The following verdicts and settlements concern cases handled by Simon Passanante. To view a constantly updated list of the verdicts and settlements of our clients see our Verdicts and Settlements postings.

Randy Dorman v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.

$105 million verdict awarded to a former tire repair worker who was seriously injured while inflating a truck tire when the tire rim exploded. The side ring separated from the rim while the plaintiff was inflating the tire to the manufacturer’s specifications. The force of the explosion caused Mr. Dorman to suffer multiple fractures and a brain injury. For more information.

Walsh v. Mid-South Trucking
$10 million settlement of a claim brought against a trucking company. An 80,000 pound tractor trailer crossed the center line, killing the occupants of an oncoming car. The lawyers of Simon Passanante determined that the truck driver had over 230 separate violations of the federal regulations in the ten months he had been employed by the trucking company. For more information, click here and here.

Guidry, et al. v. UBS Realty Investors L.L.C., et al.
The plaintiffs had alleged that they had been denied their continuing exclusive right to provide cable service to a large apartment complex. Simul-Vision had originally entered its contract with the Seven Trails West Apartment complex in 1984. That contract provided that Simul-Vision would be the exclusive provider of cable television service to residents of Seven Trails. The jury’s May 19, 2006 verdict recognized that the breach defeated the original intentions of the parties that Simul-Vision would continue to have exclusive rights to provide cable service until a separate cable company would take over Simulvision’s existing cable system at the complex, compensating Simul-Vision on a per subscriber basis. For more, see here.

Maldonado v. Regal Riverfront Hotel
A boxer was awarded $41 Million by a jury for brain damage due to a hotel’s failure to have an ambulance at a boxing match. He was eventually diagnosed with severe brain damage. For additional information, click here and here.

Storage Technology Company v. Custom Hardware Engineering & Consulting, Inc.
After four years of protracted litigation, Fenton-based Custom Hardware Engineering & Consulting, originally sued for copyright infringement, received a cash settlement and promise not to sue from StorageTek, who had initiated the litigation, and its parent Sun Microsystems.  More information is available here and here.

Brown v. Laclede Gas Co., Inc.
A gas utility company paid $8 Million to settle this wrongful death case filed on behalf of the family of Louis Brown, who was killed in a natural gas explosion at his home. Additional information here.

Donald Edwards, et al. v. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
$2.3 Million settlement for a worker in a products liability suit. A liquid oxygen cylinder fell over and exploded. For additional information.

Inverizon International, Inc. v. Verizon Communications, Inc.
Confidential Settlement of trademark infringement case where the defendant was accused of “reverse confusion.” The owner of a consulting company had sued Verizon Communications for trademark infringement, claiming that the use of that name confused his customers. See here for more information.

Rodin Hernandez v. Penta Engineering Corporation
$1.5 Million Settlement of a products liability suit. A worker was injured when a dust collection system suspended 25 feet above the floor collapsed and struck him. For additional information, click here and here.

Datema v. Metropolitan Reference Laboratory
The family of Lynne Datema sued a laboratory for medical malpractice, claiming it failed to properly interpret a pap smear. Datema died from cancer of the cervix at the age of 37. For additional information, see this article from Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Andrew Beavers v. Paradise Valley Residents Association
$2.5 million settlement for a 16-year old boy who was paralyzed from the chest down after an automobile accident on an improperly maintained road (no guardrail at a sharp curve). There had been seven prior accidents at the site. For more information, click here.

Moton v. Anesthesia Partners, Ltd.
On Nov. 13, 2000, Robert Moton, Sr. died after undergoing an unsuccessful elective thoracotomy to remove a benign tumor from his right lung, leading to a malpractice suit by his family. Moton’s oxygen levels had dropped dramatically and he went into cardiac arrest. His family settled their St. Louis City medical malpractice suit with the anesthesiologist’s practice for $400,000 after six trial days in April 2005. The settlements with all medical provider defendants totaled $1,300,000. Additional information is available here.

