When a loved one dies because of someone else’s negligence, no amount of money can replace what your family has lost. However, a wrongful death claim can help surviving family members recover compensation for the financial and personal losses caused by the death.
In Missouri, there is no set formula for determining the value of a wrongful death case. Compensation is based on the deceased’s medical bills, funeral costs, income, future earning potential, household contributions, relationship to survivors, and applicable legal limits or faults. This guide explains how these damages are calculated and how Brown & Crouppen supports you through the process.
What Missouri Law Says About Wrongful Death Damages
The Statutory Framework: RSMo 537.090
Missouri law allows juries or the court to consider several types of losses in wrongful death claims. Under RSMo 537.090, damages may include funeral expenses, the value of the deceased’s services, consortium, companionship, comfort, instruction, guidance, counsel, training, and support. Damages also cover suffering between injury and death.
Missouri law also details what is excluded. Surviving family members cannot claim separate damages for grief or bereavement. The claim focuses on the loss of value in relationships, support, services, and companionship.
Who Receives the Damages — and How They Are Divided
Missouri law controls who may file wrongful death claims. Only one wrongful death action may be filed. Under Missouri law, most wrongful death claims must be filed within three years of the date of death.
First, this includes the surviving spouse, children, descendants, parents, or certain adoptive family members. If none exist, siblings or their descendants can file. If no eligible family is available, the court appoints a “plaintiff ad litem” upon a qualified petition.
In our experience evaluating these cases, relationship matters. A spouse who depended on daily companionship and financial support may have a different claim than an adult relative who had limited contact. A minor child who lost guidance, care, and support may also have a substantial non-economic loss that must be carefully documented.
Economic Damages in a Missouri Wrongful Death Claim
Economic damages are financial losses proven by bills, records, employment documents, or expert calculations.
Medical Expenses Before Death
If your loved one received medical care before death, those costs may be included. This can cover ambulance bills, emergency treatment, surgery, hospitalization, medication, rehabilitation, or end-of-life care related to the cause of death.
Funeral and Burial Costs
Funeral and burial expenses are also considered in Missouri wrongful death damages. These are usually supported with invoices, receipts, and payment records from the funeral home, cemetery, cremation provider, or related services.
Lost Income and Future Earning Capacity
Lost income is often the largest component of the claim if the deceased was a primary wage earner. This includes wages, salary, bonuses, health and union benefits, retirement contributions, and other employment compensation the person would have earned.
To calculate this amount, attorneys often review pay stubs, tax returns, employment records, work history, age, health, career path, and expected retirement age. In higher-value claims, economists or vocational experts may be used to estimate future income and discount it to present value. For example, if a 35-year-old skilled tradesperson earned $75,000 per year and would have worked another 30 years, the lost-wage starting point alone would be $2.25 million before considering raises, health insurance, retirement benefits, taxes, personal expenses, and present-value adjustments. This does not mean every case with those facts is automatically worth that amount, but it shows why detailed employment records and expert analysis can make a major difference.
Loss of Household Services and Caregiver Value
The deceased did not need to be the highest earner for their loss to be financially significant. Missouri law recognizes the value of household support, guidance, and care. If the deceased provided childcare, transportation, meals, cleaning, home maintenance, elder care, or care for a disabled relative, these contributions can be included.
Missouri law provides a caregiver provision when the deceased was not employed full-time but cared for minors, disabled people, or seniors over sixty-five. In these cases, damages may be calculated at 110% of the state’s average weekly wage.
Hypothetical example: A 58-year-old grandmother is not employed full time because she cares for her disabled husband and helps provide daily childcare for two grandchildren. If she dies in a preventable crash, the family may be able to argue that her caregiving had a measurable financial value even though she did not receive a paycheck. The defense may argue that the family would have provided the same care at no cost, but the statute gives families a starting point for proving that unpaid care has real economic value.
Non-Economic Damages: Loss of Consortium, Companionship, and Support
Non-economic damage is harder to measure because they lack records. These losses focus on companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, training, support, and consortium.
How Missouri Courts Value Non-Economic Losses
There is no set value for losing a parent, spouse, or child. The amount depends on each case’s evidence. Family testimony, photos, messages, routines, and statements from friends or coworkers can demonstrate the person’s role in the family.
In many wrongful death cases, the non-economic damages are the largest part of the recovery. This is especially true when the deceased person was the emotional center of the family, actively raising children, caring for a spouse, or providing daily guidance and support. The goal is to help the insurance company, judge, or jury understand not just that the family suffered a loss, but what was taken from them.
Brown & Crouppen attorneys outline these losses. The best evidence of non-economic loss comes from specific details, not broad claims. Instead of saying someone was a loving spouse, show they packed lunches, drove children to school, managed appointments, coached, cared for parents, or called home daily. These details explain the value of companionship, comfort, guidance, and support, and are key evidence in many claims.
