Alternative content

Results

These are just some of the results that the trial attorneys of Wagstaff & Cartmell have helped obtain for their clients:

2010

2009

2008 AND PRIOR

Confidential Cat Tracker Settlements Reached

Tom Wagstaff, Jr., representing an individual who suffered a traumatic brain injury, successfully concluded a lengthy and complex lawsuit against numerous defendants, reaching confidential settlements with all of the named defendants, the last such settlement occurring as jury selection was about to start in a trial against one defendant. The "Cat Tracker" case received considerable media attention in the region.

On November 18, 2006, the Cat Tracker, a double-decker, privately owned party bus, was involved in a tragic accident while transporting passengers, including our client, to Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas for a football game between Kansas State and Kansas. Eight passengers were on the rooftop deck as the bus approached the Irving Hill Road overpass that extended over Iowa Street. The vehicle, itself, cleared the overpass. However, two of the eight passengers on the rooftop deck were not so lucky. One passenger lost his life and another, our client, suffered a traumatic brain injury after striking the bridge.

During the litigation, Tom obtained favorable rulings on a number of legal issues, including on issues of strict liability, pro tanto credit, and the Kansas Products Liability Act. He also obtained dismissals of two, separate declaratory judgment actions that were filed relating to insurance coverage.

BACK TO TOP ^

Summary Judgment — Legal Malpractice Case

Marc Erickson, Ty Hudson, and Adam Davis recently returned from Leavenworth County District Court with a summary judgment victory in hand for their client, an attorney who had been sued for legal malpractice after his client had lost in a jury trial. Erickson said that the judge, who ruled from the bench after hearing more than two hours of oral argument, graciously complimented the lawyers for the quality of the briefing and argument, and Erickson, in turn, credited Davis as the primary drafter of the briefing and Hudson as the oral advocate at the hearing.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict — Alleged Failure to Timely Diagnose Stroke

Marc Erickson and Sarah Ruane successfully defended our client, a neurologist, in a jury trial in Jackson County, Missouri. The plaintiff suffered a stroke while she was in the hospital recovering from cardiac bypass surgery, and there was no argument that the stroke should have been prevented. The primary issues at trial were the timing of the stroke and whether any health care provider should have diagnosed and treated it sooner. Our client was one of several doctors providing post-operative care to the plaintiff. The Jackson County jury returned a defense verdict for all defendants after a two-week trial.

BACK TO TOP ^

Three Appellate Victories Arrive on Same Day

On November 17, 2009, Wagstaff & Cartmell received an unprecedented abundance of good news for its clients from Missouri appellate courts. In three, separate cases, Wagstaff & Cartmell clients scored victories on appeal, two from the MIssouri Supreme Court, and one from the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. These results highlighted not only Wagstaff & Cartmell's ability to achieve success for its clients in the appellate courts as well as trial courts, but they also underscored the Firm's commitment to success in both plaintiff's and defense cases.

First, in the case of Estate of John Novogradac v. Shirshekan et al., the Missouri Supreme Court declined to accept transfer of the case from the Missouri Court of Appeals, which affirmed the Platte County, Missouri jury's verdict awarding over $3 million to our client in a case of nursing home negligence. This ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court marked the end of the appellate process and the end of the case. During the course of the appeal, interest accumulated on the judgment so that the total award is nearly $4 million.

Second, in the case of Sigroi v. Saint Louis University et al., the Missouri Supreme Court issued on opinion affirming and reinstating the Saint Louis City jury's $825,000 verdict in favor of our clients in this medical malpractice case, reversing the ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals, which had ordered a new trial. With interest that had been accumulating on the judgment during the appeals, the total award payable to our clients exceeded $1 million.

Third, in the case of Beaty v. St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City et al., the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed a defense verdict that our firm had obtained on behalf of our clients in a medical malpractice case tried in Jackson County, Missouri. Significantly, the Court of Appeals rejected the plaintiff's argument of an alleged violation of HIPAA privacy rules as a basis to grant a new trial.

