Jury awards $6.4M to man burned while tinkering with antique car

A Platte County jury found mostly in favor of a man who was badly burned while working on an old car.

The jury on Sept. 11 awarded $8 million to plaintiff Jeffrey Bash but found him 20 percent responsible for his injuries, reducing the award to $6.4 million.

In April 2012, Bash and Paul Bodde were attempting to start an antique vehicle owned by a friend. Bash primed the carburetor with gasoline while Bodde attempted to start it.

“It was undisputed that the last thing in the world you would ever do is turn the ignition while the guy is bent over with the gas in his hand pouring it into the carburetor,” said Bash’s attorney, Steve Sanders.

Sanders said the first three times they tried to start the engine, the two men made sure Bash was clear before Bodde touched the key. On the fourth attempt, however, Bash was still pouring the gas when Bodde started the car. The parties disputed whether Bash had told Bodde to proceed.

In the resulting explosion, Bash suffered burns on more than 24 percent of his body, most of them third-degree. He spent 30 days in the hospital, suffered sepsis, renal failure and pulmonary edema, and has undergone numerous surgeries with more to come.

“The damages were horrific,” Sanders said. He said Bash has paid about $600,000 in medical bills but chose not to submit that amount to the jury.

Sanders credited the win in part to Dirk Vandever of The Popham Law Firm, who was brought into the case to conduct most of the trial.

“Jeff Bash has suffered from the physical and emotional consequences of this burn for more than seven and a half years,” Vandever said in an interview. “He’s extraordinarily thankful for the dedication and the careful attention that the jury paid to the case.”

A message left with defense attorney David Gellis was not returned. Sanders said the defense argued that the explosion was an accident and that Bodde’s fault, if any, should be minimal — a strategy that might have backfired.

“I’ll always believe the jury took our request for $7.8 million and the defendant’s request for $200,000 and added them together and gave $8 million,” Sanders said. “That’s just my speculation, but I think juries try to send messages with their verdicts.”

Sanders said the $6.4 million award would be offset by a prior $301,000 settlement with the car’s owner. However, he expects pre-judgment interest to add about $1 million to the total. Sanders said there will be additional litigation to attempt to recover the judgment from Bodde’s insurer.

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