Experience
Led Governor-Ordered 35-Day Investigation of Missouri Veterans Homes After COVID-19 Outbreak
Selected to conduct a rapid, independent, external review of seven Missouri Veterans Homes – as ordered by Gov. Michael Parson – to assess their performance and identify what steps, if any, should be taken to improve their management and prevention of COVID-19. Led a 35-day investigation that considered all relevant information, including interviewing 174 individuals including Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) staff, Veterans, Veterans’ families and Missouri government officials; implementing a hotline staffed by attorneys for Veterans’ families to voice concerns; reviewing and analyzing hundreds of documents; directing a management and consulting organization serving clients in the long-term care and post-acute care industry, to conduct on-site audits of all seven Homes, following all necessary safety protocols; and issuing early recommendations to the MVC. Compiled and delivered a 53-page summary report and a comprehensive 415-page report, including recommended corrective actions, to state officials.
Summary Judgment Affirmed for Health Care Client in IVF Services Dispute
Represented a regional hospital system in a medical malpractice dispute arising from in vitro fertilization services provided to a then-husband and wife. When it was revealed the wife had substituted the husband’s semen sample for that of another man, the husband and the surrogate who carried the baby filed suit in St. Louis County Circuit Court. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District affirmed an order granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants.
$17 Million Defense Verdict for Hospital Client in Suit Brought by Neurosurgeon
Defended a hospital client in a suit against a neurosurgeon who allegedly slipped and fell leaving the operating room in the hospital where he worked. The suit alleged that right-shoulder injuries from the fall ended his career. The last pre-trial demand sought $17 million in damages. After four days of trial, a defense verdict was returned in favor of our client. The win was ranked the no. 1 defense verdict in the state of Missouri in 2010 by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Second-Largest 2013 Missouri Defense Verdict
Won the second-largest 2013 defense verdict in Missouri for its representation of a hospital in a medical negligence case. The ranking was reported by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Defense Verdict in $3.7 Million Jury Trial
Secured a defense verdict for a St. Louis, Missouri-area medical group following a five-day jury trial. The plaintiff and her attorneys asked for a verdict of $3.7 million following a laparoscopic gynecological surgery. After 82 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned with a defense verdict.
Jury Verdict for Doctor in Malpractice Case
Secured a defense verdict for a physician in a medical malpractice suit. The plaintiff, a 33-year-old male, alleged that the defendant doctor injured his superior mesenteric artery during surgery to remove a tumor, which left him with short gut syndrome. He filed suit seeking in excess of $2 million in past economic damages, and up to $850,000 in non-economic damages. Following a one-week jury trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court, the jury found the client was without fault in the matter.
Secured Defense Verdict for Skilled Nursing Facility
Won a defense verdict for our client, a skilled nursing facility, following a suit that alleged liability for a 79-year-old patient's death in 2002. It took the jury less than an hour to deliver a complete defense verdict in this long-running case that was first filed in 2004 and went to the Missouri Supreme Court in 2006. Although the plaintiff alleged that the nursing facility caused the death through abuse and neglect, evidence was presented proving that the patient was dying of congestive heart failure when she became a resident of the facility, and that her substantial and rapid health decline in the weeks before passing away was a normal progression to death for someone in that condition.
Defense Verdict for University Client in Medical Malpractice, Negligence Case
Secured a defense verdict in a medical malpractice case in which the plaintiffs asked the jury to return a verdict in excess of $5 million in favor of a brain-damaged minor. The plaintiffs alleged defendant’s failure to appropriately diagnose and treat the minor’s mycoplasma pneumonia, and encephalitis resulted in permanent brain damage. The case was complicated in that the treating pediatric neurologist testified on behalf of the minor plaintiff and adverse to the defendant. Testimony included nine experts in the areas of pediatric neurology, infectious disease, autoimmune disorders, pediatric neuropsychology and pediatrics. After a several-week trial, a St. Louis City jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant.
