Jury rejects negligence suit filed after three-car collision on snowy highway

Summary

• Jury found defendant not negligent despite causing crash
• Three-car collision occurred on snowy I-270 in December 2022
• Plaintiff sought over $17 million for injuries and consortium claim
• Missouri DOT dismissed from case before trial

A St. Louis County jury has sided with a central Illinois defendant in a 2024 negligence lawsuit filed by a South County man injured in a December 2022 collision on a snowy stretch of Interstate 270 south of Tesson Ferry Road.

Harold Arthur Perry, 60, sued Ian Colson, 55, of Peoria, over a three-car collision on northbound I-270 the morning of Dec. 23, 2022.

According to the suit and a Missouri Highway Patrol accident report, Perry was driving a 2004 Toyota Highlander when the SUV was struck by a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 operated by Colson, who had lost control of his pickup after attempting to avoid hitting a truck and then traveling into an embankment before returning to the highway.

Colson’s vehicle then struck a third vehicle, a 2008 Ford F-150.

Perry sustained a fractured right hip requiring two surgeries, including a total hip replacement, and sought more than $15 million in damages from the jury. His wife, co-plaintiff, Josephine Ross-Puhalla, sought an additional $2.5 million in a loss of consortium claim.

Following a two-day trial in March, the 10 jurors rejected those claims. The original suit also named the Missouri Department of Transportation as a defendant before the state agency was dismissed in August 2025.

“The facts of the incident carried the day,” said defense attorney James Hodges of Brinker & Doyen. “We were contacted by one juror who advised that the majority believed that the defendant was the cause of the accident, but that based on the evidence and jury instructions, he was not negligent in causing the accident.”

“The fact that the roads were wet and snowy, and that there was zero evidence that defendant was traveling too fast for conditions, or that he failed to keep a proper lookout.”

Plaintiff’s attorney Zane Cagle called the verdict “disappointing” but credited Hodges for “a great job defending the case and serv(ing) his client very well.”

RELATED: Click to search for and submit your Verdicts & Settlements

Jury verdict for defendant

Motor vehicle collision

Venue: St. Louis County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 24SL-CC00642/March 10, 2026

Judge: Circuit Judge John “J.B.” Lassater

Plaintiff’s expert: Dr. Brian Fissel, Signature Orthopedics, St. Louis (medical – surgical specialties)

Injuries alleged: hip, pelvis

Injuries detail: Plaintiff sustained a fractured right hip requiring two surgeries, including a total hip replacement.

Plaintiff  Ross-Puhalla had a claim for loss of consortium.

Special damages: $121,000 in medical bills and $28,000 in lost wages

Last pretrial demand: Plaintiff asked jury for $15.149 million for  Perry and $2.5 million for Ross-Puhalla.

Last pretrial offer: $25,000 (policy limits)

Caption: Harold Perry and Josie Ross-Puhalla v. Ian Colson

Plaintiff’s attorneys: Zane Cagle (lead) and Andrew Mundwiller; Cagle Law Firm, St. Louis

Defendant’s attorney: James Hodges, Brinker & Doyen, Clayton