Personal injury lawyer help in Washington County, Missouri

Washington County, Missouri includes 8 named communities, the largest being Potosi. Whether an accident happened on a county road, in a small town or in one of the larger communities, the same Missouri rules apply: a 5-year filing deadline for most injury claims, pure comparative negligence, and lawsuits filed in the Washington County Circuit Court. This page is the county-wide guide, with links to a page for each community.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests from Washington County may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle car, truck, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, slip and fall injuries, workplace injuries and workers' compensation, medical malpractice and wrongful death matters in Missouri. There is no charge to submit a request and no obligation to hire anyone.

Each community below has its own guide with the local court, insurance rules and every type of injury claim.

• Potosi, MOpop. 2,640

Smaller communities in Washington County include Belgrade, Cadet, Caledonia, Irondale, Mineral Point, Richwoods, Tiff. Residents of these areas follow the same Missouri rules, use the same Washington County Circuit Court, and can request a free claim review from anywhere in the county.

Missouri generally gives an injured person five years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (RSMo § 516.120); medical malpractice is different (two years — NOT the five-year general period — with a 10-year outer limit (RSMo § 516.105)). A wrongful death claim has its own deadline: three years — NOT the five-year general period (RSMo § 537.100), running from the death. For an injured child: The clock pauses until 21 for most injury claims (RSMo § 516.170), and a child injured by malpractice has until their 20th birthday (§ 516.105). Note that the pause does NOT extend a wrongful death claim. The five-year period is the general negligence rule. Medical malpractice is two years and wrongful death is three, so the headline number does not apply to every claim. Claims against a city, county, school district or state agency follow a separate deadline: 90 days to the mayor for street, sidewalk and bridge claims (RSMo § 82.210). Once the deadline passes, the Washington County Circuit Court will dismiss the case regardless of how clear the fault was, so the practical rule in Washington County is to get legal advice early.

Missouri follows pure comparative negligence, a rule set by the courts in Gustafson v. Benda (Mo. 1983) rather than by statute. In plain terms, you can recover damages even if you were mostly at fault, but your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurance adjusters apply this rule from the first phone call, which is why the way an accident is described and documented in the days after it happens in Washington County has a direct effect on what a claim is worth.

After a crash in Washington County, the at-fault driver's liability insurance is the primary source of compensation. Missouri requires drivers to carry only 25/50/25 in coverage (thousands of dollars for bodily injury per person, per accident, and property damage), which serious injuries quickly exhaust. Underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy and claims against additional responsible parties often make the difference in Washington County cases.

Lawsuits arising from accidents in Washington County are typically filed in the Washington County Circuit Court, the trial court of general jurisdiction for Washington County, although cases can sometimes be filed where the defendant resides or does business, and claims against out-of-state trucking companies or manufacturers may end up in federal court. Most claims settle before trial, but the credible ability to try a case in Washington County is what moves insurers to pay fair value.

Employees injured on the job in Washington County are generally covered by Missouri workers' compensation, administered through the Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation. Report the injury to your employer within 30 days, in writing — that notice deadline is short and missing it can end the claim before it starts — then file the formal claim within two years. Workers' compensation does not pay for pain and suffering, so when a third party such as a subcontractor, driver or equipment manufacturer caused the injury, a separate personal injury claim is often worth pursuing alongside it.

• Saint Francois County, MO
• Iron County, MO
• Crawford County, MO
• Jefferson County, MO

See the Missouri personal injury guide for every county in the state.