Kodner Watkins Muchnick and Weigley, L.C. works very hard to achieve a maximum result on behalf of our clients. We are experienced, sharp and efficient. Our clients receive first-rate, first-class service. We keep our clients updated at all times. We are accessible and extremely responsive. Our goal is to protect the rights of our clients while providing effective and inspired legal representation. It is our pleasure to provide you with a sample of our representative personal injury and worker's compensation cases for your reference .

J.B. won a case against General Motors involving faulty brakes on a tow truck. J.B. was an electric power linesman who was removing downed power lines at the scene of an automobile collision. A tow truck arrived at the scene to remove some vehicles. The driver testified that he put on the "Tow Brake", but witnesses stated that after the driver left the vehicle, they heard a "pop" and the vehicle began to roll down an incline toward J.B. As the vehicle rolled onto J.B., he was dragged down the incline for 60 feet before the vehicle came to rest on top of J.B. J. B. sustained horrific, life altering injuries. General Motors claimed the accident was caused by poor brake maintenance. However, attorneys Todd Muchnick and Gerald M. Dunne (formerly with KWMW) demonstrated that the brake design was faulty and that there had been three prior lawsuits involving the same problems. J.B. received a favorable jury verdict and was awarded $12.5 Million Dollars. His wife received a verdict for $3 Million Dollars. J.B. also received a rare award for punitive damages in the amount of $4 Million Dollars. The total verdict of $19.5 Million Dollars is still one of the largest verdicts for personal injury in the State of Missouri.

The parents of E.M. retained partner Todd Muchnick, Esq. of KWMW to sue a tire shop and a tire manufacturer after she was injured in an automobile collision in which a tire the shop inspected lost its tread on a highway. The 2½-year-old girl sustained substantial injuries and disfigurement as a result of the tire failure. The tire in question had been inspected but not replaced by the tire retailer prior to the accident. While driving on the highway, the tire tread separated from the van in which E.M. was a passenger. The van crashed and E.M. was ejected from the van onto the highway. The case settled with some of the potential defendants before trial, however, the tire dealer would not settle. The dealer claimed they had no duty to advise as to the poor condition of the tire even though they inspected the tires. The case went to trial and attorney Todd Muchnick successfully obtained a jury verdict in the amount of $300,000.00 against the tire dealer.

D.S. went to the hospital in another state for elective neck surgery. D.S.'s family lived in St. Louis and hired attorney Albert S. Watkins of KWMW to represent their father and husband's interest. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist made a mistake during surgery in the administration of oxygen through the center-line. D.S. became brain damaged and comatose. He died from this alleged incident about a week later. The hospital and the doctors initially declined responsibility and claimed D.S.'s death was simply a risk of surgery! KWMW aggressively pursued evidence prior to filing a lawsuit. KWMW's medical experts demonstrated that a serious mistake had been made in the handling of the oxygen flow during the procedure and that D.S.'s death was not simply a risk of surgery. The case settled in the seven-figure range without ever having to file a lawsuit.

F.H., a bus driver who was in an accident which received national attention, hired KWMW to pursue his Worker's Compensation claim for the serious debilitating injuries he received in the accident. The bus collided with a tractor-trailer during a major blizzard in the middle of winter. The front end of the bus was destroyed and the driver's cockpit was crushed. The driver sustained serious permanent injuries to his legs requiring several surgeries. He was hospitalized for several months and required a great deal of physical rehabilitation just to learn to walk again. The bus company did not want to adequately compensate the driver for the serious permanent and total injuries he sustained. Attorney D. Andrew Weigley of KWMW successfully tried the case and F.H. received a Permanent Total Disability Award from the Division of Worker's Compensation.

KWMW represented the family of a high school star athlete and sued the driver of a vehicle in which he was a passenger after he died in an accident. The young star's family was devastated as a result of the loss and felt as though they were not being treated fairly by the insurance company for the driver. It was impossible to put a monetary value on the life of their son. Unfortunately, any insurance policy would be inadequate to compensate the young man's family. KWMW provided able and thoughtful counsel in arriving at a resolution that would assist the family in moving forward.

