Man wins jury trial over rear-end crash [2010-11-10]
By Kelly Wiese
A man hurt after another driver rear-ended his vehicle won $100,000 from a federal jury in St. Louis.
Philip Sims sued his insurance company, Progressive Direct Insurance Co., after reaching a settlement with the other driver's insurer that he said wasn't enough to cover his damages. So he sued Progressive to cover his claims under his underinsured motorist policy.
Sims' attorney, Robert Albair, said his client had several small fractures to his neck as a result of the January 2008 crash in St. Charles County. But they healed after months of wearing a brace. The larger concern, Albair said, is that the man has soft-tissue injuries and expects to have problems with stiffness in his neck and arthritis as he grows older, conditions that aren't apparent now but will emerge as an effect of the crash.
As in most injury cases, the parties fought over the amount of medical bills that the jury would hear about. In the end, after providing some live testimony to back up the paperwork, the plaintiff prevailed on that point and was able to present the billed amount of about $11,000, rather than what was actually paid.
The court also allowed the plaintiff's attorney to discuss the other driver's negligence, including that he was drunk. But in turn jurors also heard that Sims acknowledged having a beer or two earlier that day, Albair said.
Albair, a solo attorney in Des Peres, said injury cases are difficult for plaintiff attorneys in federal court in eastern Missouri. While he would have liked to get more for his client, the result isn't bad, he said, considering the last settlement offer Progressive had made was for $20,000.
Albair also speculated that jurors didn't see his client as having serious medical problems, which hurt his case. Sims' fractures healed without surgery or apparent lasting effects, he works all day at a computer and bowls regularly, all details that jurors heard during trial, he said. But he tried to stress to jurors — a group he called the most conservative he has seen in 34 years of law practice — that while Sims is OK now, he needs ongoing chiropractic treatment and could have more severe health problems down the road.
Both attorneys said settlement discussions didn't get very far.
"They just didn't think our guy was hurt that badly, that his damages were that much," Albair said.
$100,000 jury verdict
Motor vehicle collision
Court: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
Case Number/Date: 4:09-cv-1213/Aug. 31, 2010
Judge: Catherine D. Perry
Plaintiff's Experts: Dr. Stanley Martin, St. Charles (neurosurgery); Roy Hillgartner, Ballwin (chiropractic)
Last Pretrial Demand: $70,000-$100,000 (parties disputed the final figure)
Last Pretrial Offer: $20,000
Insurer: Progressive Direct Insurance Co.
Caption: Philip Sims v. Progressive Direct Insurance Co.
Plaintiff's Attorney: Robert J. Albair, Des Peres
Defendant's Attorney: Daniel E. Wilke, Wilke & Wilke, St. Louis
THE MATA CONVENTION - A FAMILY AFFAIR [2010-07-07]
Robert J. Albair
As I wound my way down the ribbon of highway following another typically exhilarating but exhausting MATA convention, my mind raced ahead to the itinerary which awaits me in the upcoming month. Most notably, I thought about the joyous event in a few weeks at which time I will walk my daughter Nicki down the aisle and "hand her off" to Ryan, a young lawyer and the man of her dreams. More imminent, however, is my planned attendance at the first-ever Albair Family Reunion in the mosquito and moose-infested woods of northern Maine. When asked by my always-supportive spouse Sue, why I was going with my brothers to this reunion less than two weeks before the wedding, I responded that this was a once in a lifetime affair, and that I would likely not see all of my northern cousins ever again, considering that I had last seen them about forty years ago. My mind then drifted back to the events of the recent convention, and it occurred to me that this annual convention truly has become for me, a "reunion" as well – a reunion with my MATA family! You see, Sue and I have been to every convention but one since about 1981, and our daughters Nicki and Kim – known in MATA circles as the "Albair girls", have grown up with this convention as part of the "rights of summer"` along with the kids from the Emison, Langdon, Meyerkord, Ringkamp, Hullverson and Schlapprizzi clans. Most of our progeny have now grown up, and they have interestingly, in many cases, renewed acquaintances with each other in their new adult lives. Kim and her husband Jimmy share mutual friends with Adam Langdon and his wife; they have been at social events with the "Ringkamp girls", and Craig Schlapprizzi is coincidentally a personal friend of my soon-to-be son-in-law. It was heartwarming to see the pride and satisfaction in Robin Emison's eyes as Brett and his lovely wife Nikki hugged and greeted my Nicki and her fiancé and proudly introduced them to their beautiful baby at the Saturday night pre-banquet cocktail party. You see, all of us have become like a large extended family – the MATA family, and we are fortunate that we can attend this reunion every year. Sue and I have made lifelong friends from within this group, and new friends like John and Cindy Wallach have further enriched our lives and our social calendar as well. In some ways, our MATA friends have become like cousins – some distant and some closer to home. There is our southern cousin Lynn Henry, who always has some down-home yarn to spin about wild armadillo hunts; then there are our western cousins, Bob and Margie Langdon, who are quick to laugh and reminisce about our outrageous $300 sushi experience in Maui while attending the ATLA convention; there is our city cousin Alan Mandel who likes to tell tall tales about the days in trial against me when we were both young "whippersnappers"; there is cousin Jack Norton (where have you been?) who always liked to raise my fatherly eyebrow by playfully and innocently flirting with my girls and telling me that they were "fair game". Then there are the wise "older" cousins Fred Wilkins and John Campbell who conveniently humble me with reminders that they knew me when I was just a lowly law student who worked for them. Yes, the annual "reunion" has likewise experienced some of the same events which attend real reunions, including brushes with the animal world – not ants – but teaming up with Russ Bliss to fight the killer bees, and dealing with the heat, humidity and predictable storms which have dampened many an outside family gathering – remember the tornado in 1993 when the hotel was evacuated in the middle of the night to the bowels of the atrium area – just like the London blitz! With any family reunion, there is always a director, an Aunt Bea-like character* who miraculously organizes the extravaganza (sorry Linda Simon and Sarah) and keeps the cousins under minimal control. Yes our MATA "reunion" has always been there and with the help of new blood in the organization will continue to always be there. Young lawyers take heed! Oh well, it's back to the driving and mental packing for my upcoming trip. Come to think of it, I never had to pack moose repellent for the MATA reunion.
*Younger lawyers will need to research The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry.
Seminars Taught
How to Prepare a Serious Injury Case and Avoid Bankruptcy, UMKC Law School; February, 1989
Pleading & Practice Seminar, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys; February, 1991
Automobile Litigation Seminar, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys; May, 1992
St. Louis County Bar Assoc Trial Practice Seminar, October, 1992
Settling Insurance Claims; Professional Education Systems; April, 1995; Trial Tips Seminar; Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, April, 1999;
Taking & Defending Effective Depositions in Missouri , Lorman Education Services; November, 1999
Missouri Personal Injury Practice for Paralegals Seminar; Half Moon, LLC; April, 1999
Automobile Insurance Law & Accident Litigation in Missouri; Lorman Education Services; April, 1999
Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys' Tried & True Tips for the Trial Attorney Seminar; April, 2000
Auto Insurance Law & Accident Litigation in Missouri seminar, Lorman Education Services; April, 2000
Taking & Defendant Effective Depositions in Missouri , Lorman Education Services; November, 2000
Auto Insurance Law & Accident Litigation in Missouri; Lorman Education Services, April, 2001
Legal Implications of Nursing Practice In Missouri, Lorman Education Services; April, 2002
Deposing the Treating Physician; Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys' Tried & True Tips for the Trial Attorney Seminar; April, 2003
