David Baugher//October 28, 2024//
A damages-only trial over injuries sustained by a woman in a highway accident has resulted in $150,000 verdict.
“The court had established that she had suffered spine and brain injury so we just had to argue the extent,” said Jennifer Woulfe of Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith, which defended the case. “Our argument was that her neck had a whiplash injury that healed with time.”
The award was significantly less than the more than $13 million Woulfe said plaintiff Kaitlyn Cooley requested.
Woulfe said that the plaintiff had previously obtained a partial summary judgement during a period in time when her client was unrepresented meaning liability was not at issue in the case.
She said that the plaintiff pointed to recommendations for a disc replacement and claimed that the brain injury was causing migraines, cognitive issues, memory delay and a tremor in her right hand as well as dystonia in the left foot.
However, the defense said that the 18-year-old plaintiff simply had a mild concussion in the accident in which she was rear ended by a semi on Interstate 55.
“Medical records from the scene showed relatively minor injuries,” Woulfe said. “It wasn’t until later on that these additional complaints started to develop. In the four years since the accident, she’d gone on to live a relatively normal life without any real limitations on her ability.”
Woulfe said that both sides opined regarding MRIs of the back and brain with the defense expert contending there was no objective evidence of disc injury and no need for surgery. A defense neurologist argued that complaints and patterns of symptoms were not consistent with the diagnoses she’d received and that any problems should have emerged immediately given the type of injury.
Woulfe did not get a chance to speak with any members of the jury after the trial about their decision.
She listed Andrew Mundwiller and Zane Cagle of Cagle Law Firm as representing the plaintiff. They did not return a request for comment.
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- $150,000 verdict for plaintiff
- Motor vehicle collision
- Venue: New Madrid County Circuit Court
- Case Number/Date: 22NM-CV00052/Sept. 6, 2024
- Judge: Joshua Underwood
- Plaintiffs’ Experts: Matthew Gornet, St. Louis, (medical); Ammar Chaudhry, Anaheim, Calif., (medical); Michael Snyder, Maryville, Ill., (neurology)
- Defendants’ Experts: Donald deGrange, St. Louis, (medical); Todd Silverman, St. Louis, (neurology)
- Injuries: Plaintiff claimed a traumatic brain injury, a lumbar spine injury and a cervical spine injury necessitating a future three-level disc replacement surgery.
- Special Damages: $280,000 in future medical costs
- Caption: Kaitlyn Cooley v. B and J Express, LLC; Michael Murphy
- Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Andrew Mundwiller and Zane Cagle, Cagle Law Firm, (St. Louis)
- Defendants’ Attorneys: Jennifer Woulfe and Allison Thompson, Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith, (St. Louis)
This article credit to MOLawyersMedia