In a much-publicized St. Louis case, a minor child and her father, on behalf of their deceased mother and wife, O.M., filed suit against the state highway department and a defendant who dropped a 22-pound boulder over an overpass in the City of St. Louis. O.M. was decapitated and killed when the individual defendant dropped a chunk of concrete curb over the overpass onto and through O.M.'s windshield. A judgment was granted against the individual defendant for $1.4 Million Dollars. KWMW argued the case against the State Highway Department before the State Supreme Court. The attorneys for O.M. argued that overpasses on major thoroughfares should be protected or guarded to prohibit objects from being dropped onto the highway from above. Though the ruling was in favor of the State Highway Department, the firm continues to pursue causes for a safer highway system.

The children of a deceased individual entered a confidential settlement for a substantial amount against an automobile manufacturer as a result of a vehicular "roll over" in a collision. The deceased was a passenger in a vehicle type known to have a propensity to roll over in certain situations. The vehicle was rear-ended by an alleged speeding, uninsured, unlicensed, intoxicated, illegal alien defendant. The probabilities of receiving a recovery from this individual were not very good. However, the individual died when the vehicle rolled over after being rear-ended. The vehicle manufacturer claimed that the vehicle was not required to remain stable after such an impact.

Attorneys D. Andrew Weigley and Mark C. Kodner of KWMW were retained to represent a seriously injured worker who sustained life altering permanent injuries resulting in paralysis from the waist down that kept him from ever returning to work. J.N. was a construction worker who fell from a high steeple on top of a large roof. The beam on which J.N. was leveraged snapped and he fell to the ground thereby sustaining life-threatening injuries. J.N. was paralyzed from the waist down. KWMW successfully fought for modifications to J.N.'s home; secured a disabled van which J.N. could operate and which could transport his wheelchair; recovered life long benefits and an annuity.

The mother of a fourteen-year old child who died while a passenger in a vehicle that was hill jumping on the infamous "Seven Hills of Death" retained KWMW to pursue the teenage driver of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was going on a "thrill ride" with five young people in his vehicle. The driver drove at a high rate of speed over the hills on the roadway in order to "hill jump" or have the vehicle actually jump over the hill with its wheels off the ground. The vehicle jumped a hill, lost control, left the roadway and struck a tree. The plaintiff died. The case settled without the necessity of trial.

C.D. broke her neck while trying to enter the highway known as "Blood Alley". C.D. made a left turn onto the highway from her neighborhood. The defendant allegedly came down "Blood Alley" at such a high rate of speed that she struck C.D.'s vehicle thereby destroying both cars. C.D.'s neck was broken and required surgery to repair. KWMW alleged that the roadway was clear for her to turn and that the defendant was speeding. C.D. was familiar with the area as she lived there for years. The defendant alleged that C.D. failed to yield the right of way. The case was settled for the defendant's policy limits without the necessity of trial.

K.C. sued a store that cashes paychecks after he was shot and seriously wounded by an armed robber. K.C. was shot in the parking lot of the store while sitting in his vehicle. KWMW discovered evidence, which revealed that the check cashing operation had several prior violent criminal occurrences, but they did not provide adequate security for their customers. K.C. lost a kidney as well as sustaining several injuries and psychological trauma. The case was resolved for approximately $170,000.00 even though the store argued they could not be liable for the gunman.

J.K. sued a negligent driver who rear-ended her after allegedly failing to stop at a stoplight. J.K. was hospitalized with broken bones and severe injuries. J.K. achieved enough recovery of her physical condition to return to work. However, she incurred over $30,000.00 in medical bills and lost earnings. KWMW prepared the case for a jury trial when the case was resolved for approximately $150,000.00 in a very conservative jury venue.

$2.15 Million Settlement. A man who suffered debilitating injuries in an automobile collision has settled his case for $2.15 million. On April 16, 2004, William Meyer was traveling eastbound on Manchester Road in St. Louis County. Jocelyn L., a 16-year-old who had received her driver’s license two months earlier, failed to yield and make a left turn into the path of Meyer’s midsized sedan. Jocelyn was driving her parent’s full-sized sport utility vehicle. Meyer, 66, sustained a fracture of his C2 vertebra and was in a coma for a week. He remained hospitalized at St. John’s Hospital for several months, and then received extensive rehabilitation at a long-term care facility. Due to his injuries, Meyer lost about 90 percent use of his right arm. He also suffers from right drop foot that hinders his mobility, although he is able to walk with a cane. Formerly a professional landscape/seascape photographer, Meyer is now unable to take photographs due to his physical condition. During mediation, attorney Todd Muchnick secured a $2.15 million settlement.

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