Case Results – Accident & Injury
$7.2M settlement in tractor-fluid class action
PRODUCT LIABILITY
A federal judge in Kansas City recently gave final approval to a $7.2 million class-action settlement on claims that a brand of tractor hydraulic fluid was deceptively and misleadingly labeled. Siro Smith Dickson Partner, Athena Dickson, is a member of the Plaintiffs’ Counsel Executive Committee managing this class action litigation.
Breakdown
The settlement finalized in January with several retailers is part of a series of “303” tractor hydraulic fluid, or THF, cases that have yielded more than $45 million in recoveries over the last three years. THF is used as a lubricant for farming, construction and logging equipment. The cases involve manufacturers that produced and retailers that sold allegedly defective THF labeled as 303 in stores across the country, causing damage to agricultural equipment and other damages.
Read the full settlement HERE.
$2.35 Million Verdict In St. Charles County, MO
PRODUCT LIABILITY
The firm obtained a jury verdict for their client in a product liability claim after a man was severely injured when the battery of his vaping device exploded, resulting in broken and missing teeth, jaw fracture, burns, and nerve damage in his mouth and left hand and arm.
Breakdown
- $352,083 compensatory damages
- $2,000,000 punitive damages
$8.1 Million Awarded to Plaintiff
PRODUCT LIABILITY RESULT: FENSTERMACHER v. TELELECT, INC.
Product liability claimed against the Defendant. Plaintiff, an employee of KPL Gas Service Co., was in a bucket hoisted by a boom and was working on a 7,200-volt power line when he was injured by the electric current. The defendant was the manufacturer of the boom. Plaintiff alleged that the boom was not properly insulated.
Damages Alleged: Severe burns to both arms resulting in loss of arms at shoulder through amputation at age 45.
- $154,998.12 medical expenses
- $2,900,000 future medical expenses & lifetime care
- $120,000 lost wages
- $800,000 future lost wages
Verdict: Plaintiff found 0% at fault: KPL found 2% at fault; Defendant found $98% at fault. Plaintiff’s damages evaluated at $8,154,009.12 – net recovery to plaintiff of $5,301,898.16 after cap and less 2%; and punitive damages to be determined by the Court.
$4.3 Million Settlement for Woman with Traumatic Brain Injury
Our client, a young woman who was an assistant manager at a truck stop in Peculiar, Missouri, recently received a $4.3 Million Settlement from an accident that occurred during a routine job errand. As part of her job duties, she was making a trip to the bank. While stopped for traffic on US 71 (Interstate 49), she was hit by a Ford Super-Duty commercial truck traveling at a high rate of speed. Siro Smith Dickson prepared to prove that the driver was distracted right before impact because he was using his cell phone. Our client suffered severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury (TBI). We filed a workers’ compensation case against her employer and a negligence case against the truck driver and his company.
Due to the severe brain injury, our client was sent to the renowned Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado. Craig Hospital is a rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in the neuro-rehabilitation and research of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and traumatic brain injury.
In addition to obtaining a substantial settlement in the workers’ compensation case, our attorneys negotiated a $4,300,000 settlement in the negligence case. Our client has recovered better than anyone expected (she is quite an inspiration to us all), and now has the financial security she will need to pay for future medical treatment and care and to cover any loss of future earning capacity due to her injuries.
$325,000 Verdict in Columbia, Missouri
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE:
The firm obtained a jury verdict for their clients in a medical malpractice claim against a Columbia Orthopaedic Surgeon. The jury found that the surgeon performed an unnecessary carpal tunnel release surgery on the plaintiff, and as a result, she suffered a painful and debilitating injury known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), or Regional Complex Pain Syndrome, significantly impairing the young mother’s ability to use her dominant right hand.
$198,925 Verdict for Plaintiff
DANGEROUS PROPERTY:
Plaintiff, female age 49, was walking on a sidewalk at the Country Club Plaza. An employee of the Defendant was working on a building construction project using a power saw. The saw shot out a piece of wood trim eight-feet-long and one-inch-wide, hitting the Plaintiff in the leg causing her to fall on the sidewalk and land on her buttocks.
Damages Alleged: Initial minor injury to knee area (bruised) with numbness in leg turning to pain. Two weeks later, the Plaintiff began experiencing severe headaches, neck pain, foot-dragging, incontinence, and the loss of sensation in the left-hand fingers. Subsequently received a diagnosis of trauma to the spinal cord. Four months later underwent neck surgery (fusion). $48,925.16 medical expenses incurred, no lost wages presented.
