Personal injury victims often must contend with expensive medical bills, lost wages, physical pain, mental suffering, and more. Fortunately, injured parties are often eligible for financial compensation. However, depending on the type of injury, there may be a limit on the amount of compensation available. To maximize your compensation following an injury in Missouri, you should contact an experienced attorney for assistance. In this article, we examine caps on personal injury damages in Missouri.
What Is a Damage Cap?
A damage cap limits the amount that a personal injury victim can receive in compensation from a responsible party in a personal injury claim. Even if a verdict or settlement is reached that exceeds the cap for a certain type of injury case, the injured party will be unable to obtain more than the limit.
Many states impose caps to limit payout amounts for certain types of defendants or categories of damages. For example, some states only apply these types of caps to cases involving the government. In this example, the cap serves the purpose of protecting the government from excessively large payouts that could result in bankruptcy. Other states only apply caps on damages to punitive or noneconomic damages.
Missouri’s Personal Injury Damage Caps
Like many states, Missouri places caps on the damages available in several types of personal injury cases. One area in which Missouri does this is medical malpractice claims. The state places a cap on the noneconomic damages available in these types of cases. Specifically, no claimant is entitled to recover more than $450,000 in noneconomic damages. In addition, a claimant in a medical malpractice case is limited to $787,671 for death or a catastrophic injury. Per statute, the allowable amount in these types of cases increases by 1.7% each year.
Missouri also places a cap on personal injury claims against the government. For personal injury claims that are filed against the state or local government in the state of Missouri, the noneconomic damage cap was $460,499 as of the year 2021. Missouri also places a cap on economic damages against public entities.
Maximizing Compensation
If you’ve been injured in Missouri, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. However, as discussed above, the state places caps on certain types of claims. Despite these caps, however, the best way to maximize your compensation for a personal injury in Missouri is to contact an experienced Missouri personal injury attorney. Your attorney will negotiate on your behalf and navigate the complexities of the state’s complicated legal system—allowing you time to focus on your physical and emotional recovery.
Contact a Missouri Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been injured in an accident in the state of Missouri, you need a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney in your corner. At Privette Law Office, we understand the hardships caused by personal injuries. Therefore, when you come to us for assistance with your personal injury case, we will work diligently to obtain financial compensation on your behalf. Please contact us to arrange an initial consultation with a talented personal injury attorney.