A Missouri workers comp settlement chart shows the benefit weeks assigned to different body parts, but it does not set a fixed price.
A settlement depends on the body part, disability rating, and weekly compensation rate. The chart below gives a rough estimate but cannot account for every issue in a claim.
Table of contents
- How Does the Missouri Workers Comp Settlement Chart Work?
- Workers’ Comp Settlement Chart Missouri: Statutory Weeks
- How Is a Missouri Workers’ Compensation Settlement Calculated?
- What Our Clients Say about Us
- Missouri Assigns Weeks to Body Parts, Not Prices
- What Are Realistic Missouri Settlement Ranges for Common Injuries?
- Workers’ Comp Settlement Chart Missouri: What the Table Leaves Out
- Lump Sum and Structured Settlements Serve Different Situations
- Representation Changes What Gets Put on the Table
- When Should an Injured Worker Review a Proposed Settlement?
- FAQs: Missouri Workers’ Comp Settlement Chart
- Call Hall Ansley for a Free Missouri Workers’ Compensation Consultation
Key Takeaways:
- Missouri assigns a statutory number of weeks to scheduled body parts, including 232 weeks for an arm at the shoulder and 160 weeks for a leg at or above the knee.
- A permanent partial disability estimate generally multiplies the disability percentage by the applicable number of weeks and the worker’s compensation rate.
- The compensation rate is usually two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly earnings, subject to the limit in effect on the injury date.
- A physician’s impairment rating is important, but it does not automatically determine the final disability percentage or settlement.
How Does the Missouri Workers Comp Settlement Chart Work?
The chart supplies the statutory number of weeks used to calculate permanent partial disability, commonly called PPD. PPD means that an injury caused a lasting limitation, but the worker remains capable of some employment.
Section 287.190 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri contains the official schedule of losses. It assigns a different number of weeks to the loss, or loss of use, of an arm, hand, finger, leg, foot, toe, hearing, or vision.
An injured worker does not need to lose an entire body part for the schedule to apply. A partial loss of use is calculated as a percentage of the scheduled weeks.
For example, an injury rated at 20% disability at the shoulder uses 20% of 232 weeks. That produces 46.4 compensable weeks before the weekly rate is applied. If you have received a rating and want to understand what it may mean, call Hall Ansley, P.C. at 417-890-8700 for a free case review.
Workers’ Comp Settlement Chart Missouri: Statutory Weeks
This workers comp settlement chart Missouri workers can use is based on Missouri’s statutory schedule. The dollar examples use a $600 weekly PPD rate and a 10% disability rating solely to demonstrate the calculation.
| Injury location or scheduled loss | Statutory weeks | Sample value at 10% and $600 per week |
| Body as a whole, including many back or neck injuries | 400 | $24,000 |
| Arm at the shoulder | 232 | $13,920 |
| Arm between shoulder and elbow | 222 | $13,320 |
| Arm at the elbow | 210 | $12,600 |
| Arm between elbow and wrist | 200 | $12,000 |
| Hand at the wrist | 175 | $10,500 |
| Thumb at proximal joint | 60 | $3,600 |
| Thumb at distal joint | 45 | $2,700 |
| Index finger at proximal joint | 45 | $2,700 |
| Middle or ring finger at proximal joint | 35 | $2,100 |
| Little finger at proximal joint | 22 | $1,320 |
| Leg at the hip | 207 | $12,420 |
| Leg at or above the knee | 160 | $9,600 |
| Leg above the ankle and below the knee | 155 | $9,300 |
| Foot in the tarsus | 150 | $9,000 |
| Foot in the metatarsus | 110 | $6,600 |
| Great toe at proximal joint | 40 | $2,400 |
| Complete deafness in both ears | 180 | $10,800 |
| Complete deafness in one ear | 49 | $2,940 |
| Complete loss of sight in one eye | 140 | $8,400 |
These figures are illustrations, not settlement offers or typical results. Results may vary. Prior case outcomes do not guarantee similar results.
Missouri law adds 10 percent to the scheduled weeks when the disability is total by severance or complete loss of use of a scheduled member.
