What to Do After a Car Accident in Missouri

A crash compresses a dozen decisions into your worst hour. You are shaken. Your hands may not be steady. The other driver is already talking, and an insurance adjuster may call before you reach home. The choices you make in the first minutes and days will shape your health, your license, and the value of your claim.

Missouri law hands you both duties and rights after a wreck. This guide walks you through seven steps, in order, with the legal reason behind each one. Follow them and you will give yourself the strongest position the facts allow.

Step one: stop, stay, and call 911

Missouri law does not let you drive away. RSMo § 577.060 requires every driver in a crash to stop, stay at the scene, exchange information, and help anyone who is hurt. Leave early and you risk a hit-and-run charge — a felony when someone is injured. You also hand the other side a story: the person who fled must have known they were at fault.

Call 911 even when the damage looks minor. The responding officer writes an official crash report that records the date, location, weather, road conditions, vehicle positions, witness names, and any citations. That report anchors every later account of the wreck. Ask the officer for the report number before anyone leaves. You can request a copy later through the Missouri State Highway Patrol's online crash report search.

Step two: see a doctor within 24 hours

Adrenaline is a liar. It dulls pain for hours, sometimes days. Whiplash, concussions, herniated discs, and internal bleeding often announce themselves long after the tow truck leaves. If you feel fine at the scene, that feeling proves nothing.

Get examined within 24 hours — an emergency room, urgent care, or your own doctor. The visit does two jobs. It catches injuries early, when treatment works fastest. And it builds a medical record that ties your injuries to the crash while the link is still fresh. Wait two weeks and the insurer will argue your back went out at the gym.

Tell the doctor everything: the headache, the stiff neck, the tingling fingers, the poor sleep. Doctors write down what you report, and those notes become evidence. Then follow the treatment plan exactly. Skipped appointments and unfilled prescriptions let the defense argue your injuries could not have been serious — and Missouri courts have allowed a patient's failure to follow medical advice to reduce a recovery as comparative fault. Tennison v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 834 S.W.2d 846 (Mo. App. 1992).

Step three: photograph everything, then find witnesses

Evidence evaporates. Vehicles get towed, skid marks fade, and witnesses drive off. If you can move safely, use your phone before anything changes:

Every vehicle's damage, from several angles and distances
The final resting positions of the cars before they move
Skid marks, debris fields, and broken glass on the pavement
Traffic signals, stop signs, lane markings, and sight obstructions
Weather, lighting, and road surface conditions
Any visible injuries on you or your passengers

Trade information with the other driver: full name, phone, driver's license number, license plate, insurance company, and policy number. Stay polite and say nothing about fault. A reflexive "I'm sorry, I didn't see you" can follow you into a courtroom.

Witnesses matter more than almost anything else, because they owe nothing to either side. Get names and phone numbers from anyone who saw the crash. A neutral witness who backs your account can settle a fault dispute in one phone call.

Step four: tell your insurer — but guard your words with theirs

Two insurance companies enter your life after a crash, and you owe them very different things.

Your own insurer deserves a prompt report. Your policy is a contract, and it requires timely notice and reasonable cooperation. Call within a day or two, stick to the facts, and answer honestly. If the other driver turns out to be uninsured or underinsured, your own policy may be where your recovery comes from.

The other driver's insurer is a different story. Its adjuster works to pay you as little as possible, and Missouri law does not require you to give that company a recorded statement. Expect three plays. First, the recorded statement, where casual answers like "I'm doing okay" become proof you were never hurt. Second, the fast settlement offer, which arrives before your injuries fully show and ends your claim the moment you sign the release. Third, the blanket medical authorization, which lets the insurer dig through your entire history for a pre-existing condition to blame. Missouri courts treat what you say and do around the crash as fair evidence on fault — even admissions about drinking were admitted to prove comparative fault in Rodriguez v. Suzuki Motor Corp., 936 S.W.2d 104 (Mo. banc 1996).

Your answer to all three plays is one polite sentence: "I am represented by an attorney, so please direct everything to my lawyer."

Step five: file the state accident report when the law requires it

The police report is not the only paperwork Missouri may demand. Under RSMo § 303.040, you must send a written report to the Department of Revenue within 30 days when a crash involves an uninsured motorist and someone is killed or injured, or anyone's property damage tops $500. The duty also falls on drivers who had no insurance themselves, and even on the owner of a parked car caught up in the wreck.

This report matters to you, not just the state. It creates the official record that an uninsured driver was involved — the record you will need if you file an uninsured motorist claim under your own policy. Once any party files, the director notifies the others, who must respond within ten days. If your crash fits the statute, do not let day 30 pass.

Step six: understand how Missouri divides fault

Missouri follows pure comparative fault. The Supreme Court of Missouri adopted the rule in Gustafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11 (Mo. banc 1983), and it shapes every negotiation you will have. A jury assigns each driver a percentage of fault, and your recovery shrinks by your share. If your damages total $200,000 and you were 20 percent at fault, you recover $160,000. Even a driver 80 percent at fault still recovers the remaining 20 percent.

