Verdicts & Settlements January 9, 2012: Insurers claim a win in uninsured crash [Missouri Lawyers Media]

A jury awarded a woman who sued for uninsured motorist's coverage $25,000 -- less than the defense's last pretrial offer.

Cynthia Barr-Penna filed suit in St. Louis Circuit Court against her insurers, Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. and Response Worldwide, after she was involved in an auto crash with an uninsured motorist. The suit had listed Unitrin Insurance as a defendant, but Response Worldwide later bought it out, attorneys said.

The Progressive policy limits were $350,000, and Response Worldwide's policy limits were $50,000. Barr-Penna's attorneys sought $400,000 in closing arguments, while the insurers' attorneys suggested $18,500.

In August 2008, Barr-Penna was driving a van east on State Route BB in Branson. The van was pulling a trailer with two horses. A car driven by Allisa Pettibone heading west on the highway crossed the centerline, striking Barr-Penna's van, according to the defense attorneys' written description of the case.

Both vehicles were totaled. At the trial's close in November, Pettibone was still in a coma. Barr-Penna alleged she suffered herniated disks in her neck and back and bruises on her left shoulder and left knee. She claimed more than $15,000 in past medical expenses and $160,000 in future medical expenses. A horse was killed during the crash.

Barr-Penna filed an uninsured motorist's claim with her insurance companies. When the companies did not pay her claim, she filed suit.

The insurance companies agreed that Pettibone, who was uninsured, was at fault in the collision. The disagreements surrounded the nature and extent of Barr-Penna's injuries.

The defense said she was exaggerating her injuries. The defense pointed out that Barr-Penna was in an auto crash five months prior to this crash. Defense expert Dr. Robert Backer testified that a neck MRI after the first car crash and a neck MRI after the crash at issue had the same findings. The defense also said Barr-Penna had a prior back injury.

Progressive attorney Lawrence R. Smith, with Brinker & Doyen in Clayton, said the plaintiff's attorneys were very aggressive and painted the defendants as "the big bad insurance companies."

The tactic backfired, Smith said, and he considered the verdict a defense win.

"In the end, it was the plaintiff's own dishonesty that ruined her credibility in front of the jury," Smith said.

Barr-Penna's attorney, Zane T. Cagle with The Cagle Law Firm in St. Louis, did not respond to a request for comment.

In the petition, Barr-Penna's attorneys said her serious injuries were a direct result of Pettibone's actions and argued that, under her insurance policies, the insurers owed her uninsured coverage.

  $25,000 verdict

Motor vehicle collision, insurance

Venue: St. Louis Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 1022-CC00684/Nov. 19, 2011

Judge: David L. Dowd

Plaintiff's Expert: Dr. George Schoedinger, St. Louis (orthopedic surgery)

Defendants' Expert: Dr. Robert Backer, St. Louis (neurosurgery)

Special Damages: More than $15,000 in past, $160,000 in future medical expenses claimed

Last Pretrial Demand: $250,000 (policy limits of $400,000)

Last Pretrial Offer: $30,000

Caption: Cynthia Barr-Penna v. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Response Worldwide

Plaintiff's Attorneys: Zane T. Cagle and Lindsay Rakers, The Cagle Law Firm, St. Louis

Defendants' Attorneys: Lawrence R. Smith, Steven G. Kaufman and Nathan D. Leming, Brinker & Doyen, Clayton, for Progressive; Justin S. Chapell, Brown & James, St. Louis, for Response Worldwide