How Much Are Most Truck Accident Settlements In Missouri?

Sansone & Lauber | November 19, 2025 | Truck Accidents Articles

Most truck accident settlements in Missouri commonly range from tens of thousands of dollars to several hundred thousand dollars, while serious, life-changing injury or wrongful death cases can reach well into the millions — and the St. Louis truck accident lawyers at Sansone & Lauber focus on pushing your case toward the highest end of that range the facts will support.

Below is a plain-English, step-by-step guide to how Missouri truck accident settlements are calculated, what “most” cases look like, what can drive your settlement higher, and how we fight trucking companies and their insurers on behalf of people hurt in crashes across St. Louis and all of Missouri.

Truck accident victims almost always ask the same question:

“How much is my Missouri truck accident case worth?”

There is no single “standard” payout — every case is different. But we can talk about typical ranges and the factors that push a settlement up or down.

Nationwide, legal and insurance data show:

One analysis of over 400 truck accident settlements found an average settlement of about $103,000 and a median of around $30,000.
Several firms report that many truck accident settlements fall somewhere between $100,000 and $500,000, with some cases — especially those involving permanent disability or death — reaching $1 million or more.
Federal research estimates that a typical injury-causing trucking crash can result in economic losses around $200,000, and a fatal crash can exceed $3.6 million in losses.

Those are national numbers, not Missouri-specific, and they are not guarantees. But they give you a realistic picture:

Minor injury truck cases may resolve in the five figures.
Serious injury cases often resolve in the high five or six figures.
Catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases can reach the high six, seven, or even eight figures, depending on the facts and available insurance.

Missouri itself has a serious trucking problem. In 2024, one analysis of Missouri data found about 15,000 trucking accidents, with roughly 2,700 injuries and 119 deaths.

Recent statewide reports show over 2,800 injury-causing crashes and more than 120 fatal truck crashes in a single year, injuring thousands of people.

That’s why truck accident cases in Missouri can involve large insurance policies and high-stakes negotiations — and why you want a law firm that knows how to handle big truck cases, not just regular car wrecks.

If you were injured in a truck crash anywhere in Missouri, call Sansone & Lauber at (314) 863-0500 for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.

(This blog is general information, not legal advice. Your case value depends on your specific facts.)

What Affects “Most” Truck Accident Settlements In Missouri?

Think of your settlement like a math problem:

Truck accident settlement value = (Your total damages) × (Liability strength) × (Insurance coverage and collectability)

Here are the big levers that affect how much most truck accident settlements end up being:

How severe and permanent your injuries are
The size of your medical bills and future treatment needs
How much work you miss and whether you can return to your old job
How clearly we can prove the truck driver and trucking company were at fault
Whether there were safety rule violations (FMCSA rules)
The amount of insurance coverage and assets available
The quality of the evidence and expert witnesses
Whether your case settles pre-suit, during litigation, or at trial

The rest of this guide breaks those factors down in plain English.

1. Injury Severity: Why A Truck Case Is Not “Just Another Car Wreck”

Because semi-trucks and commercial vehicles are huge, the injuries they cause are often devastating. On Missouri highways like I-70, I-44, I-55, I-64/40, and busy corridors around St. Louis, a loaded truck can weigh 20–40 times more than a passenger car.

Common serious injuries in Missouri truck crashes include:

Traumatic brain injuries (concussions, bleeding, permanent brain damage)
Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
Multiple fractures and crushed bones
Organ damage and internal bleeding
Amputations and degloving injuries
Severe burns from fires and explosions
Chronic pain, PTSD, anxiety, and depression

In general:

Soft-tissue or minor injuries → usually lower settlements
Broken bones and surgeries → mid-range to high-range settlements
Permanent disability, brain injury, paralysis, or wrongful death → often high six, seven, or even eight-figure potential (depending on coverage)

Truck cases also frequently involve long hospitalizations, multiple surgeries, and months of rehab, which drive up your medical bills — and therefore your potential settlement.

2. Medical Bills, Future Care, And Life-Care Plans

The more treatment you need, and the more your doctors say you’ll need in the future, the larger your potential settlement.