Some crashes start with a fault presumption. In a rear-end collision, proof that one car struck another from behind makes a prima facie case of negligence against the driver behind. Kaufmann ex rel. Kaufmann v. Nagle, 807 S.W.2d 91 (Mo. banc 1991). The presumption is not absolute — the following driver can rebut it with evidence of a sudden stop or failed brake lights — but it frames the fight.

This is why steps one through three pay off. Fault is argued with photographs, witness accounts, the police report, and medical records. Our deeper guide to comparative fault in Missouri explains how insurers and juries run the numbers.

Step seven: call a lawyer before you sign anything

Bring in a lawyer early, while evidence still exists. Surveillance footage gets overwritten within days. Vehicles get repaired or crushed. Witnesses move. A personal injury lawyer can secure that evidence, take over all adjuster contact, and value your claim — including future medical care and lost earning capacity that quick offers ignore.

Ask your lawyer to check your own coverage too. Missouri requires every auto policy to include uninsured motorist protection. RSMo § 379.203. If a hit-and-run or uninsured driver hurt you, that coverage is your path to recovery, and our guide to uninsured and underinsured motorist claims in Missouri walks through it. The check matters because Missouri's mandatory minimum liability limits — $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for bodily injury, under RSMo § 303.030 — often fall short of a serious injury.

Representation costs nothing up front. Most Missouri injury lawyers, including our firm, work on contingency: the fee comes out of the recovery, and the consultation is free. Our car accident practice page explains how we investigate, and our results — including a $1,000,000 car crash settlement and an $877,000 underinsured motorist recovery — show what thorough preparation can achieve. Past results never promise a future outcome; every case turns on its own facts.

The deadlines that can end your case

Missouri's statute of limitations gives you five years to file a personal injury lawsuit. RSMo § 516.120. A crash that kills someone starts a shorter clock: wrongful death claims must be filed within three years under RSMo § 537.100. Narrow exceptions can pause the deadline for minors and people who are incapacitated, and claims against government vehicles can carry far shorter notice requirements — never assume the five-year period protects you.

The legal deadline is not the practical one. Claims age badly. Video disappears within days, witnesses forget within months, and insurers treat late claims with suspicion. Treat the first 30 days — not year five — as your real window to act.

Mistakes that shrink good claims

Insurers build defenses from ordinary behavior. Avoid these five unforced errors:

Posting about the crash or your activities on social media. One smiling photo becomes the exhibit that "proves" you were never hurt. Say nothing online until your case ends.
Giving a recorded statement without advice. Adjusters phrase questions to harvest answers they can use out of context.
Taking the first offer. Opening offers reflect what the insurer hopes you will accept, not what your claim is worth.
Gaps in medical care. Every missed appointment becomes an argument that your injuries were minor or unrelated.
Waiting to get help. Each week of delay costs evidence and leverage you cannot buy back.

What to Do right now

If you were just in a crash, work this list in order:

Stop, stay calm, and call 911 — get a report number.
Accept medical evaluation, even if you feel unhurt.
Photograph the scene and collect witness names and numbers.
Report the crash to your own insurer with facts only.
Decline the other insurer's recorded statement and early offers.
Check whether the 30-day state report duty applies to your crash.
Call a Missouri injury lawyer before you sign anything.

If a crash in St. Louis or anywhere in Missouri has hurt you or someone you love, call Ott Law Firm at (314) 710-2740 for a free consultation, or reach us through our contact page. We will tell you plainly where you stand and what your options are.

FAQ

Do I have to give the other driver's insurance company a recorded statement?

No. Missouri law imposes no duty to give the adverse driver's insurer a recorded statement, and anything you say can be used to shrink or deny your claim. Decline politely and refer the adjuster to your attorney. Your own insurer is different — your policy requires reasonable cooperation.

What if the driver who hit me has no insurance?

Your own uninsured motorist coverage applies. Missouri law requires every auto policy to include it, so you can claim against your own policy for injuries an uninsured or hit-and-run driver caused. A lawyer can also check whether other coverage — an employer's policy, an umbrella policy — applies to your crash.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a Missouri car accident?

Five years from the crash for most injury claims, under RSMo § 516.120, and three years for a wrongful death claim. Exceptions for minors and incapacity exist but are narrow. Because evidence decays within weeks, talk to a lawyer long before any deadline approaches.

Can I still recover money if the crash was partly my fault?

Yes. Missouri's pure comparative fault rule reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault but never bars it unless you were entirely responsible. A driver found 30 percent at fault still collects 70 percent of proven damages, which is why fighting inflated fault accusations matters.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different, and reading this page creates no attorney-client relationship. For advice about your situation, call Ott Law Firm at (314) 710-2740 for a free consultation.

St. Louis Car Accident? 7 Steps to Protect You | Ott Law