After a serious truck accident, it is easy to feel like any mistake you made, no matter how small, ruins your chance for compensation. The insurance adjuster may even suggest as much. But in Missouri, the law sees things differently.
Under a rule called Pure Comparative Fault, found in Missouri Revised Statute § 537.765, you may recover financial damages from a truck accident even if you were 99% to blame for the collision. Your compensation is simply reduced by whatever percentage of fault is assigned to you.
While this law provides a path to recovery, it also creates a battleground. Trucking companies and their insurers will work diligently to inflate your percentage of fault to reduce their payout. They will analyze your every action leading up to the crash. However, their driver is held to a special, higher standard. Missouri law requires commercial truck drivers to exercise the highest degree of care, a stricter standard than the one for regular motorists.
If an insurer is blaming you or you’re unsure how your actions affect your right to recovery, it may be time to seek guidance. At DM Injury Law, our truck accident attorneys handle these difficult liability disputes regularly. Call us for a free, no-obligation consultation to understand your options.
Key Takeaways for Missouri Truck Accident Claims
- Missouri’s pure comparative fault rule allows you to recover damages even if you are mostly at fault. This means you are not barred from compensation for a minor mistake, though your award is reduced by your percentage of fault.
- Commercial truck drivers are held to the highest degree of care standard, a stricter legal standard than regular drivers. This higher duty can be used to shift a larger portion of legal responsibility to the trucker and their company.
- Insurers will try to inflate your percentage of fault to reduce their payout. Preserving evidence and understanding their strategies, such as focusing on joint liability rules, is essential to protecting the full value of your claim.
The Mechanics of Missouri’s Pure Comparative Fault (R.S. Mo. § 537.765)
Many people assume that if they played any part in causing an accident, they lose their right to a claim. In many states, they would be correct. But in Missouri, that assumption is wrong. Our state’s system was designed to prevent accident victims from being left with nothing due to a minor misstep.
Pure vs. Modified Comparative Fault
To understand what makes Missouri’s law so helpful, it’s useful to contrast it with the rules in neighboring states. States like Kansas use a modified comparative fault system. In a modified system, if you are found to be 50% or 51% responsible for the accident, you are barred from recovering any compensation at all. It’s an all-or-nothing threshold.
Missouri, on the other hand, uses a pure comparative fault model. This system is far more forgiving. Here, there is no 51% bar. If you are found 90% at fault for a crash, you could still recover 10% of your total damages. This system acknowledges that accidents are rarely black and white and that even a person who was mostly at fault may still have suffered significant losses due to someone else’s small percentage of negligence.
Why This Matters in a Truck Accident Claim
The consequences of a collision with a fully loaded, 80,000-pound commercial truck are devastating. The damages, which include medical bills, lost income, and long-term rehabilitation costs, may easily exceed a million dollars. In a modified fault state, being assigned 51% of the blame for a million-dollar injury means you get zero. In Missouri, that same 51% fault assessment would still allow you to pursue $490,000.
This system provides a financial lifeline for families facing catastrophic injuries. Do not simply accept an insurance company’s determination that you were mostly to blame. Under Missouri law, being mostly at fault still gives you the right to pursue a claim for the portion of the damages caused by the other driver.
Why the Highest Degree of Care Standard Changes the Math
At first glance, assigning fault seems straightforward. If a car changes lanes in front of a truck and a collision happens, many would assume the car’s driver is 100% to blame. But Missouri law adds a layer of nuance that is important in truck accident cases. Determining who is more at fault is subjective, and that’s where legal standards make all the difference.
The trucking company’s defense lawyers will focus exclusively on your actions. They may point to statistics on improper lane use or other common driving errors to build a narrative that places all the responsibility on you. Their goal is to make a jury or claims adjuster see only your mistake, however small it may have been.
The Trucker’s Higher Standard of Care
This is where R.S. Mo. § 304.012 becomes your strongest asset. This statute holds that all motorists in Missouri must operate their vehicles with the “highest degree of care.” While this applies to everyone, courts have long interpreted this to mean that professional commercial drivers, due to their extensive training and the dangerous nature of their vehicles, have a greater responsibility to anticipate and avoid hazards than ordinary motorists.
This legal distinction may shift the entire dynamic of fault allocation. A jury might agree that you made an error, like changing lanes too quickly. However, they must also consider whether the professional truck driver, with their specialized training, failed in their heightened duty to maintain a safe following distance, manage their speed, and remain alert to the actions of other drivers. This may change a 50/50 fault assessment to a 70/30 or even 80/20 split in your favor.
To prove this failure, we analyze evidence from the truck itself. This includes:
- Electronic Logging Device (ELD) data: To check for signs of driver fatigue or violations of hours-of-service regulations.
- Black Box/ECU Data: To reconstruct the truck’s speed, braking, and steering inputs moments before the crash.
- Maintenance Records: To identify any mechanical failures that the trucking company should have addressed.
Strategic Defense: How Insurers Weaponize Comparative Fault
Understand that insurance adjusters and the lawyers they hire are not neutral parties. They work for a business that must balance paying claims with remaining profitable. A key part of their strategy is to use the pure comparative fault rule to their own advantage by assigning as much blame as possible to you, the injury victim.
The 51% Goal and Joint Liability
Even though Missouri has no 51% bar for recovery, insurers still aim to push your fault above 50%. Why? Because of another law, R.S. Mo. § 537.067, which deals with joint and several liability. This rule states that if a defendant is found to be 51% or more at fault, they can be held responsible for 100% of the damages, even if other parties were also at fault. Conversely, if a defendant is found to be less than 51% at fault, they are generally only responsible for their specific share.
