Missouri workers' compensation is a no-fault system. You do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong, and in exchange you generally cannot sue your employer. What the system owes you is medical treatment for the injury, part of your lost wages while you cannot work, and compensation for any permanent disability.
The tradeoff is that the process is administered rather than argued. Deadlines, medical opinions, and paperwork drive the result, and the insurer is far more familiar with all three than you are.
What benefits the system actually provides
Comp is narrower than an injury lawsuit. There is no recovery for pain and suffering. What it does cover matters a great deal when you cannot work.
- Medical treatment for the work injury, paid by the employer's insurer
- Wage replacement while a doctor has you off work or on restrictions
- Compensation for permanent disability once you reach maximum medical improvement
- Vocational help in some cases where you cannot return to the same work
- Death benefits for a family when a work injury is fatal
The disability rating is where the money is
Once treatment finishes, a doctor assigns a percentage of permanent disability. That percentage, applied to your wage rate, largely determines your settlement.
The rating usually comes from the doctor the insurer chose. You can obtain your own independent rating, and the two often differ substantially. Closing that gap is one of the most concrete things a lawyer does in a comp case.
When there's a claim outside of comp
Workers' compensation is generally your only remedy against your employer. It is not your only remedy against everyone.
If a subcontractor, a driver, a property owner, or a defective piece of equipment caused your injury, there may be a separate injury claim against that third party alongside the comp claim. That claim can include the pain and suffering that comp does not cover, so it is always worth asking who else was involved.
Deadlines
Missouri requires prompt written notice to your employer after an injury, and there is a separate, longer deadline to file a formal claim with the Division of Workers' Compensation.
Missing the notice window is the most common self-inflicted problem in these cases. If you are past it, call anyway, because there are exceptions and the answer depends on the facts.