Settlements and Verdicts

With more than 100 years of collective experience practicing law in Missouri and Kansas, the attorneys of White, Allinder, Graham, Buckley & Carr, LLC have amassed an impressive record of verdicts and settlements. Our firm provides compassionate, personable representation to families and individuals who come to us for help — and we are zealous advocates should the opposition prove unwilling to offer reasonable damages for your injuries. While we cannot guarantee similar results for every case, we do everything possible to help our clients receive the compensation they deserve.

Auto accident results

Motorcycle injury caused by a road construction — $1.875 million verdict
Our firm represented a motorcyclists traveling on Interstate 70 in a construction zone. Uneven pavement in the construction zone caused our client to lose control and he was badly injured. He spent nearly a month in the hospital due to his injuries, which included lung contusions, fractured ribs, a ruptured spleen and a fractured shoulder. The case resulted in a $1.875 million verdict against the Missouri Department of Transportation and the private contractor doing the work. The verdict included a substantial award for punitive damages against the contractor because they had knowledge that several other wrecks had occurred at the same location.
Motorcycle injury caused by a road construction accident — $1 million verdict
Reported in Missouri Lawyers Weekly as one of the top plaintiff's verdicts in Missouri for 2010, White, Allinder, Graham, Buckley & Carr represented a Colorado motorcycle rider nearly killed by a semi-truck in a construction zone where unmarked, uneven pavement caused our client to lose control of his vehicle. Our plaintiff suffered from a severed tendon, a tibial plateau fracture, fractured ribs, several broken teeth and a concussion. He lost income and was forced to retire early from his job. We filed suit against the MODOT and the APAC, the contract company in charge of the construction job, for failure to correct dangerous road conditions they were aware of.
School bus crash — $850,000 additional settlement
Our client was a security guard traveling in a school bus on I-35 when a driver crossed the center line and collided headfirst into the bus. Our client suffered multiple leg and hip fractures and exhausted all funds available through the other drivers' liability insurance and her own automobile insurance company. Our firm filed suit and successfully recovered $850,000 on her behalf.
Car wreck, back injury — $178,000 total recovery: $133,000 verdict, $45,000 settlement
After slamming on his brakes to prevent a collision with a phantom vehicle swerving into his lane, our client was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer in heavy traffic. He suffered a back injury and our firm filed suit on his behalf against both the tractor-trailer driver and client's uninsured motorist carrier as the phantom motorist was never identified. We negotiated a settlement with the tractor-trailer driver and went to trial against the uninsured motorist carrier. The jury awarded a $130,000 verdict.
Car wreck, unoperated back injury — $156,200 verdict
Our firm represented a 37-year-old woman rear-ended after slowing down on a highway to avoid fallen truck cargo. The plaintiff suffered a serious back injury, and the defendant claimed the plaintiff stopped suddenly but that the accident did not cause her injury. Our client was awarded damages after the case went to court.

Medical malpractice results

Gallbladder surgery results in post-op infection — confidential settlement
A nicked bile duct during routine gallbladder surgery — and the surgeon's failure to repair it — caused bile to leak into our client's abdomen, resulting in a serious infection. Our client needed extensive surgery to clean his abdomen and suffered permanent liver damage due to the surgeon's actions. We reached a confidential settlement the morning the trial was set to begin.
Operating room fire — confidential settlement
Out-patient facial surgery resulted in tragedy when the surgical drapes trapped supplement oxygen administered to the patient as part of the anesthesia. When the surgeon attempted to stop bleeding from the surgery using a cautery pencil, the instrument sparked a fire that ignited and caused 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns to the clients face. We reached a confidential settlement on behalf of the victim.