Back, neck, and some internal injuries are commonly evaluated as injuries to the body as a whole, with a 400-week limit. The correct level can become disputed when an injury affects more than one structure.
How Is a Missouri Workers’ Compensation Settlement Calculated?
A basic PPD estimate multiplies the disability percentage by the statutory weeks and the applicable weekly compensation rate. Written as a formula, it looks like this:
Disability percentage × statutory weeks × weekly PPD rate = estimated PPD value
Suppose a Springfield worker earns an average of $900 per week and receives a 15% rating at the shoulder. Two-thirds of $900 is $600, so the illustration would be:
15% × 232 weeks × $600 = $20,880
This example does not establish what another claim is worth. A final resolution may involve competing ratings, multiple injured body parts, disfigurement, unpaid temporary disability, medical expenses, or future care.
Missouri begins with 66 2/3% of the employee's own average weekly earnings, then applies a cap tied to the statewide average weekly wage. The statewide figure sets the ceiling; it does not replace your actual earnings.
For injuries occurring from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, the Missouri Department of Labor lists a maximum PPD rate of $678.18 per week. The injury date controls, so an older claim may use a different limit.
Get in touch with us for a free consultation if a calculation from an adjuster leaves out wages, a body part, or a permanent limitation.
What Our Clients Say about Us
Missouri Assigns Weeks to Body Parts, Not Prices
Searches for body part prices in Missouri suggest that every shoulder or knee carries a set price, but Missouri law does not work that way. The schedule assigns weeks, not fixed dollar amounts.
Two Greene County workers with similar claims can receive very different estimates, because wages, ratings, restrictions, prior conditions, and future care all differ.
Factors that can change an evaluation include:
- Whether the treatment course was completed or remains open.
- Permanent lifting, standing, or repetitive-motion and stress restrictions.
- Whether the worker returned to the same job.
- Whether more treatment is reasonably expected.
- Whether more than one body part was injured.
An online table is a starting point. A careful review connects the statutory formula to the record and to what the worker actually lives with.
What Are Realistic Missouri Settlement Ranges for Common Injuries?
Ranges are broad because no official Missouri chart publishes averages. These illustrations assume a covered claim, a weekly PPD rate between $400 and the $678.18 cap, and the ratings shown.
| Injury | Possible rating and level for illustration | Rough PPD illustration |
| Rotator cuff tear | 10% to 30% at 232-week shoulder | $9,280 to $47,201 |
| Herniated disc | 5% to 25% of 400-week body as a whole | $8,000 to $67,818 |
| Knee injury | 10% to 30% at 160-week leg | $6,400 to $32,553 |
| Carpal tunnel syndrome | 5% to 20% at 175-week hand | $3,500 to $23,736 |
These figures are mathematical illustrations rather than reports of Hall Ansley results or promises about future cases.
Rotator Cuff Tears
No single number honestly answers what a rotator cuff claim is worth in Missouri. The rating assigned, the permanence of the restrictions, and whether the claim resolved before or after further treatment drive the evaluation far more than the label on the diagnosis.
Missouri commonly treats the shoulder at the 232-week arm level.
Herniated Discs
A herniated disc claim, like other lower back and cervical injuries, is typically evaluated against the 400-week body-as-a-whole level rather than a scheduled member. The rating, the permanence of any work restrictions, and whether future care remains open affect the evaluation.
Knee Injuries
Many knee claims use the 160-week leg level. Two knee claims at the same statutory level can still be rated very differently depending on the restrictions that remain and whether the worker returned to the same job.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel claims may involve the 175-week hand level, depending on the accepted injury and medical evidence. The analysis may also address whether repetitive work was the prevailing factor, meaning the primary cause of both the condition and the disability under Missouri's standard.
Workers’ Comp Settlement Chart Missouri: What the Table Leaves Out
A workers’ comp settlement chart Missouri search does not reveal every part of a claim’s value. It mainly helps estimate one category, permanent partial disability.
A complete review may also consider:
- Authorized medical treatment that has not been provided.
- Temporary total disability for periods when the worker could not work.
