Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jan 12, 2026
Appellants K.A.C. and Michael Crites, Jr. sued the Missouri State Highway Patrol for wrongful death after a pursued driver collided with and killed Connor Crites. The trial court granted summary judgment for MSHP, finding Appellants failed to establish proximate cause. The appellate court affirmed, holding that Appellants did not produce sufficient facts to prove MSHP's actions were the proximate cause of the collision, consistent with Supreme Court precedent that proximate cause cannot be based on speculation in police pursuit cases.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jul 29, 2025
J.N. and Colleen Nentwig sued Dr. Dale Anderson for wrongful death, alleging medical negligence after Ryne Dobson killed his stepfather, Kevin Nentwig. Appellants claimed Dr. Anderson failed to warn of Dobson's danger or negligently prescribed medication. On appeal, Appellants argued the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on a novel theory of duty for psychiatrists to third parties regarding medication-induced harm. The appellate court affirmed the judgment for Dr. Anderson, declining to recognize this new duty because Dobson's violent conduct was not reasonably foreseeable.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Apr 1, 2025
Carrie L. Gruhn and Izeck K. McCown, mother and child of a decedent, brought wrongful-death claims against Joshua Elam, a passenger in an ATV accident that killed the decedent. The circuit court dismissed the claim against Elam for failure to state a claim, finding no duty was pleaded. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the plaintiffs' amended petition failed to allege facts establishing Elam voluntarily undertook a duty to protect the decedent under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 323. The court also found the appeal was timely despite an initial interlocutory judgment.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Mar 25, 2025
Shirley Ralls, as personal representative for her deceased husband's estate, sued Soo Line Railroad Company for wrongful death under FELA, alleging her husband's lung cancer was caused by exposure to carcinogens during his employment. The jury found in favor of Soo Line. On appeal, Ralls argued the trial court erred by allowing her husband's treating physician to offer causation opinions as an undisclosed expert and by permitting opinions that differed from his discovery deposition. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding Ralls was unfairly surprised and prejudiced by the treating physician's expert testimony on causation, which was based on new research not disclosed during discovery.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Mar 4, 2025
Rochelle Ameer appealed the dismissal of her product liability and negligence claims against Lyft, Inc., after her son, a Lyft driver, was killed during a carjacking initiated through the Lyft App. The trial court had dismissed the claims for failure to state a cause of action, finding the App was not a product and no duty existed. The appellate court reversed, holding that a mobile ridesharing application can be considered a product for product liability purposes and that the petition adequately alleged Lyft's duty to protect against third-party criminal acts, remanding for further proceedings.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Feb 18, 2025
Appellant Joanne Knight filed a wrongful death claim against Dr. Huilin Li, Dr. Sam Bishara, and St. Louis Cardiology Consultants, Ltd. (SLCC) following her husband's death from cardiac arrest. The trial court granted summary judgment for all respondents, striking Knight's expert witness against Dr. Li and finding no physician-patient relationship with Dr. Bishara and SLCC. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in striking the expert and that material questions of fact remained regarding the physician-patient relationship.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Feb 11, 2025
Carrie S. Schultz and Robert C. Schultz, Sr., parents of Robert C. Schultz, Jr., brought a wrongful death action against Great Plains Trucking, Inc. and Lennis H. Beck after their son died in a collision with Beck's truck. A jury awarded the plaintiffs compensatory and aggravating circumstances damages. On appeal, defendants challenged the exclusion of expert testimony, the participation of separate counsel, the submission of a jury instruction on careful lookout, and the sufficiency of evidence for aggravating circumstances damages. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's judgment, finding that defendants either failed to preserve their claims of error or that their preserved claims lacked merit.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Dec 23, 2024
Jeromy McCrackin sued Tynan Mullen for wrongful death. Safeco Insurance Company, Mullen's alleged insurer, moved to intervene in the wrongful death action to seek a stay, pending resolution of a federal declaratory judgment action on coverage. The circuit court denied Safeco's motion. The Missouri Supreme Court vacated the judgment and remanded, holding that an insurer has a right to intervene under Rule 52.12(a)(2) for the limited purpose of seeking a stay in the underlying tort action while coverage questions are litigated.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Oct 29, 2024
Jill Mabie filed a wrongful death action against Somona Mason after Mason caused the death of Mabie's husband in a motor vehicle accident. After a jury awarded Mabie $40,000,000 in damages, the trial court also awarded prejudgment interest. Mason appealed, arguing that Mabie's settlement offer did not comply with section 408.040, RSMo, because she failed to send a certified copy to Mason's insurer and failed to attach a list of employers. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding that Mabie's offer complied with the statute.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Aug 20, 2024
Patricia Nowell-Silman appealed the dismissal of her premises liability and wrongful death petition against the Missouri Veterans' Home (MVC) after her father, a resident, left the facility, fell, and died. She alleged a dangerous condition on MVC's property due to the lack of coded locks and resident monitors, which she claimed waived sovereign immunity. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal, holding that the absence of such devices did not constitute a physical defect in the property necessary to establish a dangerous condition under the sovereign immunity waiver statute.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jul 17, 2024