Wrongful death results

Contractor dies after a 50-foot fall at a power plant — $1.1 million verdict
This wrongful death suit involved the untimely death of a pipefitter contractor who fell 50 feet and died from his injuries. Representing the worker's widow and children, White, Allinder, Graham, Buckley & Carr proved a power plant employee had covered the boiler room floor hole with a simple piece of plywood without securing it or posting a proper warning.
Delayed diagnosis of breast cancer — $980,000 verdict
Delayed diagnosis of breast cancer resulted when our client's primary physician did not order a biopsy even though she had a pronounced lump in her breast. When a biopsy was eventually taken, test results revealed the cancer had rapidly spread. Our client died and a jury in Jackson County awarded damages to the woman's survivors.
Misdiagnosed heart attack results in wrongful death — confidential settlement
Our firm represented a widow whose husband suffered a fatal heart attack after reporting symptoms consistent with a heart attack to his family physician. Our client's husband sought medical assistance after having chest pain and several days of weakness, but his physician believed the man's symptoms were consistent with having an ulcer. The physician sent him home and scheduled an ultrasound of the abdomen several days later, but the man died of a ruptured ventricle, caused by a heart attack, before his appointment. The coroner determined the decedent had suffered the heart attack at or near the time he visited the physician's office. We filed suit on behalf of the widow and case settled for a confidential amount.
Fiery truck crash — confidential settlement
Three individuals died in a fire that resulted from a nine-vehicle crash on 1-70 in Lafayette County, Missouri. White, Allinder, Graham, Buckley & Carr represented the family of one of the victims, ultimately achieving a confidential settlement for the loss of their loved one.
Nursing home negligence results in patient’s death — confidential settlement
A male patient with a bladder infection caused by an indwelling catheter died due to the nurses' negligence in his care. Although the patient had a high fever and complained of severe pains, the nurses did not reach out to the on-call doctor — they instead administered high doses of narcotics, causing the patient to pass away from dehydration and complications from the bladder infection. Our firm helped the patient's survivors receive compensation shortly before their claim was set to go to trial.
Intersection crash — confidential settlement
A wrongful death case, our client and her husband were traveling home from their neighborhood pharmacy when their vehicle was struck by a Corvette travelling 75 mph in a 35 mph zone. Our client's husband died from complications from the collision three days after the crash. Our firm achieved a confidential settlement for the widow and her family.

Employment Discrimination

Williams v. Sprint, federal district court, Kansas, $57 million settlement, age discrimination, May 2007
Between 2001 and 2003 thousands of employees were terminated from Sprint. At least 1700 employees pursued a collective action against Sprint for age discrimination. In May 2007 a settlement was reached for $57 million.
Helton v. Midwest Urology & Radiation Oncology, Inc., Federal District Court, Missouri, $31,012, in age discrimination case April 2008
Plaintiff, a 49 year old woman, filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC when her employer decided that it would contribute $225 per month toward employee health insurance. This decision meant that older employees would be required to pay more for their health insurance than employees under age 40. The employer terminated Plaintiff within 30 days of learning that she had filed a charge of discrimination. The jury awarded Plaintiff $1,012.40 on her claim for age discrimination, $5000 in actual damages on her claim for retaliation, and $25,000 as punitive damages on her claim for retaliation.
Todd v. Whiskey Tango, Jackson County, $125,000 + $177,502 (fees) in sexual harassment and retaliation, September 2007
Plaintiff was a young female working at Whiskey Tango as a waitress while attending college. During her six months of employment Plaintiff was subjected to offensive and sexually explicit language that was directed toward her and/or about females in general. Toward the end of her term of employment the owner of Whiskey Tango confronted Plaintiff alleging that she had spread rumors about him. He backed Plaintiff into a corner, yelling at her and cursing at her causing Plaintiff to be in fear of bodily harm. Plaintiff quit her job immediately thereafter.
Stanley v. Jerden Foods, Lafayette County, $12,108.18 + $63,054 (fees) in age discrimination case December 2006
Plaintiff had worked as a meat department manager for 28 years. In November 2003 Plaintiff was hired as Defendant's Meat Department Manager. In February 2004 Plaintiff was told that the owner wanted to bring in a younger man and that Plaintiff would be demoted. Plaintiff was told that he could stay on as first cutter. During that conversation the store manager asked Plaintiff how old he was and stated that Plaintiff should think about retiring. Plaintiff stated that he would look for another job. A few days later Plaintiff was again asked about his retirement plans. Plaintiff responded that he could not afford to retire. The store manager stated that he wished Plaintiff would go home and discuss the issue with his wife. Plaintiff was terminated just a few days later.
Crumpacker v. Kansas Department of Human Resources, Federal District Court, Kansas, $200,000 verdict, gender discrimination and retaliation, June 2004
Plaintiff served as a Director for the Kansas Department of Human Resources from August 1996 to September 1998 when she was fired. The director to whom Plaintiff reported, as well as male colleagues and/or superiors, used derogatory terms to refer to Plaintiff and placed only criticisms in her file. Plaintiff complained that one of the male superiors had violated the KDHR's EEO policies against sexual harassment and discrimination. After reporting the violation of policy Plaintiff was ostracized and her male peers would not speak to her. Plaintiff then submitted a written complaint to her director reporting the ongoing discrimination and retaliation. The director took no action in response to Plaintiff's complaint. Instead, Plaintiff was terminated just 15 days after her complaint.
Lee v. Consolidated Freightways, Federal District Court, Western District of Missouri, $1.5 million race discrimination March 2002
Plaintiff, an African American, worked for defendant as a mechanic. During his employment he was subjected to the use of the "n" word and other offensive and derogatory racial epithets. Plaintiff complained to management. While no actions were taken to address the racial discrimination, Plaintiff's co-workers then retaliated against Plaintiff by referring to him as "rat," "snake" and placing a confederate flag and lighter in his work locker. Plaintiff did not miss any work and had no claim for lost wages.
Guerrero v. Consolidated Freightways, Federal District Court, Western District of Missouri, $500,000 race discrimination August 2002
Plaintiff, a Hispanic individual, worked for defendant as a mechanic. During his employment he was subjected to constant racial discrimination primarily in the form of racial epithets and name-calling. On one event, however, Plaintiff was locked in the back of a trailer while co-workers threw human feces into the trailer and then drove it around the lot for at least twenty minutes. Plaintiff did not miss any work and had no claim for lost wages.
Confidential Settlement. An African American man was passed over for several positions/promotions for which he was qualified and had the requisite experience. Rather than placing Plaintiff in the positions, one positions was filled by a Caucasian woman and another position was left vacant. Plaintiff was later terminated through a reduction in force.
Confidential Settlement. Three female managers that were either pregnant or had taken time off for pregnancy were terminated for alleged misconduct while other managers who were not pregnant and had not taken time off related to pregnancy were not terminated for the same conduct.
Confidential settlement. A female employee was terminated from employment and her male superior was demoted and placed in her position. No reason was given for Plaintiff's termination other than the employer desired to place the male in her position.
Confidential settlement. A female factory worker was subjected to offensive sexual harassment in the workplace including crude and sexually explicit drawings, pornographic tapes left in the work area, and an incident where a male co-worker exposed his backside to Plaintiff. Plaintiff reported the incidents and the male co-worker was terminated. The remaining male co-workers retaliated against Plaintiff by destroying personal property, messing with settings on machines, and ostracizing her.
Confidential settlement. A female employee complained that she was discriminated against by receiving less pay for the same duties as the male employees and by being subjected to greater scrutiny with respect to her work hours, breaks and lunch periods. No remedial action was taken in response to Plaintiff's complaints, instead Plaintiff was subjected to retaliated against. Plaintiff then reported the ongoing discrimination and retaliation. Defendant's controller told Plaintiff that Defendant would not accept any further complaints and asked her why she wouldn't just let it go and keep her job.
Confidential settlement. Plaintiff filed suit for age discrimination when he was terminated and a younger male was retained in his position. An older male employee in the same position was also terminated at another location while the younger male employee was retained.
Confidential settlement. Plaintiff sued his employer for failure to accommodate his disability. A confidential settlement was obtained that provided for modifications to the building as well as a confidential monetary settlement.

