A Claim Against the Government
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.600 — immunity waived for public vehicles and dangerous property, and ninety days' written notice to the mayor for a defect in a city street
Missouri keeps the sovereign immunity that existed at common law before September 12, 1977, except where a statute waives it. The immunity of a public entity from suit for compensatory damages for negligence is expressly waived in two instances.
Who handles this in Missouri: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Missouri directory.
- Injuries directly resulting from the negligence of public employees in the operation of motor vehicles or motorized vehicles within the course of their employment.
- Injuries caused by the dangerous condition of a public entity's property, where the injury directly resulted from it, the condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of that kind of injury, and an employee created the condition or the entity had actual or constructive notice of it in time to have protected against it.
Limits on what can be awarded. The section sets the liability of the state and its public entities at no more than two million dollars for all claims from a single accident or occurrence and three hundred thousand dollars for any one person, and allows no punitive or exemplary damages. Those limits are increased or decreased each January first for inflation, and the current value is published in the Missouri Register.
In a city of the third class, a city of the fourth class, and a city of one hundred thousand inhabitants or more, no action may be maintained for injuries growing out of a defect in the condition of a bridge, boulevard, street, sidewalk or thoroughfare until notice has first been given in writing to the mayor.
- The notice is given within ninety days of the occurrence for which the damage is claimed.
- It states where and when the injury was received, and the character and circumstances of the injury.
- It states that the person injured will claim damages from the city.
Which class a city is, whether a waiver or an exception applies, and whether notice was given in time are questions for a licensed Missouri attorney.
Sources for this section (5)
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.600 — Sovereign immunity in effect — exceptions — cause of action for damages, liability — definitions
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.610 — Liability insurance for tort claims may be purchased by whom — limitation on waiver of immunity — maximum amount payable for claims out of single occurrence — exception — apportionment of settlements — inflation — penalties
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 77.600 — Claims and suits for damages — notice
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 79.480 — Notice of action shall be given — when — contents
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 82.210 — Action for damages maintained, how
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Missouri attorney.