David Raymond Cady's next friends sued the City of Malden, a dispatcher, and an officer for wrongful death and negligent supervision after Cady committed suicide in jail. The trial court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss based on official immunity. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the duties of monitoring a prisoner and walking a prisoner to a cell were discretionary, not ministerial, and therefore the official immunity doctrine applied.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jun 11, 2024
Debbie Pyzyk sued Gateway Psychiatric Group and Dr. Gordon Robinson for wrongful death following her daughter K.P.'s death, alleging medical malpractice. The jury found in favor of Pyzyk, awarding compensatory damages. On appeal, Appellants challenged a verdict directing instruction, the admission of expert testimony, the admission of K.P.'s death certificate, and the submission of aggravating circumstances damages. The Eastern District of Missouri affirmed the trial court's judgment, denying all points on appeal.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Jun 4, 2024
Austin Jarvis and Tonya Musskopf brought a wrongful death action against MHTC employees Michael Love, Gary Ludwick, Kristina Jordan, and James Henson, alleging they violated mandatory safety policies leading to the deaths of Kaitlyn Anderson and Jaxx Jarvis. The employees sought writs of prohibition after the circuit court partially denied their motions for judgment on the pleadings based on official immunity. The Supreme Court of Missouri made its preliminary writs permanent, holding that official immunity barred the claims because the employees' duties were discretionary, not ministerial, and the plaintiffs' allegations of malice were conclusory without factual support of intent to injure.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Apr 23, 2024
Willa Hynes's son died in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC), and she requested records under the Missouri Sunshine Law. The trial court granted summary judgment to Hynes, finding the DOC violated the Sunshine Law, and after a bench trial, found the violation was knowing and purposeful, ordering the DOC to produce records, pay a $5,000 penalty, and attorney's fees. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's finding that the DOC violated the Sunshine Law and that the violation was purposeful, but reversed the portion of the judgment allowing the DOC to seek a protective order before producing the records.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Apr 16, 2024
Candace Love, as personal representative of her deceased son Casey Redmond's estate, sued Osage Marine Services, Inc. under the Jones Act for Redmond's death while working on a tugboat. Osage Marine admitted liability, and a jury awarded Love $15 million in damages. On appeal, Osage Marine challenged the submissibility of damages for conscious pain and suffering and loss of support, the denial of remittitur, the admission of certain evidence, a jury instruction, and the entry of judgment despite a federal injunction. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding sufficient evidence for the damages claims and denying the remaining points on procedural grounds.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Mar 26, 2024
Carrie S. Schultz and Robert C. Schultz, Sr., parents of the deceased Robert C. Schultz, Jr., brought a wrongful death action against Great Plains Trucking, Inc. and its driver, Lennis H. Beck, following a fatal vehicular crash. After a jury trial awarded the plaintiffs compensatory and aggravating circumstances damages, the defendants appealed. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding no error in the exclusion of expert testimony, the allowance of separate counsel, the jury instructions, or the submission of aggravating circumstances damages.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Mar 5, 2024
Donna Yarnell filed a wrongful death action against Clinton No. 1, Inc., a healthcare center, alleging negligence after her mother contracted COVID-19. Clinton sought a writ of mandamus to compel the circuit court to dismiss the action, claiming immunity under the federal PREP Act and two Missouri statutes. The Missouri Supreme Court quashed its preliminary writ of mandamus, holding that Yarnell's petition did not implicate a "covered countermeasure" under the PREP Act, Clinton failed to demonstrate deployment under one state immunity statute, and Yarnell adequately alleged recklessness to overcome the other state immunity statutes.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jan 8, 2024
Diane Lewis-Campbell appealed the trial court's judgment regarding the apportionment of a wrongful death settlement and the payment of attorney's fees. Lewis-Campbell, the mother of the decedent, and the decedent's minor children were claimants in a $2.5 million settlement. The trial court ordered each claimant to pay their attorney's fees as contracted from their share. The appellate court affirmed, holding that section 537.095 requires payment of attorney's fees as contracted when a valid agreement exists, and does not permit modification based on Rule 4-1.5 or allow fee sharing from other claimants when they have their own counsel before the settlement judgment is rendered.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Dec 19, 2023
Jayla Ruiz-Morales, John Kimani, and Valarie Johnson, employees of a state-operated treatment center, sought a writ of prohibition after the circuit court overruled their motion to dismiss a wrongful death action based on official immunity. The underlying action alleged negligence in the care of a patient, Ronald Scheer, who died while in their care. The Supreme Court of Missouri made its preliminary writ of prohibition permanent, holding that the employees were entitled to official immunity because the duties outlined in the patient's individual support plan involved discretion, not purely ministerial acts.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Dec 19, 2023
The McCroskeys sued Next Stop C-Stores, LLC, Balwinder Singh, and Gurminder Singh for wrongful death and negligence after Patricia McCroskey was killed in an auto accident involving Rajinder Singh, an alleged employee. The trial court entered an interlocutory default judgment against the defendants for failing to timely respond to the petition. The defendants appealed the trial court's denial of their motion to set aside the default judgment. The appellate court affirmed, finding no abuse of discretion in the trial court's determination that the defendants failed to show good cause for their untimely response.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Sep 12, 2023
