July 6, 2026 | Car Accidents, Compensation, Personal Injury, Workers Compensation
Every state has the authority to create its own laws and governs how those laws are handled. In other words, laws and the details surrounding them vary from state to state, and one thing that frequently varies is the statute of limitations for a specific type of claim.
The official definition of a statute of limitations is a statute prescribing a period of limitation for the bringing of certain kinds of legal action. In short, it is the length of time in which a lawsuit or claim can be filed against an individual or a company.
This term gets thrown around a lot in movies and TV shows about lawyers or police officers wanting to sue or arrest someone but being unable to because the statute of limitations has run out. In real life, understanding your specific deadline is one of the most consequential things an injured Missourian can do, since missing it typically means losing your right to compensation entirely, no matter how strong the underlying case is.
Jump to a specific Statute of Limitation:
Understanding Missouri’s Statute of Limitations and When to File an Injury Lawsuit
On top of varying state by state, the statute of limitations also varies by the type of case or legal matter involved. In the United States, there are typically two categories of statutes of limitations. A civil statute of limitations governs how long you have after an incident to file a complaint or lawsuit, such as suing someone after a car accident. A criminal statute of limitations, by contrast, governs how long after an incident or crime a state’s prosecutor has to file charges against an individual.
Below is an updated overview of the most important civil statutes of limitations in Missouri, along with a notable piece of pending legislation that Missourians should be aware of.
In the United States, there are typically two types of Statutes of Limitations:
Civil Statute of Limitations is, in short, how long you have after an incident to file a complaint or lawsuit (I.e. suing someone after a car accident)
Criminal Statute of Limitations, on the other hand, deals with how long after an incident or crime a state’s prosecutor can file charges against an individual(s).
The statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits is 5 years.
Missouri statute §516.120(4) states that a lawsuit or claim resulting from “An action for taking, detaining or injuring any goods or chattels, including actions for the recovery of specific personal property, or for any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not herein otherwise enumerated” must be filed within 5 years of the date the incident occurred.
With that in mind, you know that the statute of limitations for car accident lawsuits in Missouri is 5 years.
That means that if you are wanting to file a lawsuit for any injury-related incident like assault, car accidents, truck accidents, etc., you must do so within 5 years of the date in which the incident occurred.
This deadline nearly changed. During the 2025 and 2026 Missouri legislative sessions, lawmakers debated House Bill 68, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Overcast, which would have shortened the general personal injury statute of limitations from five years down to as little as two years, later negotiated up to three years. The bill was tied to a separate, widely supported measure extending the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors, an effort led by Rep. Brian Seitz. That combination created controversy, with critics arguing that insurance industry lobbying was using the abuse survivors’ bill as leverage to push through a shorter injury deadline. The legislation stalled in the Missouri Senate and died when the 2026 session adjourned in mid-May without a vote. As of this writing, the five-year statute of limitations under RSMo 516.120 remains fully in effect, but given how close this measure came to passing, it is worth watching in future legislative sessions, and it underscores why injured Missourians should not treat five years as time to spare.
Related: Missouri’s Car Accident Statute of Limitations
Missouri’s Revised Statute 516.120 states that “An action for taking, detaining or injuring any goods or chattels, including actions for the recovery of specific personal property, or for any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not herein otherwise enumerated”
Missouri’s Revised Statute 516.120 also covers actions for taking, detaining, or injuring goods or chattels, meaning property damage claims.
In other words, Missouri law requires you to file a lawsuit against an individual or individuals for property damage within 5 years.
Commonly known as Medical Malpractice, lawsuits against doctors, physicians, dentists, pharmacists and other health care providers have a separate statute of limitations in Missouri. Missouri Statute § 516.105 states that damages for malpractice, negligence, error, or mistake related to health care must generally be brought within two years from the date of the act of neglect. Put simply, you have two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Missouri.
Missouri’s Statute § 516.105 states that “…damages for malpractice, negligence, error or mistake related to health care shall be brought within two years from the date of occurrence of the act of neglect complained of…”
In most cases, you have 2 years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Missouri, but there are circumstances where that timeframe can extend beyond two years, governed by a statute of repose. For a minor under the age of 18, the law allows until either the minor turns 20 years old or a maximum of 10 years have passed, whichever comes first, to file a medical malpractice claim.