Economic damages can include:

ER and hospital bills
Surgery, imaging (MRIs, CT scans), injections
Physical therapy and rehab
Pain management
Home health care, nursing, or attendant care
Wheelchairs, braces, and home modifications

In serious Missouri truck cases, we often work with life-care planners and medical experts to project:

Future surgeries
Long-term medications and therapies
Home modifications and accessibility devices
The cost of in-home or facility care

Those projections can easily add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your damage model, which raises your settlement potential.

3. Lost Wages And Loss Of Earning Capacity

Truck crashes often take people off the job for weeks, months, or forever.

We look at:

How much time you’ve already missed from work
Whether you had to switch to a lower-paying job
Whether you can work at all
Your age, training, and career path

In serious cases, we use economists and vocational experts to put a dollar value on your future lost earning capacity — sometimes hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars over a lifetime.

The more your injury affects your income, the higher your potential settlement range.

4. Pain, Suffering, And Loss Of Enjoyment Of Life

You’re not just a spreadsheet.

Missouri law allows injured people to recover non-economic damages such as:

Physical pain
Emotional distress, anxiety, depression, PTSD
Loss of enjoyment of hobbies and activities
Sleep problems and chronic fatigue
Scarring, disfigurement, and embarrassment
Strain on marriages and family relationships

There is no fixed formula for these damages. In negotiations, we:

Tell your story through your own words and your family’s
Show photos, videos, and day-in-the-life presentations
Connect your symptoms to your doctors’ findings

The more clearly we show the human impact of the crash, the stronger your case is for a higher settlement.

5. Liability: How Clearly Can We Prove The Trucking Company Was At Fault?

Two truck cases with the same injuries can settle for very different amounts depending on liability.

In Missouri truck cases, we look for:

FMCSA violations (federal trucking safety rules)
- Hours-of-service (fatigue, driving too long)
- Maintenance failures (brakes, tires)
- Driver qualification problems
Missouri traffic violations, such as:
- Speeding
- Following too closely
- Unsafe lane changes or passing
- Running red lights or stop signs
Evidence of distracted driving (phones, GPS, in-cab computers)
Evidence of drunk or drug-impaired driving
Dangerous company policies that prioritize speed over safety

When fault is crystal clear and supported by strong evidence (videos, black-box data, eyewitnesses), insurance companies know they face big risk at trial, and that can push your settlement higher.

If liability is disputed or muddy, insurers often discount your case — and we must fight harder with reconstruction experts, depositions, and aggressive litigation.

6. Insurance Limits And Corporate Defendants

In a regular car accident, the at-fault driver might only have $25,000 or $50,000 in liability coverage in Missouri. That’s not much.

In a commercial truck case, there is usually a lot more insurance on the table. For example, federal rules require many interstate trucking companies to carry at least $750,000 to $1,000,000 in liability coverage, and many carry higher limits or umbrella policies.

We also look for:

Multiple liable parties (truck driver, trucking company, broker, shipper, maintenance company, etc.)
Umbrella and excess policies
Employer liability if the truck driver was working for a local company

The more coverage and assets we can reach, the greater the practical ceiling on your settlement.

7. Missouri Law: Statute Of Limitations And Comparative Fault

Statute Of Limitations

In most Missouri personal injury and truck accident cases, you generally have five years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit.

If you miss that deadline, your case is typically barred, no matter how strong it is. Waiting also makes it harder to gather evidence and can give the trucking company a head start on building its defense.

Bottom line: Don’t wait. Call a Missouri truck accident lawyer as soon as you can after the crash.

Comparative Fault

Missouri uses a pure comparative fault system:

If you’re found 20% at fault, your damages are reduced by 20%.
If you’re 60% at fault, you can still recover 40%.

So even if a truck company claims you:

Changed lanes too quickly
Were speeding slightly
Should have seen the truck earlier

…you may still have a strong case and a solid settlement if we show that their driver’s conduct was the main cause of the crash.

8. Where Do “Most” Missouri Truck Settlements Actually Land?

Because there’s no public database of Missouri-only truck settlement statistics, we look at national data and reported ranges and then apply them to Missouri’s laws and realities.

