Missouri courts will not refer a case to a jury based on hurt feelings. In order to recover for emotional distress as a separate claim, you must prove a mental injury that is diagnosable by a medical professional and severe enough to be considered medically significant.
Emotional Distress Is Usually Part of a Larger Injury Claim
Most people asking this question have already had another case. If a distracted driver puts you in the hospital, the anxiety, PTSD, insomnia and depression that follow are recoverable as non-economic damages in that injury claim. No separate lawsuit is needed. This is the most common path and it runs within the general five-year deadline in RSMo § 516.120.
Intentional Infliction Requires Genuinely Outrageous Conduct
For an IIED claim, you must show that the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly, that the conduct was extreme and outrageous, and that it caused severe emotional distress. Missouri sets the bar, where the Restatement sets it: the conduct must be atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community. A judge screens this question before a jury hears it. Rudeness, unfair treatment at work, and even truly cruel behavior often falls short.
There is a timing trap here that catches people. When a IIED claim exists only because of an underlying battery or similar act, the Missouri Supreme Court applies a two-year deadline under § 516.140 rather than five years.
Negligent Infliction Turns on Medical Proof
You do not need physical evidence. Missouri abandoned this requirement in 1983. Instead, you need:
- Proof that the defendant should have known their actions created an unreasonable risk of emotional distress.
- A diagnosis of the distress, which must be medically diagnosed and significant, meaning treatment records, not just testimony about how severe it was.
- Causation linking the diagnosis to the defendant’s actions.
Bystander claims are a separate category. A parent who witnesses a child being struck by a careless driver may have a case, but the relationship, proximity, and what the individual actually saw at the time are all important.
Workplace Stress Follows the Workers’ Compensation Rules
If the distress comes from your job, § 287.120 generally applies instead of a civil suit. Section 8 says mental injury from work-related stress is not compensated unless the stress is related to work and extraordinary and unusual, as measured by objective standards and actual events. Section 9 closes the door on claims based on discipline, evaluations, transfers, layoffs, demotions, or terminations dealt with in good faith.
Ordinary job pressure will not clear that bar. Witnessing a fatal accident on a job site can lead to PTSD claims under § 287.067 for first responders.
Where the Deadlines Stand in 2026
The five-year window still applies to most Missouri injury claims. Lawmakers have tried to shorten it: the House passed HB 68 in 2025 to cut it to two years, and a negotiated three-year version stalled in the Senate. Nothing has passed, so the current rule remains. Other deadlines are shorter and more strict. Medical malpractice claims fall under § 516.105 after two years. Wrongful death claims run for three years under § 537.100. Claims involving cities, counties or public employees may have notice requirements measured in weeks.
Get Your Case Reviewed Before the Evidence Fades
Emotional distress cases are won by documentation. Treatment records, therapy notes, and testimony from people who have watched you change carry weight that the words “I’ve been struggling” cannot. The sooner someone starts building this record, the stronger their claim.
Wegmann Law Firm has more than 50 years of experience in personal injury, criminal, family law, and workers’ compensation cases in Jefferson County and surrounding areas. Our attorneys can help you determine which claim is best for your situation, what deadlines apply, and what evidence should be collected. Contact us to schedule a consultation and let us help you.
