Missouri Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims

Under § 516.120 RSMo, you have five years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in Missouri. This applies to car accidents, truck accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and most other negligence-based personal injury claims.

Five years is among the longest personal injury statutes of limitations in the country. Most states give you two or three years. But this longer window does not mean you should wait. Evidence deteriorates over time — witnesses move away, surveillance footage gets deleted, memories fade, and medical records become harder to connect to the original incident. Personal injury attorneys recommend starting the process within weeks of the accident.

The clock starts on the date the injury occurs. If you do not file a lawsuit within five years, the defendant can ask the court to dismiss your case, and the court will grant that request. No exceptions for strong cases, sympathetic plaintiffs, or severe injuries.

When a personal injury results in death, surviving family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit under § 537.100 RSMo. The deadline is 3 years from the date of death — not the date of the initial injury.

The wrongful death claim is filed by the deceased person's spouse, children, or other eligible surviving family members as defined by Missouri law. If no eligible family member exists, the claim may be brought by a plaintiff ad litem appointed by the court.

If the defendant leaves the state of Missouri after the cause of action accrues, that period of absence does not count toward the 3-year limitation. And if a judgment in the case is reversed on appeal or the plaintiff suffers a nonsuit, they have an additional year to refile.

Missouri imposes a shorter deadline for medical malpractice claims. Under § 516.105 RSMo, you must file within 2 years of the date of the negligent act or omission. This is significantly shorter than the general 5-year personal injury deadline.

There are two specific exceptions where the clock starts later: if a foreign object was left in your body during surgery, the 2-year period begins when you discover (or reasonably should have discovered) the object. If a healthcare provider failed to inform you of test results, the 2-year period begins from the date you discovered (or should have discovered) that failure.

Missouri also imposes a 10-year statute of repose for medical malpractice claims. This means that no matter when you discover the injury, you cannot file a claim more than 10 years after the negligent act. The only exception is for minors, who have until their 20th birthday to file. Because the 2-year window is short and the discovery exceptions are narrow, consulting an attorney quickly after discovering a potential malpractice issue is critical.

If your injury was caused by a Missouri government entity, sovereign immunity limits your ability to sue. Under § 537.600 RSMo, the state has waived sovereign immunity in only two situations: injuries from the negligent operation of motor vehicles by government employees, and injuries from dangerous conditions of public property.

For claims against cities with populations over 100,000 (which includes Kansas City), you must provide written notice to the mayor within 90 days of the occurrence under § 82.210 RSMo. The notice must include the place, time, and character of the injury, along with a statement of your intent to claim damages. Failure to provide this notice within 90 days can bar your entire claim.

Missouri also caps damages against government entities at $2 million for all claims from a single occurrence and $300,000 per person per occurrence. These caps and notice requirements make government injury claims more complex than standard personal injury cases — get legal advice immediately if a government entity may be responsible for your injury.

Under § 516.170 RSMo, the statute of limitations is tolled (paused) for individuals who are under a legal disability at the time the cause of action accrues. In Missouri, legal disability includes being a minor (under age 21), being mentally incapacitated, or being imprisoned.

For minors, this means the 5-year statute of limitations does not begin to run until the minor turns 21. A child injured at age 5 could have until age 26 to file a personal injury lawsuit. For medical malpractice specifically, the deadline is the minor's 20th birthday regardless of when the injury occurred.

While these extended deadlines exist, there are strong practical reasons to file sooner rather than later. Evidence is more compelling when it is fresh, witnesses are easier to locate, and the connection between the accident and the injuries is clearer. A parent or guardian can file on the child's behalf at any time.

Missouri applies a "capable of ascertainment" standard for the discovery rule. For general personal injury claims, the 5-year clock starts when the injury is first discovered or reasonably should have been discovered — not necessarily the date of the accident.

This matters in cases involving latent injuries, toxic exposure, or situations where the connection between the defendant's conduct and your injury was not immediately obvious. The discovery rule does not protect you if you simply chose not to seek medical attention or ignored obvious symptoms.

For medical malpractice, Missouri does not have a general discovery rule. The 2-year clock runs from the date of the negligent act, with only the narrow exceptions for foreign objects and unreported test results. This makes malpractice claims particularly time-sensitive.

If you file a personal injury lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, the defendant will raise it as an affirmative defense. Missouri courts treat the statute of limitations as a hard bar — there is no grace period, no good-cause exception, and no judicial discretion to extend it because your case has merit.

Missing the deadline means you lose the ability to file a lawsuit. Without the threat of litigation, insurance companies have no incentive to negotiate a fair settlement. In practice, missing the statute of limitations means losing your claim entirely — regardless of how serious your injuries are or how clearly the other party was at fault.

A court may even sanction a plaintiff for filing a case that the plaintiff knew or should have known was time-barred. The statute of limitations is one of the first things any personal injury attorney will check, and it should be one of your first concerns after an injury.

While the 5-year general rule covers most personal injury claims, certain cases have different deadlines. Property damage claims also fall under § 516.120 RSMo with a 5-year deadline. Wrongful death has a 3-year deadline under § 537.100. Medical malpractice has a 2-year deadline under § 516.105 with a 10-year repose period.

Workers' compensation claims in Missouri follow entirely separate procedures and deadlines under the Missouri Workers' Compensation Law. Product liability claims generally follow the 5-year personal injury deadline but may involve different accrual dates depending on when the defect was discovered. If your case involves multiple legal theories or defendants, different deadlines may apply to different parts of your claim.