DKM Enterprises, LLC, a Texas company, sought a writ of prohibition after the Circuit Court of Cass County denied its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in a wrongful death lawsuit. The underlying claims arose from a motor vehicle accident in Kansas where steel pipe sold by DKM broke apart, killing Brooke Rees. The appellate court made its preliminary writ of prohibition permanent, holding that Missouri's long-arm statute did not authorize personal jurisdiction over DKM because the sale of the pipe occurred in Kansas, and DKM did not transact business in Missouri related to the accident.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Aug 1, 2023
Mark and Barbara Brommelhorst sued Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange (Auto Club) for uninsured motorist coverage and Danielle Johnson for wrongful death after Johnson struck and killed their son, Gabriel Brommelhorst. Johnson was uninsured and defaulted in the proceedings. The trial court denied Auto Club the opportunity to contest Johnson's liability and entered judgment for the Brommelhorsts. The appellate court reversed, holding that Auto Club, as a named defendant, had the right to contest Johnson's liability and was not bound by her admissions by default.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Jul 20, 2023
Christina Forester sued Crystal May, a children's division caseworker, for the wrongful death of her granddaughter, alleging May failed to perform a ministerial duty by not timely completing a SAFE CARE referral. The circuit court dismissed Forester's petition, finding May was entitled to official immunity and that causation was not adequately pleaded. The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the dismissal, holding that May's actions involved discretion and thus she was protected by official immunity, making the petition fail to state a claim.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Jun 27, 2023
Kailey K. Myers appealed a judgment in favor of Marlayna Kenney and Jayden Morgan on their wrongful death and personal injury claims, which arose from a motor vehicle accident. Myers argued that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence related to her liability, as she had admitted fault for the accident. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, holding that Myers' admission was not a clear and unequivocal admission of all specific allegations of negligence, and even with such an admission, plaintiffs retain the right to present relevant liability evidence. The court also found no outcome-determinative prejudice.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / May 16, 2023
Vicky Church and other beneficiaries sued CNH Industrial America, LLC for wrongful death, alleging strict products liability and negligence after Wayne Church was crushed by a defective skid steer cab. CNH appealed the judgment awarding damages, challenging the refusal of a comparative fault instruction, the admission of other incident evidence, the admission of expert testimony, and the calculation of post-judgment interest. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's rulings on the instructions and evidence, finding CNH failed to preserve its objections. However, the court reversed the award of post-judgment interest, holding it should accrue from the date of the final judgment apportioning damages, not the earlier non-final judgment.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / May 9, 2023
Appellants sued the City of Eureka, its employee Robert Wade, and painter Richard Green for inhalation injuries from paint overspray during water tank maintenance, later adding a wrongful death claim. The trial court granted summary judgment for all defendants and denied leave to add the wrongful death claim. The appellate court reversed summary judgment for Eureka, finding its water tank maintenance a proprietary function not protected by sovereign immunity. It affirmed summary judgment for Wade and Green on the original negligence claims. The court also reversed the denial of leave to add the wrongful death claim against Eureka, Green, and two new defendants, holding the claim accrued at death and was not time-barred, and that the trial court abused its discretion. However, the denial of leave as to Wade was affirmed due to official immunity.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Mar 7, 2023
Stephanie Clark sued SSM Healthcare St. Louis and other medical providers for medical negligence and wrongful death after her fourteen-year-old daughter, D.G., committed suicide following discharge from the hospital. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants on three grounds: causation, statutory immunity, and a claim for aggravating circumstances damages. The appellate court reversed on all three bases, finding that the trial court misconstrued Missouri law on causation in wrongful death cases, erroneously applied a statutory immunity provision, and used the wrong version of the statute for aggravating circumstances damages.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Feb 28, 2023
Kenneth Moore appealed from a circuit court judgment in an interpleader action, which incorporated a prior summary judgment against him on negligence and wrongful death crossclaims related to a motor vehicle incident. The appellate court dismissed Moore's appeal, finding that his brief failed to comply with mandatory appellate briefing rules, particularly Rule 84.04, by not presenting any points relied on. This failure precluded the court from conducting a meaningful review, and the court declined to impose sanctions for a frivolous appeal.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Dec 6, 2022
Marsha Zerpa appealed a jury verdict in favor of XPO Logistics Freight, Inc. and Timothy Lee Chambers in her wrongful death lawsuit, alleging their negligence caused her husband's death. Zerpa contended the trial court erred by giving an improper affirmative converse jury instruction. The appellate court reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial, holding that the instruction was improper as it hypothesized facts that were not sufficient to bar the plaintiff's recovery.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Nov 22, 2022
Christina Forester filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chrystal May, a Children's Division caseworker, after Forester's 22-month-old grandchild died from a fentanyl overdose. The trial court dismissed the petition based on official immunity and lack of causation. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that the caseworker's duty to complete and submit a SAFE CARE referral form was a ministerial act not subject to official immunity, and that causation was not a proper ground for dismissal as it was not raised in the motion to dismiss.