Michael Lebrun v. Mine Safety Appliances Co.
$6.5 million settlement of a product liability suit. The plaintiff was a fire fighter who suffered brain damage when the oxygen alarm on his oxygen tank malfunctioned while he fought a fire in a high-rise retirement center. This suit resulted in a national recall of the product. For more information, click here.

Jason Frede and Alicia Frede v. Ford Motor Company et al.
Plaintiffs alleged serious injuries resulting from multiple design features of the Ford Explorer. In addition to the rollover issues often associated with the Explorer, this case involved a claim for Ford’s defective design of the vehicle’s door latch system. As the vehicle rolled over on the highway, both doors flew open, causing the occupants to be thrown about, held in the car only by their seat belts (both occupants were wearing seat belts). Both Plaintiffs sustained their injuries as a result of the doors coming open. The Plaintiffs received a settlement that was confidential in amount. For more information, click here and here.

Christina Bova v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, et al.
Christina Bova was riding as a passenger in a car that was hit by train at hazardous crossing settles suit. Her resulting brain injury caused her to be permanently disabled. As a result of her injuries, Bova, a high school graduate who had taken college courses, was unable to return to her job as a clerk for MSD. She is legally blind, can no longer walk without assistance, read, tell time, bathe independently, shop, or live on her own. Her past medical bills exceeded $695,557.00. Bova’s life care planner estimated that her future costs of care would top $7,991,748.80. It was estimated that Bova’s lost wages exceeded one million dollars. She received a settlement that was confidential in amount. For more information, click here.

Matt Love v. API
In October 2001, Matt Love was hunting with a tree stand and safety belt in Jefferson County, Missouri. He was harnessed to the tree with a tree stand safety belt. While he hunted, this safety belt was the only thing that connected him to the tree. While using the belt, Mr. Love fell more than 25 feet. He suffered fractured vertebrae, resulting in paralysis. Mr. Love’s life care plan indicated projected that he would incur lifetime medical costs exceeding $2.2 million. In his lawsuit, Mr. Love alleged that his fall was caused when his tree stand safety belt failed. The two-piece safety belt was designed and manufactured by API Outdoors and Outland Sports. Mr. Love’s lawsuit was recently settled for a confidential amount. For more information, click here.

William Craig Prott v St. John’s Mercy Health System, et al.
A patient who suffered brain damage during heart bypass surgery settles suit for a confidential amount against the hospital and the perfusionist monitoring his red blood cell level during the operation. His Red blood cell level had fallen below minimum set out in hospital protocol for an extended period. For more information, click here. and here.

Joseph and Kerry Ernst v. “Local St. Louis Pharmacy”
A pharmacy customer received a $565,000 Settlement in a drug overdose caused by pharmacy error. The pharmacist’s dosage instruction was nine times greater than what doctor prescribed The customer suffered liver, spleen and lung damage after ingesting nine times more medication than what his doctor ordered. For more information, click here.

McCarthy v. Cessna Aircraft Co.
This case was brought on behalf of the family of a student pilot who was killed in a crash. The suit, which was based on products liability, was settled for a confidential amount. Allan McCarthy was flying a 1977 Cessna single engine aircraft at the time. The family claimed lost wages of between $750,000 and $1M. For more, see here.

Grabel v. Barnes Jewish Hospital and Washington University
This was a medical malpractice claim for the wrongful death of Donald Grabel on August 14, 2001. Plaintiffs claimed that Mr. Grabel was administered an overdose of barium on August 8, 2001, just hours before he was to be discharged from Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The overdose of barium caused Mr. Grabel to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit where he underwent two additional surgeries. While in the ICU, defendants failed to provide sufficient blood thinning agents and Mr. Grabel died from a pulmonary embolism on August 14, 2001. The parties reached a confidential settlement. For more, see here.

McGrath v. Barnes-Jewish Hospital
$2 million jury verdict for the family of Robert McGrath, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. McGrath stabbed his father to death and wounded his mother with a kitchen knife immediately after his release by the hospital that had been treating him. For more, click here.

Vioxx and Other Pharmaceuticals
The firm has handled hundreds of pharmaceutical claims including Bextra and Vioxx (pain medications) and Ephedra and Fen-Phen (diet drugs).

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