What Missouri Does Not Allow: Grief and Bereavement
Missouri does not allow a separate award for grief and bereavement.
For example, suppose a 39-year-old mother dies in a preventable crash, leaving behind a spouse and two young children. The family cannot ask the jury for a separate award simply because they are grieving, even though that grief is very real. Instead, the evidence should focus on what Missouri law does allow: the loss of companionship, comfort, instruction, guidance, counsel, training, and support.
For the surviving spouse, that may mean showing the daily partnership that was lost, such as shared parenting, household decisions, financial planning, family routines, and emotional support. For the children, it may mean showing the loss of bedtime routines, homework help, school drop-offs, parent-teacher conferences, sports practices, birthday traditions, and everyday guidance.
Does Missouri Cap Wrongful Death Damages?
No Cap for Most Wrongful Death Cases Key Takeaway: Most wrongful death cases in Missouri are not subject to a damages cap; damages are based on proven losses and sources of recovery.
Some fatal injury cases involve more than bills, lost income, and companionship. In certain Missouri wrongful death cases, additional damages may be awarded when the defendant’s conduct was especially reckless or egregious. Under RSMo § 537.090, the jury may consider “aggravating circumstances attending the death.” Missouri courts have interpreted this language to permit what are commonly referred to as punitive damages in appropriate cases.
In a St. Louis truck underride case, Brown & Crouppen co-counseled a trial in which the jury awarded a $462 million verdict—$6 million in compensatory damages per family and $450 million in punitive damages. While few cases yield such sums, this case shows how dangerous products and evidence of safety failures affect damage. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, and every wrongful death case depends on its own facts, evidence, insurance coverage, liability issues, and damages.
The Medical Malpractice Exception — and How the Cap Is Calculated
Wrongful death cases involving medical malpractice are different. Missouri law caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases, including those involving death. The statute also treats all wrongful death claimants as a single plaintiff for purposes of that cap and increases the cap by 1.7% annually.
For 2026, Missouri’s published medical malpractice non-economic damages cap for catastrophic injury/death is $842,614. Economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost income, are not part of those non-economic damages cap. https://insurance.mo.gov/industry-limits-and-caps/medical-malpractice-limits
How Comparative Fault Affects the Final Amount
When the Deceased Shares Fault for Their Own Death
Missouri follows pure comparative fault. This means a family may still recover damages even if the deceased person is found partially at fault, but the recovery is reduced by that percentage of fault.
Example Scenario: Comparative Fault in a Fatal Crash
Suppose a jury values a wrongful death claim at $1,000,000. That amount may include lost income, funeral expenses, household services, and loss of companionship and support.
If the deceased is found to be 20% at fault, the final recovery would be reduced to $800,000.
If the deceased person is found 50% at fault, the final recovery would be reduced to $500,000.
This is why fault evidence matters so much. A dispute over speeding, failure to yield, seatbelt use, impairment, or distracted driving can change the final recovery by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. For most Missouri wrongful death cases, there is no general cap on damages. This includes many car accidents, truck accidents, premises liability, and dangerous product cases. The main exception is medical malpractice, where Missouri caps non-economic damage. Economic damage, such as medical bills, funeral expenses, and lost income, are calculated separately.
Yes. Missouri’s pure comparative fault system allows recovery even when the deceased person was partially at fault. The final amount is reduced by the percentage of faults assigned to the deceased person.
Lost income is usually calculated by reviewing the deceased person’s age, work history, wages, benefits, career path, and expected future earnings. Attorneys may use tax returns, pay stubs, employment records, benefit information, and expert analysis to estimate what the person would have earned over their lifetime.
Get Help from A Personal Injury Attorney at Brown & Crouppen
Each wrongful death case is unique, and the amount a family may recover depends on the facts of the case, the available insurance coverage, the deceased person’s income and household role, and the relationship between the deceased person and surviving family members. Our attorneys help families gather the documents and evidence needed to show the full value of the claim, including medical bills, funeral expenses, employment records, tax returns, benefit information, family testimony, and evidence of companionship, guidance, and support.
Early legal intervention can help protect your rights and improve your chances of compensation. The choice of a lawyer is important and should not be made without careful consideration.
Our legal team is here to help you learn more about your legal options and evaluate the strength of your accident claim. We care about our community and have dedicated our practice to helping injury victims recover justice, accountability, and compensation.
Get started today with your free case evaluation by visiting Brown & Crouppen online or by calling us at (314) 501-9510. Our St. Louis and Kansas City personal injury lawyers have helped clients recover over $1 billion in settlements and verdicts. And remember, there are no upfront costs or legal fees – we only get paid if you win.
