We would rather tell you precisely what our record in this courthouse is and is not. We have tried a case to verdict before a St. Louis County jury. Our wrongful death trial record comes from St. Charles County, one courthouse over.
Updated October 2026
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A wrongful death claim in St. Louis County is generally filed in the 21st Judicial Circuit in Clayton, a separate court from the 11th Circuit in St. Charles County or the 22nd Circuit in the City of St. Louis. The statute governing the claim does not change between them. The jury pool and local practice do.
We think the honest way to present our record is to separate the two things it actually contains: a jury trial we have won in this specific courthouse, and a wrongful death trial record we have built in the circuits around it.
We tried an auto accident case to verdict before a St. Louis County jury. A driver ran a red light, causing injuries that required multiple disc replacements and a lumbar fusion. The jury returned $10,000,000. It was not a wrongful death case, and we say so directly.
Our wrongful death trial record is in St. Charles County: a $20,025,000 verdict after a trucking company denied responsibility, and a $2.45 million settlement after the defense raised a sudden medical emergency. Both involved the same statutory framework that governs a St. Louis County case.
Missouri's statutory class hierarchy, its single-action rule, and its three-year deadline apply identically in St. Louis County. What differs by venue is the jury pool and the local practice, not the underlying law.
St. Louis County's dozens of municipalities, heavy commercial corridors, and interstate traffic mean a wrongful death claim here often involves a corporate or, less commonly, a government defendant, each of which can carry its own notice requirements and insurance structure.
A driver ran a red light. Our client's injuries required multiple disc replacements and a lower back fusion, and he developed blood clots during treatment. A St. Louis County jury returned $10,000,000.
That case was not a wrongful death claim, and we have not blurred the two. Our wrongful death trial record is a $20,025,000 verdict in St. Charles County, where a trucking company offered nothing and blamed a grieving mother for three years, and a $2.45 million settlement for a widow and her children after a fatal head-on collision.
What both records show together is the same thing: a willingness to try a case rather than accept the first number, in whichever courthouse the facts belong in.
The first result below is from a St. Louis County jury, in an auto accident case. The wrongful death verdict and settlement are from St. Charles County, shown here as our wrongful death trial record rather than a St. Louis County wrongful death result, which we do not yet have. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome.
A red light runner. Multiple disc replacements, a lower back fusion, and blood clots. A St. Louis County jury returned $10,000,000. Read full story →
Defense offered $0 and blamed the mother for her son's death. After five days of trial, a St. Charles County jury delivered $20,025,000. Read full story →
A father of six was killed in a head-on collision after the other driver suffered a medical emergency. We secured this settlement for his widow and children. Read full story →
Surviving spouse, children and the descendants of any deceased child, and parents. Missouri allows one action per death, so this needs to be settled early.
A road design or maintenance defect, or a government vehicle, can carry notice deadlines measured in months rather than years, far shorter than the general wrongful death period.
You are under no obligation to, and early statements are used later to argue about fault or about the family's relationship with the deceased.
The evidence that proves a wrongful death case, especially from a commercial or government defendant, disappears on its own, faster schedule.
Not yet to verdict, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. We have tried an auto accident case to verdict before a St. Louis County jury, obtaining $10,000,000. Our wrongful death trial record, including a $20,025,000 verdict, comes from St. Charles County.
Missouri sets an order: first the surviving spouse, children and the descendants of any deceased child, and parents. If no one in that class survives, the claim passes to siblings and their descendants, and then to a court-appointed plaintiff ad litem if no one in either class survives.
Generally in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, the 21st Judicial Circuit, in Clayton. Venue may also be proper elsewhere depending on where a defendant resides or does business.
It can affect which police department responded and holds the report, since the county includes roughly ninety separate municipalities. It does not change the wrongful death statute itself or the three-year deadline.
Generally three years from the date of death, which is shorter than the five-year period for most personal injury claims and a common point of confusion for families.
Claims against a city, county, or state agency can carry formal notice requirements measured in months, far shorter than the three-year statute. This needs to be identified and acted on quickly.
We handle wrongful death cases on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. The case review is free, and an attorney personally reviews every case.
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