Hurt at work in Missouri? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file
Tell your employer in writing within 30 days. File your claim within 2 years.
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,294.71 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).
Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.
In Missouri, temporary total disability pays part of your lost wages while a doctor says you cannot work because of a work injury. Your employer's insurance company pays the benefits; disputes go to an administrative law judge of the Division of Workers' Compensation, and appeals to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.
Free tools for Missouri
Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.
Deadline helper
Benefit estimate calculator
This estimate uses the rule in Missouri's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.
Written notice to your employer
A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.
Claim checklist: what to gather and do
A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.
Deadlines in Missouri
- Tell your employer
- 30 days
- File your claim
- 2 years
- Waiting period
No compensation is paid for the first three days or less of disability on which the employer is open for business (the DWC calls these business days), unless the disability lasts longer than 14 days.
Weekly benefit in Missouri
- What it pays
- Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
- Maximum
- $1,294.71 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
- Minimum
- $40 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
- Minimum rule
The weekly benefit is never less than $40.
- Applies to
- Injuries and illnesses occurring on or after July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027
Law: RSMo §§ 287.170, 287.250
Source: labor.mo.gov
Who is your doctor in Missouri?
- Who chooses
- Your employer or its insurer chooses
Your employer (or its insurer) has the right to select the treating doctor and other health care providers, and must provide the treatment reasonably needed to cure and relieve the effects of the injury. If you want, you can choose your own doctor, but at your own expense.
There is no automatic right to change doctors at the employer's expense. If the treatment is being provided in a way that reasonably endangers your life, health or recovery, the Division or the Commission can order a change of physician. If needed treatment is refused, you can ask for a mediation or a hardship hearing before an administrative law judge.
Law: RSMo § 287.140(1), (2), (10)
Source: revisor.mo.gov
Who is covered in Missouri
- Size of employer
Any employer with five or more employees must carry workers' compensation coverage (or be approved to self-insure). Family members of the employer count toward the five.
- Special rules
- Construction industry: Construction employers who build, demolish, alter or repair improvements must have coverage with one or more employees.
- Not covered
- Employers with fewer than five employees (except construction)
- Farm labor
- Domestic servants in a private home, including family chauffeurs, and occasional labor for a private household
- Qualified real estate agents and direct sellers
- Unpaid volunteers of tax-exempt charitable organizations
- Certain inmates and state mental health patients working for the state or local government
- Family members and salaried officers of a family farm corporation
- Corporations whose only employees are no more than two owners who elect out
- Workers covered by federal programs, sometimes in addition to state law (federal employees, railroad, longshore, seamen)
- If your employer has no insurance
If your employer was required to have coverage and did not, you may choose either to sue the employer for damages for your injury (the employer cannot blame your own negligence or a co-worker's) or to claim workers' compensation from the employer with the payments made due at once. Missouri's Second Injury Fund paid medical costs for uninsured employers only for injuries before January 1, 2014.
Law: RSMo §§ 287.030, 287.090, 287.220, 287.280
Source: labor.mo.gov
If your claim is denied or delayed in Missouri
- First step
Contact your employer or the insurance company first. If the problem is not solved, you can use the Division's free, voluntary Dispute Management Unit (a mediator works with both sides by phone, usually before a claim is filed), ask for a conference with an administrative law judge, or file a Claim for Compensation.
Fired or punished for filing in Missouri
An employer may not fire you or discriminate against you for exercising your rights under the workers' compensation law, when exercising those rights is the motivating factor (it actually played a role and had a determinative influence) in the firing or discrimination.
- The law
- RSMo § 287.780
- What you may get
You have a civil action for damages against your employer.
- Where to file
A lawsuit in state circuit court.
Law: RSMo § 287.780
Source: revisor.mo.gov
Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Missouri
You do not need money to talk to or hire a workers' compensation lawyer; they offer free first consultations and work on a contingency fee (a percentage of what they obtain for you). The Division or Commission can approve reasonable attorney fees as a lien on your compensation.
Besides medical care and TTD, Missouri workers' compensation can pay temporary partial disability, permanent partial disability, permanent total disability, Second Injury Fund benefits in some cases, death benefits to survivors and funeral expenses up to $5,000, enhanced benefits for listed toxic-exposure diseases such as mesothelioma, mileage, and a $100,000 line-of-duty death benefit for first responders' survivors.
Law: 69.5 cents a mile from July 1, 2026
Free help in Missouri
State agency
Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC)
- Phone
- 1-800-775-2667
- Address
- 421 East Dunklin St., P.O. Box 58, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0058
Free help
Good to know in Missouri
- Workers' compensation payments are tax free (DWC).
- You cannot receive TTD for any period in which you apply for and receive unemployment benefits.
- Your employer may let or require you to use paid leave for medical appointments during work time.
Changes in 2024–2026
The state average weekly wage for the fiscal year July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027 is $1,233.06, so the TTD maximum for injuries in that year is $1,294.71 a week and mileage is 69.5 cents a mile.
Questions about workers' comp in Missouri
How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in Missouri?
Report your injury immediately to your employer or supervisor. The law requires written notice to your employer no later than 30 days after the accident, stating the time, place and nature of the injury and your name and address.
How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in Missouri?
If you have not been properly compensated, you can file a Claim for Compensation with the Division. It must be filed within 2 years after the date of injury or death, or after the last payment made because of the injury.
How much does workers' comp pay in Missouri?
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,294.71 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).
Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in Missouri?
Your employer (or its insurer) has the right to select the treating doctor and other health care providers, and must provide the treatment reasonably needed to cure and relieve the effects of the injury.
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in Missouri?
An employer may not fire you or discriminate against you for exercising your rights under the workers' compensation law, when exercising those rights is the motivating factor (it actually played a role and had a determinative influence) in the firing or discrimination.
What if my workers' comp claim is denied in Missouri?
Contact your employer or the insurance company first. If the problem is not solved, you can use the Division's free, voluntary Dispute Management Unit (a mediator works with both sides by phone, usually before a claim is filed), ask for a conference with an administrative law judge, or file a Claim for Compensation.
Not about a work injury?
Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com
Nearby states
Sources
- DWC: Process for Injured Workers
- DWC: File a Claim
- DWC: Benefits Available
- DWC: Resolve Your Case
- DWC: Occupational Diseases
- DWC: Obtaining a Lawyer
- DWC: Are You Covered?
- DWC memo: State Average Weekly Wage and Benefit Maximums - July 1, 2026
- Claim for Compensation (WC-21-A)
- RSMo 287.420
- RSMo 287.430 (limitation)
- RSMo 287.160 (waiting period)
- RSMo 287.170 (TTD)
- RSMo 287.140 (medical, employer selects provider)
- RSMo 287.780 (discrimination)
- RSMo 287.030 and 287.090 (coverage, exemptions)
- RSMo 287.280 (uninsured employer)