Wrongful Death

When a loved one dies too soon, due to bad medical care or dangerous activity by others, Missouri law gives certain family members the right to sue. 

Normally those allowed to sue are the deceased person’s parents, spouse and children.  If there is no living parent, spouse or children other family members may qualify to sue. Missouri Revised Statutes §537.080.

Wrongful Death Claim Statute of Limitations

A Wrongful Death suit usually has to brought within 3 years of the date of death. Missouri Revised Statutes §537.100. This is true whether the death is due to a car or truck crash, a dangerous condition of property, a dangerous product, medical negligence, or other situations involving the dangerous or careless acts of others.¹

There is a case that can be brought against health care providers in Missouri called a lost chance of recovery/survival case, that involves death but is not considered a wrongful death case. We think lost chance cases boil down to situations where the expert is unable say that the person probably would have survived if things had been done right. See generally Wollen v. DePaul Health Center, 828 S.W.2d 681 (Mo. 1992). In a “lost chance” case, the most the expert can say is that the patient lost a material chance of recovery or survival. The 2 year medical negligence statute of limitations generally applies to lost chance cases, since they aren’t technically wrongful death cases.²

Learn more | Medical negligence statute of limitations 

Wrongful Death Damages

The damages Missouri allows in a wrongful death claim are, in general, the medical bills related to the death, the loss to the claimants of the financial contributions from the deceased, the value to the claimants of lost home services that the deceased used to do, amounts to compensate for the loss to the claimants of their relationships with the deceased, and amounts for the pain and suffering of the deceased before they died. Missouri Revised Statutes §537.090.

Caps on Wrongful Death Claims

There is a cap on non-economic damages, including pain and suffering, in Missouri wrongful death cases involving medical negligence. Missouri Revised Statutes §538.210.2(1)-(3). The 2025 cap for wrongful death non-monetary damages is approximately  $825,000, but it  increases every year. Missouri Revised Statutes §538.210.10. To see what the cap is currently, visit the Missouri Department of Insurance, but remember that the cap is calculated at the time of trial.³ The cap does not apply to monetary losses, like medical bills, wage loss, lost capacity to earn or the loss of the value of household services.

The wrongful death cap was held constitutional in Sanders v. Ahmed, 364 S.W.3d 195 (Mo. 2012).

Wrongful Death Cases We Have Handled

Coffey & Nichols has successfully represented the family members of people who have died due to crashes, medical mistakes, inadequate security at businesses, falls, bed sores, dangerous business practices,  and dangerous products.  We can’t publish most of our results due to confidentiality agreements, but ones we can publish can be accessed here:

Case Examples | CASE 1  CASE 2  CASE 3  CASE 4  CASE 5

What to do if your loved one has died as a result of someone else’s carelessness.

Ask about an autopsy if there is any question about what caused the death. While it is not required by law or necessary to have an autopsy in every case, it is generally a good idea to say yes if one is offered.  Paying for one yourself will cost thousands of dollars.

Get several copies of the death certificate as soon as you can and ask for a copy of any autopsy, police report or other things made about what happened by other people.  Keep a copy of any programs, prayer cards, photos or videos used at the funeral.