However, there are certain circumstances or cases when that timeframe extends beyond two years known as a “Statute of Repose“.
In cases such as a minor being under the age of 18, he or she has until either they are 20 years old or a maximum of 10 years have passed (whichever comes first) to file a medical malpractice.
The next personal injury statutes of limitations we will discuss are those involving work injuries; also known as workers’ compensation.
Workers’ comp is when an individual receives compensation from their employer after a work-related injury or illness.
According to the Missouri Department of Labor, in order to file a workers’ compensation lawsuit in Missouri, you must do so within:
With that in mind, the Statute of Limitations for workers’ compensation lawsuits in Missouri is 2 years unless the employer of the person injured or killed fails to file a report within a timely manner in which case that statutory period is 3 years.
Related: An Overview of Missouri’s Workers’ Compensation Benefits
The State of Missouri’s Statute 537.080 defines wrongful death as:
“Whenever the death of a person results from any act, conduct, occurrence, transaction, or circumstance which, if death had not ensued, would have entitled such person to recover damages in respect thereof, the person or party who, or the corporation which, would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be liable in an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured…”
The party responsible remains liable for damages notwithstanding the death. Put simply, a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed when someone is killed due to another person’s or company’s negligence or intentional acts, and in Missouri, that lawsuit must generally be filed within three years from the date of death.
In Missouri, a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within 3 years from the date when the death occurred.
One category deserves special attention because it operates on a dramatically shorter timeline than the rest of this list. If your injury involves a government entity, such as a city vehicle, a public school, a county employee, or a dangerous condition on public property, the Missouri Tort Claims Act generally requires written notice of your claim within 90 days of the incident, not five years. This notice requirement exists on top of, not instead of, the applicable underlying statute of limitations, and missing it can bar your claim entirely even if you are still well within the standard deadline otherwise. Anyone injured by a government vehicle or on government property should treat 90 days, not five years, as the deadline that matters most.
Statutes also apply to cases other than just personal injury lawsuits.
Here is an overview of all of the most common Civil Statutes of Limitations in Missouri:
If you file a lawsuit after the applicable deadline has passed, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. Missouri judges generally have no discretion to extend these deadlines simply because a claim is compelling or the injuries are severe. Once the window closes, you permanently lose your right to pursue compensation through the courts for that claim.
For most personal injury claims, the clock starts on the date the incident occurred. Medical malpractice is a notable exception, where Missouri’s discovery rule can delay the start of the two-year clock until the negligence is discovered, though the outer limit is still capped at ten years from the negligent act.
Yes. Despite House Bill 68’s attempt to shorten the deadline, the bill died in the Missouri Senate when the 2026 legislative session adjourned. The five-year deadline under RSMo 516.120 remains current law, though the issue could resurface in a future legislative session.
Under RSMo § 516.200, the time a defendant spends absent from Missouri generally does not count toward the limitations period, which can effectively pause the clock until they return.
In many cases, yes. Missouri law provides tolling protections for minors in several categories of claims, including medical malpractice, where a minor generally has until age 20 or ten years from the act, whichever comes first, to file.
Far less than you might expect. Missouri’s Tort Claims Act generally requires written notice within 90 days of the incident, a fraction of the standard five-year window, and failing to meet that notice deadline can bar your claim regardless of the underlying statute of limitations.
You generally want to understand the scope of your injuries before settling a claim, but that is different from waiting to file suit. Evidence disappears, witnesses relocate, and memories fade the longer a claim sits, and if you are approaching a government entity’s 90-day notice window or any other short deadline, waiting is especially risky. Speaking with an attorney early preserves your options without requiring you to settle prematurely.
If you have questions about whether your case meets the statute of limitations or wish to file a claim, contact St. Louis personal injury attorney Craig Ortwerth to start your free consultation.
If you have questions about whether or not your case meets the statute of limitations or wish to file a claim, contact St. Louis personal injury attorney Craig Ortwerth to start your free consultation.
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