Putting it all together:

Lower-end / modest injury cases
- Soft tissue injury, short-term treatment, full recovery
- Often wind up in the $20,000–$75,000 ballpark, sometimes less or more depending on bills and insurance.
Moderate injury cases
- Fractures, significant soft tissue injury, months of treatment, some lingering symptoms
- Often land in the $75,000–$300,000 range, sometimes higher.
Serious injury cases
- Multiple fractures, surgeries, long-term pain, or partial disability
- Commonly fall in the $300,000–$750,000+ range.
Catastrophic injury or wrongful death cases
- Brain injury, paralysis, amputation, or fatality
- Realistically can reach $1 million–$5 million or more depending on coverage, age, lost earnings, and life-care needs.

These are rough ranges, not promises. Two cases with similar injuries can settle very differently based on liability, coverage, evidence, and lawyering.

9. How Sansone & Lauber Helps Maximize Missouri Truck Settlements

Sansone & Lauber is a St. Louis personal injury firm that handles serious truck accident cases across Missouri and Illinois. In truck cases, we prepare every claim as if it might go to trial — which often leads to larger settlements.

In a typical truck case, our team may:

Investigate the crash scene and photograph it under similar conditions
Obtain and analyze police and Missouri State Highway Patrol reports
Send spoliation letters to preserve:
- Black-box (ECM) data
- GPS and telematics
- Driver logs and electronic logging device (ELD) data
- Maintenance and inspection records
- Company safety policies and training materials
Work with accident reconstruction experts to show how and why the crash happened
Work with medical specialists and life-care planners to fully value your injuries
Hire economists and vocational experts to prove your wage loss and future earning capacity
Build compelling demands and settlement packages, including photos, videos, and day-in-the-life materials
Prepare your case for mediation, negotiation, or trial

All while:

Handling all communication with insurers
Keeping you updated and answering your questions
Working on a contingency fee — no fee unless we recover money for you

Call Sansone & Lauber now at (314) 863-0500 to discuss what your Missouri truck accident case may realistically be worth.

10. FAQs: Missouri Truck Accident Settlements

1. Is there an “average” truck accident settlement in Missouri?

Not really. There’s no official Missouri-only average, and national “average” figures can be misleading because a few huge cases skew the numbers. Studies of truck settlements across the U.S. show averages around $100,000–$150,000, but actual case values run from less than $10,000 to several million dollars depending on the facts.

The only meaningful number is the one based on your injuries, your medical bills, your lost wages, your pain, your liability facts, and the available insurance coverage.

2. Can my Missouri truck case settle for over $1 million?

Yes, in the right circumstances. Catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases — especially those involving strong evidence of trucking company fault and high insurance limits — can absolutely resolve for seven figures or more.

But not every case is a “million-dollar case,” and no lawyer can ethically guarantee a specific outcome.

3. Do most truck cases settle, or do they go to trial?

Most truck cases eventually settle, often after:

Full medical treatment or reaching maximum medical improvement
A thorough investigation and exchange of evidence
Some amount of litigation (depositions, written discovery, experts)

However, some cases must be tried — especially when the trucking company refuses to pay fair value.

We prepare every serious case as if it might go in front of a jury. That reputation and preparation pressure insurers to take you seriously.

4. How long does it take to get a settlement?

It depends:

Simple, lower-value cases can sometimes settle in a few months once you finish treatment.
Serious injury cases with ongoing treatment and disputed liability can take a year or more, especially if a lawsuit and experts are needed.

We balance speed with value. Settling too early, before we know your long-term prognosis, often means leaving money on the table.

5. How much does it cost to hire Sansone & Lauber for a truck case?

You pay no upfront fee.

We work on a contingency fee, which means our fee is a percentage of the final settlement or verdict.
We advance most case costs (experts, records, depositions, etc.) and are reimbursed only if we recover money for you.
If there is no recovery, you owe us no attorney’s fee.

Ready To Find Out What YOUR Missouri Truck Case May Be Worth?

No blog — even one this detailed — can tell you exactly what your truck accident settlement will be worth.

But we can:

Listen to your story
Review your medical records and crash evidence
Explain how Missouri law applies
Give you a realistic range based on our experience
Create a strategy to push your case toward the highest possible value

If you were injured in a truck crash on I-70, I-44, I-55, I-64/40, Highway 40, in St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson County, Columbia, Springfield, Kansas City, or anywhere else in Missouri:

Call Sansone & Lauber today at (314) 863-0500 for a free case evaluation. No fee unless we win. Don’t Wait! The sooner you call us, the sooner we can help you!