What's New

June 29, 2010

Michael Rader settled a wrongful death claim that arose while a 72 year old female was walking on a sidewalk at an independent living facility that provides housing to elderly and disabled persons. In preparation for her move in, the elderly lady went to her future apartment to clean the windows. The elderly woman had not yet moved into her apartment at the time of the accident and had only been on the property on two previous occasions. She was not aware of the dangerous condition of the sidewalk. While walking towards her apartment on the only sidewalk provided, she tripped on a 1½ inch - 90 degree rise. The woman was rushed to the local emergency room where she was diagnosed with an orbital bone fracture. Two months later, she tragically died from complications of injuries sustained in the fall. It was discovered through the course of deposition testimony that the living facility’s representatives and owners were aware that this condition was dangerous to elderly persons and had been present for a long period of time. Additionally, the condition of the sidewalk at the time of the accident violated several national building standards regarding walkways.

June 28, 2010

Steve Gorny was elected to the Executive Committee of the Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers on June 25, 2010. The elections were held at the MATA Annual Meeting which was held at the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers is an organization of Missouri attorneys which try and preserve the rights of all Missourians.

June 15, 2010

Jim Bartimus has been inducted to the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. The IATL limits its membership to 500 Fellows from the United States. The Academy seeks out, identifies, acknowledges and identifies those who have achieved a career of excellence through demonstrated skill and ability in jury trials, trials before the court and appellate practice. The Academy invites only lawyers who have attained the highest level of advocacy. Mr. Bartimus has been evaluated by his colleagues and the judges in his jurisdiction and has been highly recommended by them as possessing these qualifications and characteristics.

June 8, 2010

Jim Bartimus, Jim Frickleton and Steve Gorny are once again named Best Lawyers in America. Best Lawyers is a peer nominated process which by only the best of the best are named through a peer review process.

June 7, 2010

Steve Gorny and Michelle Marvel Obtain Confidential Settlement on behalf of a woman who fell and was injured at a local apartment complex.

June 1, 2010

Steve Gorny receives the Amy Fithian award from the Mid America Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This award recognizes a long standing support and leadership of the chapter and its highest honor.

May 27, 2010

BFRG receives an award from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for corporate partnership. This award is given each year for companies or corporations for their continued financial support to LLS.

April 30, 2010

On April 27, 2010, a Taney County, Missouri jury returned a verdict in favor of 11-year old Rachel Hulstine for $453,000 after 11 hours of deliberation.  BFRG attorneys Jim Bartimus and Brett Votava handled the case at trial for 7 days before the verdict was returned in favor of their client Rachel. 

BFRG attorneys proved that in 1998, Rachel’s delivery was artificially induced by David Afshar, D.O. in Branson, Missouri without any medical need.  Dr. Afshar jumped to a conclusion to induce delivery without clear evidence to support his choice to put Rachel in harm’s way.  As a result, Rachel was born premature.  Because of her prematurity, Rachel has brain damage that developed into mild cerebral palsy.  She now has seizures, chronic pain in her lower body and lack of coordination in her legs.  

This truly was a case in which a doctor decided to overrule Mother Nature without any medical reason.  Key to winning Rachel’s case was proving that the doctor was negligent in inducing delivery and that Rachel was in fact born premature.  A nurse at the hospital testified that Rachel was a premature baby based on her evaluation soon after delivery.  Rachel’s current treating doctor was critical of the decision to induce and it was also his opinion that Rachel was born premature. It was truly courageous to see a local doctor stand up and protect his patient by testifying on her behalf against a local doctor about what went wrong.  So often, doctors protect each other instead of their patients.  Notably, Rachel’s treating doctor was even called by the defendant doctor in the case to pressure him into changing his opinions!  It didn’t work.   

BFRG attorneys had to overcome typical juror bias against medical negligence cases and it is believed this is the first verdict in favor of a patient in a medical negligence case in the history of Taney County.  Rachel’s parents are ecstatic with the result.  Their greatest concern was that something might happen to them and no one would be able to take care of Rachel’s needs.  They know Rachel will now have the medical care she needs no matter what happens to them.   

April 24, 2010

Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny were the Presenting Sponsor for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Annual Ball on April 24, 2010.

February 23, 2010

Jim Frickleton and Kip Robertson have recently concluded a case involving a newborn child who suffered a severe brain injury at birth.  The case was against a hospital and physician and was settled for $4,500,000 and included a variety of provisions to insure the future care of the child.

February 17, 2010

Steve Gorny, with the assistance of Mike Rader and Rachel Hollis, successfully tried to verdict a case on behalf of Richard Curasi, a veteran of twenty-nine years in the United States Army and civilian responsibilities with the Transportation Security Administration.  On September 6, 2007, Mr. Curasi parked his truck in the Auditorium Plaza Garage in downtown Kansas City.  He began walking toward the Marriott Hotel to attend a breakfast meeting.  While on an area clearly designated for pedestrian travel, Mr. Curasi slipped in a puddle of water and suffered a fracture of his tibia and fibula, the two bones in his lower leg.  Surgery was required to repair the fractures and Mr. Curasi has permanent plates and screws used to strengthen and maintain those bones.

The BFR&G attorneys had to overcome standard jury bias against “slip-and-fall” cases.  With or without some foundation, the average person tends to negatively view a slip-and-fall case and maintain a belief that the victim himself is responsible for failing to keep a careful look out.

Steve Gorny thoroughly investigated the case.  Upon doing so, he discovered that the City of Kansas City, the owner of the parking garage, had a decades long problem with leaks in the area of Mr. Curasi’s fall.  Efforts were made to repair the leaks, however, the City was well aware that those measures were unsuccessful.  With knowledge of a potential slipping hazard, the City established an inspection and cleaning protocol.  In the absence of inspecting and cleaning the walkways, the City admitted it was responsible to place caution signs in the area.

At trial, Mr. Gorny proved that the city failed to meet its own inspection and cleaning standards.  In addition, the city could produce no evidence that it placed caution or warning signs in the area.

The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $225,000.  They assessed ten percent of the fault to Mr. Curasi and ninety percent of the fault to the city of Kansas City.  The BFRG team, along with the Curasis, were extremely pleased with this result.  The jury was convinced that the city should have either prevented the fall or protected Mr. Curasi by warning him of the hazard.