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When people talk about what a personal injury case is “worth,” they’re really talking about damages; the legal term for the money awarded to compensate an injured person for their losses. Missouri law divides damages into two main categories: economic and non-economic. Understanding the difference is essential because each type is proven differently, valued differently, and, in a few specific situations, capped differently under Missouri statutes.
Economic Damages: The Losses You Can Count
Economic damages compensate you for the financial losses you can document with bills, receipts, pay stubs, and statements. They are sometimes called “special damages” or “out-of-pocket” damages because each one ties back to a real, calculable expense or income loss.
In a typical St. Louis car accident or other personal injury case, economic damages include:
- Past medical expenses. Emergency room bills, hospital stays, surgeries, diagnostic imaging, prescriptions, physical therapy, and chiropractic care
- Future medical expenses. Anticipated surgeries, ongoing therapy, assistive devices, in-home care, and long-term treatment, often supported by a life-care plan
- Past lost wages. Income lost from missed work during recovery
- Future lost wages and lost earning capacity. Income you will not earn if an injury reduces your ability to work long-term
- Property damage. Vehicle repairs or replacement, damaged personal belongings
- Out-of-pocket expenses. Transportation to appointments, home modifications, medical equipment, household help
The strength of your economic damages claim depends entirely on the evidence you preserve; itemized medical bills, employer wage statements, repair estimates, and expert reports.
Non-Economic Damages: The Losses You Can’t Put a Receipt On
Non-economic damages compensate you for the human cost of the injury; the suffering, limitation, and loss of normal life that don’t show up on a hospital invoice but are very real. These damages are also called “general damages” and often make up the largest portion of a serious injury settlement.
Missouri recognizes non-economic damages for:
- Physical pain and suffering. Both past and future. See our guide on how pain and suffering is calculated in Missouri
- Emotional distress. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, sleep disturbance, and fear connected to the accident
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Inability to participate in hobbies, sports, family activities, or other things that gave your life meaning
- Disfigurement and scarring. Permanent visible changes from the injury or surgery
- Loss of consortium. A claim by a spouse for the loss of companionship, affection, and intimacy caused by the injury
- Permanent disability or impairment. Lasting limitations on physical or cognitive function, common in traumatic brain injury and spinal cord cases
- Proving non-economic damages takes more than describing pain. It takes pain journals, photos showing limitations, statements from family and coworkers, mental health records, and a clear narrative of how the injury changed daily life.
Are There Caps on Damages in Missouri?
For most personal injury cases: car crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle wrecks, premises liability injuries, and most other negligence claims; there is no statutory cap on either economic or non-economic damages.
The Missouri Supreme Court struck down a prior cap on non-economic damages in common-law negligence cases as unconstitutional under the right to trial by jury (Watts v. Lester E. Cox Medical Centers, 376 S.W.3d 633 (Mo. banc 2012)).
There are, however, some specific exceptions:
- Medical malpractice claims. Under RSMo § 538.210, Missouri caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The cap is adjusted annually for inflation; the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance publishes the current figures.
- Claims against government entities. The Missouri Tort Claims Act (RSMo § 537.610) caps damages recoverable from public entities and limits sovereign immunity to specific situations like motor vehicle negligence by public employees and dangerous conditions of public property.
- Punitive damages. Available only in cases of egregious conduct and subject to their own statutory limits under RSMo § 510.265.
For nearly every standard injury case in Missouri, neither category of compensatory damages is capped. A jury can award full compensation for both economic and non-economic losses.
How Comparative Fault Affects Your Damages Recovery
Missouri’s pure comparative fault rule reduces both economic and non-economic damages by the plaintiff’s percentage of responsibility; but never bars recovery. A $200,000 damages award with 25% fault assigned to the plaintiff becomes $150,000. That’s true whether the damages are medical bills or pain and suffering.
How Damages Are Calculated in Practice
For economic damages, the math is straightforward; add up the documented losses and project future losses using medical and vocational testimony. For non-economic damages, attorneys typically use one of two methods:
- The multiplier method. Total economic damages are multiplied by a factor (often 1.5 to 5) based on injury severity, length of recovery, and permanence of harm.
- The per diem method. A daily dollar value is assigned to pain and suffering and multiplied by the number of days from injury through recovery (or projected lifetime, for permanent injuries).
Neither method is dictated by Missouri statute, and juries are free to award what the evidence supports.
Get an Attorney’s Read on Your Case Value
Damages valuation is part law, part medicine, and part advocacy. Many injured people accept settlements that cover their medical bills but leave their pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, and future medical needs uncompensated.
Contact Schmittgens Injury Law Firm for a free, honest read on what your case is worth. There’s no fee unless we recover compensation for you.