- Permanent disfigurement of the head, neck, hands, or arms.
- Permanent total disability when the worker cannot compete in the open labor market
Section 287.190 permits up to 40 additional weeks for serious and permanent disfigurement involving certain areas. That issue can matter in hand injuries or other claims involving visible scarring.
A settlement may also shift responsibility for future medical care to the injured worker. That makes the language of the agreement just as important as the headline payment. Call for a free case review before accepting a proposal that permanently closes medical benefits or other rights.
Lump Sum and Structured Settlements Serve Different Situations
A lump sum pays once; a structured arrangement pays over time. The better fit depends on the disability, future needs, and the settlement language.
Most PPD compromise settlements are paid as lump sums after approval. A compromise settlement is an agreement that resolves the claim by agreement instead of by an award, and Missouri Revised Statutes Section 287.390 makes it invalid until an administrative law judge or the Commission approves it.
That judge must find the agreement is voluntary, free of fraud, and not the product of undue influence, meaning pressure from someone in a position to override the worker's own judgment. None of those findings means the amount is a good one.
Ask whether future medical care stays open, whether payments run for life or a fixed term, and what happens after the worker's death. Tax and public-benefit questions belong with professionals in those fields.
Representation Changes What Gets Put on the Table
A lawyer identifies missing evidence, tests disputed assumptions, and presents the claim under the correct statutory framework. That cannot promise a result, but it puts the worker in a better position to decide.
We review medical records, wage information, benefit payments, ratings, restrictions, and settlement terms, looking for what a chart cannot show.
We Are Always Ready for Trial
We prepare every case for trial from the start. That gives negotiations a firm factual foundation and lets us proceed to a hearing when no fair agreement is available.
We have served Springfield and Southwest Missouri for decades. Our familiarity with the Springfield, Joplin, and Branson dockets shapes how we read venue, medical evidence, and local job demands.
When Should an Injured Worker Review a Proposed Settlement?
Review any proposal carefully before signing a document that closes the claim. Once approved, a compromise settlement is difficult to undo.
Warning signs include an unexplained rating, missing wage information, pressure to sign quickly, or recommended treatment that has not happened yet. The same is true when the agreement closes future medical care without explaining its practical effect.
A chart found online cannot answer whether a particular proposal addresses every benefit you are owed. We compare the offer against the statutory schedule, the medical opinions, the treatment history, and the settlement terms themselves.
You should not have to sort through those documents alone. Contact our Springfield workers' compensation attorneys for a free, no-obligation consultation.
FAQs: Missouri Workers’ Comp Settlement Chart
Is a workers’ compensation settlement taxable in Missouri?
Workers' compensation benefits are generally excluded from federal taxable income, though related payments or unusual settlement terms may be treated differently. A tax professional can evaluate the specific wording.
Does returning to work prevent a PPD settlement?
No. A worker may return to the same job and still have permanent partial disability, although the return to work and actual function may be relevant evidence.
Who chooses the doctor in a Missouri workers’ compensation claim?
The employer generally has the right to select the authorized treating provider. Treatment obtained independently may become the worker’s responsibility unless an exception or agreement applies.
Can a worker reject a settlement offer?
Yes. A worker can decline a compromise proposal and continue negotiating or pursue an award through the Division, subject to the applicable deadlines.
Does the average workers' comp settlement for rotator cuff tear in Missouri include future surgery?
Not automatically. Whether future surgery is addressed depends on the medical evidence and whether the settlement keeps medical care open or closes that right in exchange for an agreed amount.
Call Hall Ansley for a Free Missouri Workers’ Compensation Consultation
A chart explains Missouri's arithmetic. It cannot tell your story, so we review your injury, wages, ratings, restrictions, and proposed settlement, then explain your options in plain language.
For decades, we have helped people across Springfield, Greene County, and the Ozarks through difficult legal moments. We prepare every case for trial while pursuing resolutions that reflect the evidence.
You should not have to weigh an offer like this on your own. Call the Springfield workers’ compensation attorneys at Hall Ansley, P.C. today at 417-890-8700 for a free, no-obligation consultation.