The Missouri Tort Victim Compensation Fund is a unique benefit for Missouri undercompensated tort victims. If an individual in Missouri has been injured, but there were not sufficient insurance proceeds to compensate the injured party, the Missouri Tort Victim Compensation Fund can step in to pay the injured party an additional amount, up to $300,000. For the past several years, the Fund has awarded over $100 million per year to thousands of undercompensated tort victims.
To finance the Fund, the State is given a lien on fifty percent of any final judgment awarding punitive damages in Missouri courts. Per Missouri statute, seventy-four percent of all payments received by the tort victims’ compensation fund . . . shall, upon appropriation, be appropriated to the division of workers’ compensation to assist uncompensated tort victims. This means that if a $100 million punitive damage award is collected in Missouri, 50% goes to the State, and 74% of that amount goes to the Tort Victim Compensation Fund. This results in millions of dollars becoming available to undercompensated tort victims.
In 2022, the Missouri General Assembly apportioned $150 million of $274,418,251 in the fund to the Division to pay 2022 undercompensated tort victim claims; however, the total compensation awards amounted to over $370 million. Accordingly, the Division paid the claims on a pro rata basis, reducing the awards to 40%. A group of Claimants brought suit alleging that the Division could not hold back funds for future year Claimants, and rather the entirety of the money in the Fund must be paid out, despite what amount was apportioned to a specific year.
While the lawsuit was pending with the 2022 Claimants, all future Tort Victim Compensation Fund payments were stalled, resulting in thousands of tort victims having to wait to receive their award. To date, 2023 Claimants and 2024 claimants have been told what their award is, but no payments have been issued while the 2022 claimants lawsuit and subsequent appeal has been pending.
The trial court disagreed with the 2022 Claimants and found that all 2022 Claimants had been appropriately paid. The Claimants appealed the trial court’s ruling to the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District. On August 5, 2025, the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District issued its Opinion in the matter of Louise Jones v. Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirming the trial court’s ruling that the awards could be reduced on a pro rata basis. The Court of Appeals stated that the “Division’s payment calculation were consistent with the governing statutes and lawful.”
For thousands of undercompensated tort victims across Missouri, this ruling by the Court of Appeals means they will likely receive their awards soon, albeit on a pro rata basis. If you or a client of yours is believed to be an undercompensated tort victim and have more questions about the Missouri Tort Victim Compensation Fund, the law firm of Preuss | Foster Law is happy to assist.
When insurance coverage does not fully compensate our clients, Preuss | Foster Law goes the extra mile to find all available recoveries. This includes analyzing and applying for funds under the Missouri Tort Victims Compensation Fund.