Missouri Car Accident Settlement Calculator

Missouri's pure comparative fault system means you can recover damages from a car accident even if you were mostly at fault. If you are found 70% responsible for a collision and your damages total $100,000, you would still receive $30,000. This makes virtually every motor vehicle accident claim worth evaluating, regardless of the fault split.

You have 5 years to file suit in Missouri, a deadline that is longer than the national average of 2.7 years. While you have more time than most states, delaying still weakens your case as evidence degrades and witnesses become harder to locate. Missouri does apply a discovery rule, which can adjust the starting point of the limitations period when the injury was not immediately discoverable.

Missouri requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of $25K per person / $50K per accident in bodily injury coverage and $25K in property damage coverage (commonly written as 25/50/25). These minimums are below the national average, meaning many drivers in Missouri may carry only enough insurance to cover a fraction of the costs from a serious accident. Missouri also requires uninsured motorist (UM) coverage of at least $25K per person, which protects you if the at-fault driver has no insurance.

Missouri lets a vehicle owner recover diminished value, the resale value a properly repaired car loses because of its accident history, from the at-fault driver on top of the cost of repairs. Your own collision coverage is not required to pay it under Missouri authority. Missouri's Supreme Court stated in Groves v. State Farm (1976) that damage to a vehicle is generally measured by the difference in its market value, while the Missouri Court of Appeals held in Lupo v. Shelter Mutual (2002) that a first-party policy that fully and adequately repairs the car does not also owe the remaining loss in market value. The diminished value guide in the related reading below carries the rule for every state and how to document the loss.