Verdict for Plaintiff: $198,925.16
Motor Vehicle Accident Caused by a Drunk Driver for $150,000
Siro Smith Dickson successfully settled a highway car accident case caused by a drunk driver. The plaintiffs, a very vibrant and active elderly couple, were driving down the highway late at night when they suddenly came upon and hit a truck that had earlier flipped over in the roadway, and was left blocking their lane of travel, without any hazards lights. The driver of the truck lost control and flipped the vehicle because he was drunk.
At the scene, he was arrested and charged with drunk driving (DUI). The plaintiff driver received relatively minor injuries, but his wife who was in the front passenger seat sustained serious injuries, including fractured ribs, a hematoma, ankle sprain, and an extended hospital stay and recovery.
$150,000 Jury Verdict in Premises Liability Case
After a five (5) day jury trial, our attorneys obtained a jury verdict of $150,000, in a premises liability case against the Sutherlands Lumber Company of Kansas City.
Plaintiff, an active elderly man, was with his wife at Sutherlands Lumber in Cass County when he sat on a lawn chair set up for display in the entryway of the store that had been placed on a slick concrete floor by a Sutherlands’ employee. As he was getting out of the lawn chair to go meet his wife in the store, the chair slid out from under him and he fell on the concrete floor suffering a broken hip and extreme pain. Plaintiff’s injury required a hip replacement and a lengthy recovery period with lasting mobility issues. The jury found that as a result of Sutherlands’ negligence in placing the lawn chair on the slick concrete surface without any barricade or warning, the plaintiff suffered damage including past and future medical damages, physical and emotional pain and suffering, and that plaintiff’s wife suffered a loss of consortium due to plaintiff’s limit mobility after the injury. The verdict was ultimately reduced by half due to Missouri’s comparative fault rules.
$115,000 Settlement for Soccer Standout and MLS Draft Pick
Our attorneys negotiated a settlement in a negligence and battery case on behalf of the plaintiff, a former college soccer standout and draft pick of the New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer (“MLS”) Club, who was punched in the face, suffered extensive injuries to his jaw and missed his MLS tryout as a result.
The plaintiff was in Kansas City to accept a prestigious National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (“NAIA”) soccer award at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention and after leaving the Kansas City Power and Light District (“KC Live”) was punched in the face, unprovoked, by a soccer coach in town for the convention.
The plaintiff sustained serious injuries, including a fractured jaw, which required extensive surgery and the plaintiff’s mouth to be wired shut for over six weeks. The plaintiff was forced to miss his preseason New York Red Bulls reporting date due to his injuries and lengthy recovery period and ultimately failed to make an MLS team for the 2012 season due to his delayed tryout.
Case Settled Against VA Hospital for $85,000
Slip & Fall Accident – Our attorneys settled a case involving the dangerous condition of a sidewalk at the VA Hospital. Plaintiff, an active elderly woman, was bringing her husband to his doctor’s appointment when the fall occurred. As she was walking on the sidewalk near the flagpole she stepped into a hole and suffered serious injuries when she fell to the pavement. Plaintiff suffered a severe laceration which required 122 stitches to mend, as well as a torn rotator cuff that was treated surgically. Plaintiff claimed that the crosswalk hole developed over a significant time period and defendants were negligent in failing to inspect, maintain, and repair the property for the safety of the public and their patients.
Case Settled Against Local Health Enhancement Facility
Slip & Fall Accident – Our attorneys settled a case involving the dangerous condition of a bathroom in a local hospital’s health enhancement center. Plaintiff, an active elderly woman, participated in several classes including aqua aerobatics. As she was walking into the bathroom from the pool plaintiff slipped on the flooring, and suffered serious injuries when she fell. Plaintiff claimed that the bathroom flooring material created a dangerous condition because it was slick when wet and smooth in contrast to the textured, porous floors in the other wet areas of the pool and locker room.
Failure to Diagnose Pulmonary Embolism
CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT:
The firm settled the Wrongful Death claims of a young mother and daughter, for the death of their 25-year-old husband and dad, in a rural Eastern Kansas town. The family claimed that a treating physician failed to properly diagnose and treat a pulmonary embolism (a life-threatening condition) in a relatively healthy and active young man.
The family was prepared to prove at trial that the treating doctor misread a key diagnostic test, and failed to consider the decedent’s recent history of deep vein thrombosis, which is known to predispose a patient for future pulmonary emboli. The case was settled for a confidential amount shortly before trial.