Wagstaff & Cartmell is proud both of its record of success in trying cases to juries, and of its similar record of success in preserving those trial victories through effective written and oral advocacy on appeal.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Alleged Failure to Diagnose Temporal Arteritis

Brandon D. Henry successfully defended our client, a local urgent care center, and its employee, an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, in a jury trial in which the plaintiff made claims of alleged failure to suspect and diagnose temporal arteritis.

The plaintiff, who was 78 years old during the relevant time period, alleged that our client, through it employee, should have ordered necessary laboratory testing that would have lead to a successful diagnosis of temporal arteritis, a rare inflammatory process that can damage blood vessels that supply blood to the head area, and would have prevented the blindness that the plaintiff ultimately experienced.

We successfully argued that the patient did not present with the classic signs and symptoms of this rare condition, which made the suspicion and diagnosis thereof very difficult. As a result, it was not required by the standard of care. An Atchison County, Kansas jury returned a defense verdict in favor or our client and its employee, as well as all other defendants.

Defense Verdict - Alleged Failure to Timely Diagnose Stroke

Tom L. Wagstaff and Diane Watkins successfully defended our clients, a physician and nurse, in a jury trial in which the plaintiff alleged that our clients failed to timely diagnose a stroke. We successfully argued that the signs and symptoms of decedent's stroke were not identifiable in advance of the stroke, and that decedent's presentation leading up to the stroke was consistent with a cervical nerve impingement such as cervical radiculopathy. A Clinton County, Missouri jury found no negligence and awarded our clients a defense verdict.

Record Settlement in Trailer Decoupling Case

Jon Kieffer and Brian Madden achieved a record settlement against Penske Truck Leasing Company and other defendants in a lawsuit arising from a fatal accident near Dallas, Texas that resulted in the deaths of two Texas A&M College Students, Rachel Rollings and Britney Lipsey. Jon and Brian represented Tom and Colleen Rollings, the parents of Rachel Rollings. In August 2006, Rachel Rollings and Britney Lipsey were killed when a Penske "car carrier" trailer decoupled from the rental truck that was towing it, crossed the median of an interstate highway, and collided head-on with the girls' Ford Explorer, causing it to roll over several times.

The plaintiffs sued Penske as well as the manufacturer of the trailer, the driver of the Penske rental truck, and a Harley Davidson dealer who participated with the driver in connecting the trailer to the truck. Discovery in the case revealed that Penske had removed a decoupling prevention device before the accident and that Penske's own mechanics had documented that the brakes on the trailer did not work and had removed the trailer from service until repairs could be made. Unfortunately, those repairs were never made. Evidence revealed that Penske sets strict time requirements for safety inspections and maintenance and its mechanics are evaluated in large part based upon whether they stay under those time requirements.

Evidence also revealed that Penske imposes monetary penalties against rental stores that have equipment which remains on the lot too long without being rented out. The plaintiffs alleged that this and other practices of Penske created a financial incentive to keep unsafe equipment on the road. After extensive discovery and as the case was near trial, Jon and Brian obtained a court order allowing them real-time access to Penske's computer system where documents showed that the trailer was placed back into service with non-functioning brakes in order to fill a reservation. The case settled shortly thereafter against all of the defendants for a total amount exceeding $3 million, which is believed to be more than three times the highest jury verdict on record in the suburban Dallas county where the case was venued.

BACK TO TOP ^

$12.1 Million Verdict for Quadriplegic Minor

Jeff Kuntz teamed with Derek H. Potts and Timothy L. Sifers, both of the Potts Law Firm, in obtaining a landmark, $12.1 million jury verdict for their client, a quadriplegic minor, in a medical negligence case in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. After a seven-day trial and twenty hours of deliberation, the eight-person jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the child against her emergency room physician in the case of "Midwest Trust vs. Lisa Gard, M.D." The jury found that the emergency room doctor was negligent in her assessment of the minor upon her presentation to the emergency room of a Kansas hospital.

