Plaintiff wins $104,166 for rear-end collision

A Jefferson County jury awarded $104,166 to a motorist who claimed a rotator cuff injury from a read-end collision with a teenage driver.

Jefferson County Circuit Court personnel indicated there have been no six-figure auto cases in that county for years, said St. Louis plaintiff’s attorney W. Morris Taylor. Most auto claims end with verdicts of less than the medical damages the plaintiff already has paid out, Taylor said.

Nancy Ferguson, 48, was driving a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee north on the Interstate 55 West Outer Road south of Arnold on March 2, 2001. She was headed home from a bowling league at 8:55 p.m.

Steven Capps, 16, was driving his step-father’s 1993 GMC Suburban behind Fer-guson. He was on his way to Burger King with three friends after a school talent show.

While Ferguson was stopped and waiting for a left turn into her subdivision, Capps rear-ended Ferguson’s vehicle at about 45 mph.

Ferguson claimed the collision resulted in a 30 percent tear to the supraspinatus tendon of her left rotator cuff. It was repaired by arthro-scopic buffing of the frayed tendon. She also claimed a soft tissue injury to her low back.

Capps admitted liability, said defense attorney Denis Burns. But the insurance carrier, State Farm, contested causation of the rotator cuff tear. Defendants used three experts to show the rotator cuff injury was not caused by the crash.

“Settlement negotiations broke down when the defendant refused to pay six figures,” said Taylor, who received the case in October 2008 without a file from the plaintiff’s prior counsel.

The court had dismissed Ferguson’s case repeatedly for discovery violations by her former attorney, Taylor said. He had to reconstruct the case from the defendant’s file and without the benefit of Ferguson’s photos of her car, her bruising and the progression of her injuries.

Before Taylor entered the case, the court sustained a defense motion to allow the medical bills to be valued at the $14,000 actually paid. Taylor filed a pretrial request to reconsider the value of medical bills, pursuant to Section 490.715 RSMo. Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Mark T. Stoll reversed his ruling and allowed the full $38,823 billed to represent the value of medical treatment rendered.

The plaintiffs’ economist testified that the present value of the plaintiff’s past, present and future lost earnings amounted to $197,870, defense attorney Burns said. At the pretrial conference, plaintiffs rejected an offer of $90,000 and submitted a counterdemand of $275,000.

The trial lasted four days. The jury deliberated more than an hour before returning a 12-0 verdict awarding $104,166 in damages.

The plaintiffs filed a post-trial motion to extinguish the prior attorney’s lien for attorney fees. The court sustained the motion, allowing State Farm to pay the judgment to the plaintiffs free of the lien claim.

■ $104,166 verdict

Personal injury/ vehicular

■ Court: Jefferson County Circuit Court

■ Case Number/Date: 07JE-CC00293/Aug. 14, 2009

■ Judge: Mark T. Stoll

■ Plaintiffs’ Experts: Dr. David Fagan, St. Louis (orthopedic surgeon); Thomas Ireland, St. Louis (economics); Dr. Donald King, St. Louis (internal medicine)

■ Defendant’s Experts: Dr. Gregory Cizek, St. Louis (radiology); Dr. Richard Lehmann, St. Louis (orthopedic surgeon); Dr. T. Martin Vollmar, St. Louis (radiology)

■ Special Damages: $38,823 medical expenses

■ Last Pretrial Demand: $275,000

■ Last Pretrial Offer: $90,000

■ Insurer: State Farm

■ Caption: Nancy Ferguson and Robert Ferguson v. Steven Capps

■ Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: W. Morris Taylor and Patricia L. Brownlee, W. Morris Taylor P.C., St. Louis

■ Defendant’s Attorney: Denis Burns, Burns Vandover & Godfrey, St. Louis