By arguing you are more than 50% responsible, the trucking company’s insurer tries to limit their financial exposure, making it more difficult for you to collect the full amount you are owed, especially if multiple parties were involved.
Common Allegations Used to Inflate Your Fault
Insurers typically rely on a few common arguments to shift blame onto the victim, particularly in the dense traffic corridors of St. Louis and Jackson Counties, like I-70 or I-270. These include claims of:
- Following too closely: Arguing you did not leave enough space between your vehicle and the truck.
- Distracted driving: Looking for any indication you might have been using your phone or were otherwise not paying full attention.
- Improper merging or lane change: Claiming you cut the truck off or moved into its blind spot without warning.
- The Seat Belt Defense: Insurers will also argue that your failure to wear a seat belt contributed to the severity of your injuries, even if it didn’t cause the crash itself. Given that a high percentage of roadway fatalities in Missouri involve unbuckled occupants, this is a frequent tactic. They will argue that your compensation should be reduced because your injuries would have been less severe had you been properly restrained.
An immediate investigation is necessary to preserve crucial evidence, such as dashcam footage from other vehicles, surveillance video from nearby businesses, and electronic data from the vehicles involved before it is lost or overwritten. Acting quickly to get legal help may make all the difference in refuting these allegations.
Calculating Damages: A Practical Scenario
How pure comparative fault works in practice comes down to a simple mathematical formula. The court or the parties in a settlement negotiation will first determine the total value of your damages. This includes all economic and non-economic losses. Then, they apply the fault percentage to arrive at your final recovery amount.
The formula is:
Total Damages – (Total Damages x Your % of Fault) = Your Final Recovery
For instance, if a jury determines your total damages are a certain amount but also finds you were 20% at fault for the accident, your final award would be reduced by that 20%.
A Note on the No Pay-No Play Trap
There is one significant exception to be aware of in Missouri law. It’s a provision known as No Pay-No Play, detailed in R.S. Mo. § 303.390. This statute says that if you were an uninsured driver at the time of the accident, you waive your right to recover non-economic damages (like pain and suffering) from an at-fault driver who has insurance.
You may still sue for your economic losses (medical bills, property damage, and lost wages), but your recovery for the human impact of the injury is barred. Comparative fault still applies and will reduce your economic damage award accordingly.
Cross-Border Complexity: What If the Crash Happened Near the State Line?
Missouri shares a border with eight different states, several of which, like Kansas, use the much harsher modified comparative fault system. This may create complicated legal questions when an accident happens on or near a state line. What happens if a Missouri resident is hit by a Kansas-based truck just across the border in Kansas City, Kansas? Which state’s fault law applies?
This legal puzzle is resolved through a principle called Conflict of Laws. Courts must decide which state has the most significant interest in the outcome of the case. In Missouri, courts have provided guidance on this exact issue.
In a case called Hicks v. Graves, the court established that Missouri courts will typically apply Missouri’s pure comparative fault rule if the state has the “most significant relationship” to the incident and the parties. Factors that establish this relationship include:
- Where the injured person resides.
- Where the vehicles are registered and insured.
- Where the medical treatment is occurring.
- The overall interests of Missouri in protecting its own residents.
FAQ for Missouri Truck Accident Claims
Does Missouri place a cap on how much I can recover if I am partially at fault?
For compensatory damages (economic and non-economic losses), there are no caps in Missouri. Your recovery is only limited by the total amount of damages and your percentage of fault. Punitive damages, which are intended to punish a defendant for extreme misconduct, are uncapped but are only awarded in rare cases. They require “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant intentionally caused harm or acted with a flagrant disregard for the safety of others, as defined in R.S. Mo. § 510.261.
Can I sue the trucking company if the driver was an independent contractor?
Yes, in many cases. Trucking companies sometimes use the independent contractor label to try to shield themselves from liability. However, courts look at the actual level of control the company exerts over the driver. If the company controls routes, schedules, and work methods, a court may find an employer-employee relationship exists for liability purposes. This is known as vicarious liability, and it may hold the company responsible for its driver’s negligence.
How does comparative fault affect a wrongful death claim in Missouri?
The same pure comparative fault rules apply. The court will determine the degree of fault of your deceased family member and compare it to the fault of the truck driver and their company. The total compensation awarded to the surviving family members under the wrongful death statute will be reduced by the decedent’s percentage of fault.
What if there were three vehicles involved: a car, a truck, and me?
Fault is divided among all responsible parties. For example, a jury might find the truck driver 60% at fault, another car driver 20% at fault, and you 20% at fault. You would then be able to recover damages from the other two drivers based on their respective percentages of fault, while your own total recovery would be reduced by your 20% share.
Does an apology at the scene count as admitting fault?
Saying “I’m sorry” at the scene of an accident may be used by an insurance company as evidence of an admission of fault. However, it is not definitive legal proof. In court, the physical and forensic evidence carries far more weight than a polite or emotional statement made in the stressful moments following a crash.
Don’t Let Partial Blame Stop Your Pursuit of Justice
Being partially responsible for a truck accident does not take away your rights in Missouri. The state’s pure comparative fault law was written specifically to protect people in your exact situation—those who have suffered serious harm but may have also made a minor mistake.
If an insurer is blaming you for the crash or you are worried that your own actions will prevent you from getting the help you need, contact DM Injury Law. We will listen to what happened and give you a clear, honest assessment of your options. Call us for a free consultation.