Gerring Injury Law

Yesterday, I was awarded as one of Missouri Lawyers Media’s 2025 Up and Coming Honorees at the Missouri Athletic Club. This award is given to lawyers under 40 that are likely to achieve success in their future, based on current progress as judged by their peers.

$275,000 Total Settlement!

My client was hit while crossing the street in Kirkwood. She hired me after the insurance company had been hounding her for a recorded statement. The problem? Her memory of events conflicted with almost all of the known facts. With no witnesses or camera footage, she was in a tough spot because the driver alleged she was jaywalking.

In Missouri, crossing the street outside the crosswalk can lead to a pedestrian being found partially or completely at fault for their injuries.

After getting to know her, I knew she was not lying. She had sustained a head injury that made her a bad witness.

We were able to show that the objects found in the street were consistent with her being in the crosswalk. The responding officer found her reading glasses in the crosswalk. Her phone was found 10 feet or so north of the crosswalk. From his years of investigating pedestrian accidents, the officer believed that lighter items are usually found where the pedestrian is hit, while the heavier items will slide away from the point of impact.

Cases like these are why I became a lawyer. The satisfaction of helping people through difficult times is second to none. This woman has a beautiful way of looking at the world that is infectious. She really did not care about the money, she wanted to show the insurance company that they could not push her around. I am grateful for the role I played to make sure they didn't.

This recent $120,000 settlement shows how the large punitive damage verdicts you hear about in the news have an impact that go well beyond the parties to that particular lawsuit. These verdicts serve an important societal function. Not only do large punitive damage verdicts punish bad corporate actors from making unsafe or unhealthy products, in Missouri some of that money is put aside from those verdicts to help people with bad injuries and low limits recover something.

My client lost her leg as a result of circulation issues after breaking it in an accident while a passenger when her car crashed due to an uninsured motorist last year. I had a difficult time getting the insurance company reversing their initial liability decision. Once they did, we settled for the $50,000 uninsured limits, which was not nearly enough to compensate my client.

I obtained a $300,000 settlement for my client in the Missouri Tort Victims Compensation Fund, which is funded by punitive damage verdicts. This year the fund paid settlements out at 40%, allowing my client to recover much needed additional compensation.