion lost in work productivity according to the CDC’s injury cost analysis. This staggering figure shows why protecting full economic recovery is vital for injury victims.

What Economic Damages Include:

• All medical expenses (emergency care, surgery, rehabilitation)
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
• Property damage and replacement costs
• Future medical care and treatment
• Necessary modifications to home or vehicle.

The only exception applies when suing government entities. Personal injury lawsuits against government entities in Missouri have an economic damage limit of $517,306 based on current data (2025) from the Missouri Department of Insurance.

Non-Economic Damages: Limited Caps in Specific Cases

For most personal injury cases, Missouri doesn’t limit non-economic damages like pain and suffering. In 2012, the Missouri Supreme Court declared non-economic damage caps unconstitutional for typical personal injury cases, safeguarding victims’ ability to receive complete compensation for intangible harm.

Nevertheless, certain restrictions apply in two specific situations:

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

In 2025, Missouri state law restricts medical malpractice noneconomic damages to $473,444 for non-catastrophic injuries and $828,529 for catastrophic injuries. The 2015 legislation established these caps, which increase annually by 1.7 percent according to the Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance.

Claims Against Government Entities

When pursuing claims against state or local government entities, Missouri imposes caps on non-economic damages. The noneconomic damage cap is $536,302 as of 2025 for claims against public entities.

Punitive Damages: Strategic Limitations

Punitive damages are additional but rare awards that are not meant to compensate for losses but to punish the wrongdoer. Missouri takes a balanced approach to punitive damages, allowing them when appropriate while preventing excessive awards. State statutes cap punitive damages at either $500,000 or five times the compensatory award, whichever is higher, under Missouri Revised Statutes section 510.265.1.

Notably, Missouri’s highest court determined that limiting punitive damages infringed on jury trial rights in most situations. However, the legal limit of $500,000 or five times compensatory damages remains in effect. This cap does not apply if the State of Missouri is the plaintiff or if the defendant is convicted of a felony related to the case.

Missouri’s Pro-Victim Legal Climate

Multiple elements make Missouri especially advantageous for those injured by others’ negligence:

Pure Comparative Fault System

Missouri belongs to a select group of states using pure comparative fault rules for personal injury cases. Under this system, you can obtain compensation regardless of your partial responsibility. Even if you’re 99% responsible, you can still collect 1% of your damages.

Extended Filing Deadline

Personal injury victims in Missouri have a favorable five-year deadline from the injury date to file lawsuits. Most states only allow two or three years, giving Missouri victims more time to understand their injuries and pursue claims.

Why Missouri Traffic Statistics Show the Need for Full Protection

Recent data from the Missouri Department of Transportation shows there were 992 traffic fatalities in 2023, down from 1,030 in 2022. 

The Missouri State Highway Patrol also tracks comprehensive crash data showing the ongoing need for strong victim protections. In 2021, there were 1,016 people killed in traffic accidents and 52,109 people injured, demonstrating the significant impact of motor vehicle crashes on Missouri families.

Nationally, the average cost of emergency room injuries per person is $5,800 in medical spending. On top of that, an injured person incurs an average of $1,690 in work loss over one year, according to the CDC. With these substantial losses, full damage recovery becomes essential.

Key Takeaways for Missouri Injury Victims

Missouri’s approach to damage limitations offers strong protections:

• Economic damages remain uncapped in most personal injury cases.
• Non-economic damages are fully recoverable except in medical malpractice and government entity cases.
• Punitive damages are available with reasonable limitations.
• Pure comparative negligence allows recovery even with partial fault.
• Five-year statute of limitations provides ample time for claims.

The Importance of Experienced Legal Representation

Understanding which damages can and cannot be limited requires skilled legal analysis. At Shea Kohl Law, we’ve been protecting Missouri injury victims’ rights since 1984. With over 100 years of combined legal experience, our team understands how to maximize recovery within Missouri’s legal framework.

Attorney Michael P. Shea and the legal team at Shea Kohl have earned the AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest recognition for professionalism and ethics in the legal field. This competence proves invaluable when navigating Missouri’s complex damage laws and fighting for full compensation.

Contact Top-Rated Missouri Personal Injury Attorneys

Don’t let insurance companies minimize your claim by suggesting artificial damage caps that don’t exist under Missouri law. The experienced personal injury attorneys at Shea Kohl Law have successfully recovered significant settlements and verdicts that mean maximum recoveries for our clients.

Our firm’s track record includes numerous successful personal injury cases where we’ve secured full compensation for economic damages, substantial non-economic damage awards, and punitive damages when appropriate. We understand how to build compelling cases that assert the full scope of your injuries and losses to insurance companies and juries.

Contact us at (636) 946-9999 today for a free consultation. Located in St. Charles, we serve clients throughout St. Charles, Lincoln, St. Louis, and Warren counties, as well as throughout Missouri and Illinois.

Time limits apply to personal injury claims, so contact us promptly to protect your rights to full compensation under Missouri law.