Potts, Sifers, and Kuntz argued on behalf of their client that a child shown by testing to have emergent blood pressure and complaining of severe posterior neck pain and right arm pain should have been assessed for a neurological condition on the differential diagnosis to rule out neurological problems. The Plaintiff further alleged that the misdiagnosis of strep throat that sent the child back home caused a significant delay in the detection of a hemorrhaging arteriovenous malformation ("AVM") that was putting pressure on the child's spinal cord. By the time the child returned to the hospital, she was suffering from extended paralysis and was sent to Children's Mercy Hospital where she was operated on to remove the AVM. The defendant denied that she was negligent in any way, denied that an earlier transfer would have improved the minor's outcome, and denied the nature and extent of her injuries and damages.

BACK TO TOP ^

$745 Million Settlement - Bextra and Celebrex

Tom Cartmell and other W&C attorneys played a key role in obtaining an $745 million settlement announced on October 17, 2008, between pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc., and claimants across the United States seeking damages as a result of injuries from taking medications Bextra and Celebrex. W&C represents over a hundred of such claimants.

Cartmell was one of 15 lawyers appointed to the national Plaintiff's Steering Committee (PSC) by Judge Charles R. Breyer, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in In re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699 (N.D. Cal.). Cartmell took a very active role as a member of the PSC. He argued a key Daubert motion on behalf of the Plaintiffs in the MDL proceeding before Judge Breyer in San Francisco. Cartmell was then one of three lawyers who were lead counsel in the first Bextra case that was set for jury trial in San Francisco in May 2008. Days before trial was to start, after numerous rounds of negotiations, Cartmell and his trial team agreed to settlement terms with Pfizer resolving thousands of pending cases, and which paved the way for the eventual $745 million settlement finalized in October. The preparation and readiness of Cartmell and his trial team to take the first Bextra case to trial was a key factor leading to the $745 million settlement.

  • Read here about the May 2008 initial settlement on the eve of Cartmell's trial, as reported in the Wall Street Journal's legal blog: READ MORE
  • Read Judge Breyer's order appointing Cartmell a member of the Plaintiff's Steering Committee: READ MORE

BACK TO TOP ^

$9 Million in Settlements - Ephedra and Metabolife

Wagstaff & Cartmell was heavily involved in the national products liability litigation against Metabolife and other manufacturers of ephredra products and helped secure over $9 million in settlements for our clients from the defendant manufacturers. Tom Cartmell was a member of the expert/science committee in the In Re: Ephedra Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1598, and was also a member of the settlement/resolution group of attorneys who helped negotiate final resolutions of these cases.

BACK TO TOP ^

$3 Million Jury Verdict - Nursing Home Negligence

Tom Cartmell obtained a $3 million verdict, including over $2.5 million in punitive damages, against a nursing home on behalf of the estate of a 73-year-old resident who developed pressure sores on both his right and left heels from inadequate care and positioning, and the sores progressed and became severely infected, which led to the amputation of both of the resident's legs.

BACK TO TOP ^

$1 Million Jury Verdict - Auto/Pedestrian Accident; Affirmed on Appeal

Tom W. Wagstaff, Tom Cartmell, and T.J. Preuss obtained a plaintiff's verdict against the City of Kansas City, Missouri, on behalf of the family of Chen Pei, a 20-year old student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, who was tragically hit by a car at 53rd and Troost while using a crosswalk to cross Troost. Wagstaff & Cartmell successfully argued that the City had been negligent in not making the crosswalk safer after having been on notice that it was dangerous prior to the accident that took the life of Chen Pei. The verdict was later affirmed on appeal by the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District.

BACK TO TOP ^

$1 Million Settlement - Auto Accident

Marc Erickson and Jeff Kuntz represented the family of a man who was killed in a one car auto accident in Stone County, Missouri. Two men were in the car at the time of the accident, both were ejected in the crash, and both men died. At issue was, who had been driving at the time of the accident? Wagstaff & Cartmell's investigation enabled our clients to successful establish that the other person had been driving, and this helped our clients obtain a settlement in excess of $1 million.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Leg Amputation/General Surgeon

Jeff Kuntz and T.J. Preuss successfully defended our client, a general surgeon, in a jury trial in which the plaintiff alleged that the surgeon failed to properly treat the plaintiff's diabetic foot ulcer. Plaintiff argued that a delay in surgery allowed the infection to spread to the bone, become systemic, and progress out of control, leading to amputation of the plaintiff's leg at the knee. The case was tried to a jury, which awarded our client a defense verdict.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Wrongful Death/General Surgeon