Other verdicts and settlements

Assault in mall parking lot— $1.2 million verdict
Our client was an elderly grandmother attacked in the mall parking lot one evening while on her way to finish Christmas shopping. Our plaintiff was hospitalized for several weeks, suffering from blurred vision and permanent memory loss. We filed a premises liability suit against the shopping mall for negligent security, and the plaintiff received a substantial verdict for tangible and intangible losses.
Firefighter became seriously ill from food poisoning — $605,000.00 verdict
Our firm represented a 32 year old firefighter who became seriously ill from food poisoning after dining at a Japanese steakhouse in Independence, Missouri. He eventually had to be hospitalized due to serious chest infections that developed after bacteria entered his chest cavity because of a microtear in his esophagus, which was caused by the vomiting from the food poisoning. The case was tried to a jury and the jury returned a verdict in favor of our client in the amount of $605,000.00.
Inverse condemnation and sewer backups — $308,208.21 verdict
Our firm represented a Raytown, Missouri apartment complex owner after the complex suffered multiple sewer backups over a five-year period. These backups damaged several units, requiring extensive cleanup, residential relocation and loss of income. Our plaintiff complained to the city, whose representatives disavowed responsibility. Extensive discovery revealed the city's sewer system had multiple problems. We took the case to trial and the jury awarded all damages requested by the client.
Horseback riding accident — $300,000 verdict
Our plaintiff suffered a T-9 burst fracture after being thrown by his horse at a trail riding facility near Lake of the Ozarks. He and his wife had previously reported riderless horses to the facility's owners and were assured they would be "taken care of." The next day, the same riderless horse bit and spooked the plaintiff's horse, causing him to jump sideways. The plaintiff was unable to work for six months. We filed suit against the facility and helped our client receive damages for medical costs and lost wages.
Fall from flatbed trailer — confidential settlement
While unloading industrial material from a pallet on a flatbed trailer, our client was forced off the back of the truck by the actions of a warehouse employee using an overhead crane. Our client landed on the building's concrete floor, shattering both elbows and permanently losing the ability to use his arms and hands. We reached a confidential settlement with the defendant.

Reach out to our advocates today

Countless clients have relied on White, Allinder, Graham, Buckley & Carr for help seeking compensation from negligent parties who caused them harm, and you can too. Reach out to our firm to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our skilled attorneys. Located in Independence, Missouri, we serve clients throughout Jackson County and the Kansas City metro-area, including residents of Kansas.