Wrongful Death
$1 Million Dollar Settlement. David Ansley represented the widow and minor children of a 31- year-old man who was hospitalized for kidney stones. While hospitalized, the patient developed a perforated intestine due to underlying diverticulitis. This condition went untreated for 3-4 days despite x-rays demonstrating air within the abdominal cavity. By the time the perforated bowel condition was diagnosed, the patient was gravely ill. As a result of his massive abdominal infection, the patient died. The case settled for $1,000,000.00. $150,000.00 was allocated to his surviving parents, with the remaining $850,000.00 allocated to his widow and two children.
Confidential Settlement. David Ansley represented the surviving spouse and minor children of a 33-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital with extreme abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with constipation when in fact she suffered a twisted bowel. By the time a surgeon was consulted and made the diagnosis, her condition was irreversible and she died of dead bowel.
$800,000 Settlement. Don Woody represented the surviving husband and a son a women was given a PCA pump of Dilaudid for pain relief after the cesarean section birth of son. The attending OB-Gyn prescribed an excessive dose of the drug and the hospital nurses accidentally doubled the dose again.The woman died of respiratory failure as a result of an overdose of the pain medication.
Premises Liability
$150,000 Settlement. Don Woody represented an elderly woman who had fallen over a large plastic box in the hallway of her church resulting in a laceration of her eye.
$167,000 Settlement. Debbie Dodge represented a 51 year-old woman who was traveling through Springfield, Missouri to Pennsylvania. She and her husband decided to eat at a chain restaurant. The staff, in preparation of closing for the evening, cleaned the bathroom floor with a slick cleaner. The staff did not warn their customers of the condition of the floor. They did not barricade the area. Without warning, the woman stepped in the Women's restroom and immediately fell. She suffered from a full thickness tear of the ACL with a complicated tear of the medial meniscus requiring reconstructive knee surgery. She was able to return to work but limits her recreational activities.
$135,000 Settlement. Don Woody represented a bread delivery man who injured his arm at Wal-Mart when a Wal-Mart employee shoved a thousand pound bread rack into him because she was upset because he was late in his delivery. The case made new law when it was appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court in McCracken v. Wal-Mart Stores East L.P., 298 S.W.3d 473 (Mo.banc 2009).
Product Liability
$1.2 Million Dollar Verdict. Don Woody represented a 16-year-old boy who was trying to jump-start his car battery when the battery exploded and a piece of the battery flew up and put out his eye. A University of Arizona battery expert determined that the vent caps on the car battery were defective in their design because they permitted a spark to enter the battery and cause hydrogen gas to explode.
$1,700,000 Settlement. Ben Stringer and David Ansley represented a young boy who suffered extensive burns on his legs, stomach, chest and back as a result of a propane gas explosion and fire. Through extensive investigation and analysis the attorneys discovered gas leaked from a gas line that was connected to a gas burning appliance in the home. The attorneys demonstrated the gas line became damaged as a result of improper insulation, allowing gas to leak throughout the home. Ultimately the gas contracted an ignition source, believed to be a pilot light on another of the home's gas burning appliances, and resulted in the large explosion and fire.
$225,000 Settlement. Ben Stringer represented a woman who had three of her fingers caught in a machine blade at her workplace. The fingers were surgically repaired, but the client suffered pain and a loss of strength and range of motion in the three fingers.
**Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits.