In a wrongful death case against our client, a general surgeon, Plaintiffs alleged that our client failed to timely diagnose a complete mechanical small bowel obstruction and failed to timely operate to treat the same. Wagstaff & Cartmell's Marc Erickson and Brandon Henry argued that the decedent did not have a complete mechanical small bowel obstruction, but instead suffered from a paralytic ileus, which cannot be treated with surgery. A Johnson County, Kansas jury found no negligence and awarded our client a defense verdict.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Alleged Failure to Timely Diagnose Stroke/Hospital

Wagstaff & Cartmell's Marc Erickson and Jeff Kuntz represented St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, to which the plaintiff had been admitted for a cardiac catheter procedure. Following the procedure, the plaintiff was thought to be slow in waking up from anesthesia. The following morning the plaintiff was diagnosed with having suffered a stroke. Plaintiffs alleged that the doctors and nurses failed to timely diagnose and treat the stroke. A Jackson County, Missouri jury found no negligence and awarded our clients a defense verdict.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Shoulder Dystocia Alleged against OB-GYN

Plaintiffs alleged that during delivery, the baby's shoulder became stuck (referred to as a shoulder dystocia), and that the defendants used improper fundal pressure and excessive force and caused a permanent brachial plexus injury to the baby. Marc Erickson represented the OB-GYN who performed the delivery. A Buchanan County, Missouri jury found that no negligence occurred and awarded our client a defense verdict.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict for Hospital in Slip and Fall Case Reinstated on Appeal after New Trial Ordered

Tom Cartmell and Jeff Kuntz obtained a defense verdict for Children's Mercy Hospital in a jury trial in Jackson County, Missouri in a case arising from a woman who fell in a parking garage and broke her foot at Children's Mercy Hospital and sought more than $3 million in damages as a result of allegedly acquiring RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy). After the verdict, the trial court granted the plaintiff's motion for a new trial and ordered the case to be retried. Wagstaff & Cartmell, on behalf of Children's Mercy, appealed the order of a new trial, and successfully argued that the defense verdict should be reinstated because none of the grounds relied upon by the trial court in ordering a new trial were valid. Eric Barton assisted Tom and Jeff on the appeal. Dick v. Children's Mercy Hosp., 140 S.W.3d 131 (Mo.App. W.D. 2004).

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Total Knee Replacement/Orthopedic Surgeon

Plaintiff underwent a total knee replacement surgery and alleged that she suffered permanent, disabling nerve injuries as a result of improper alignment of her femur relative to the artificial knee implant. Tom Cartmell and Eric Barton represented the orthopedic surgeon at trial. A Clay County jury found found no negligence and awarded a defense verdict.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Wrongful Death/Anesthesiology

This wrongful death case involved an 18-year-old victim of a severe auto accident who underwent surgery to repair femur fractures in both legs. During surgery, the patient decompensated, and three hours later he died. His mother brought a wrongful death action, alleging that her son's death was the result of negligence by his treating physicians, including the anesthesiology team. Marc Erickson and Jeff Kuntz represented the anesthesiologist, a CRNA, and the professional corporation that employed them. A Jackson County, Missouri jury found that the defendants were not negligent and awarded our clients a defense verdict.

BACK TO TOP ^

Defense Verdict - Paralysis from Spinal Column Infection/ENT Physician

Our client, an ENT doctor, performed a delicate surgery on the plaintiff, removing a tumor from his pharynx (voice-box), but preserving the patient's voice. Post-operatively, however, the plaintiff developed a bad infection from an IV that spread to his spinal cord and paralyzed him. Plaintiff sued the doctor who treated his infection, who settled. Our client, the ENT doctor, refused to settle. Eric Barton and Jeff Kuntz tried the case to a Jackson County jury, which found in favor of our client and awarded a defense verdict.

BACK TO TOP ^

4740 Grand Avenue, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64112 | p: 816.701.1100 | f: 816.531.2372 | contact us | disclaimer