The Tort Victims’ Compensation Fund exists to help compensate those who have been injured due to the negligence or recklessness of another (such as in a motor vehicle collision or a hunting accident), and who have been unable to obtain full compensation because the party at fault (the tortfeasor) had no insurance, or inadequate insurance, or has filed for bankruptcy, or for other reasons specified by the law.
Who is ELIGIBLE to make a claim:
- A person who has obtained a final money judgment in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in which all appeals are final, but who has been unable to collect the full amount of the judgment
- A person whose claim for personal injury or wrongful death was settled for the policy limits of liability insurance, and those policy limits are inadequate to cover the amount of damages caused by the personal injury or wrongful death.
- If the uncompensated tort victim is deceased, the surviving spouse or certain other family members of the deceased may make a claim
Who is NOT ELIGIBLE to make a claim:
- If the injury occurred outside of the state of Missouri, and the injured person was not a Missouri resident, there is no one eligible to make a claim against the Fund for the injury.
- A corporation, partnership, or commercial entity is not eligible to make a claim against the Fund.
- Anyone who was on house arrest or who was confined in any jail, prison, or correctional facility at the time of the injury is not eligible to make a claim against the Fund.
- Anyone who pleaded guilty to, or had been found guilty of two or more felonies, which felonies were committed within 10 years of the injury, and where either of the felonies involved a controlled substance or an act of violence is not eligible to make a claim against the Fund.