14-07-2025
Missouri House bill ignites debate on reducing limitations
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri House bill aimed at reducing the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is concerning for the partners at the Right Side Law Firm.
'You find individuals who have been hurt really, really bad,' said Tracey Chappell Vick, one of their managing partners.
'And so their treatment will go beyond the two-year statute of limitations that's being currently proposed.'
Liberty 9-year-old battling cancer competes for national title
The bill would decrease the statute of limitations from five years to two years. The bill's supporters say that it would 'help businesses thrive, reduce legal uncertainties and streamline litigation.'
Chappell Vick says that she fears it will cause a backlog in our court system.
'When we are filing lawsuits within a two-year time period, I feel like we are starting to clog up the court systems,' she said.
'And that's something that we desperately do not want to do. We have enough cases in the court system, especially here in Jackson County.'
House Bill 68 was introduced in the 2025 Missouri legislative session. It passed the House but never got a vote in the Senate. It's unclear if the bill will be reintroduced in the 2026 legislative session that starts on January 7.
Melinda Marshall, another managing partner at Right Side, says that she has a preference after working in both Kansas and Missouri.
'We cannot help our clients in Kansas the way we can help them in Missouri,' she said.
'A lot of it has to do with the fact that they have such a short time frame in order to allow us to bring a lawsuit.'
Both lawyers say that a two-year statute of limitations causes them to file suit without the evidence they'll need in their cases.
Metro school districts react to new Missouri cell phone policy
'So even though you're in court quicker, you may be there two or three years longer than you should be because you're just not ready,' Marshall said.
'This bill is not giving plaintiffs' attorneys the opportunity to really flesh out what this case needs and how to really bring this case to a close,' Chappell Vick said.
'Sometimes, more often than not, it's forcing us to file a lawsuit. That's not what we want to do. And I believe that that is exactly what this bill is forcing us to do.'
25 other states have their statute of limitations set at two years. Chappell Vick says that other states should be following Missouri's lead, not the other way around.
'I believe that the way that it currently sits, we can give our clients the opportunity to finish up their treatment. We can then negotiate with the insurance companies if we need to. And if the negotiation doesn't go anywhere, our clients are fully treated and if they then need to file a lawsuit, they can then do so.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
