Justice for All

November 19, 2017

Hey Tom,

I thought I would share a great story and article about my mom meting out justice and three wild stories about my firm helping folks in hit and run car crashes (in which they all got the driver's license plate). Have a great Thanksgiving week.

I am (again) proud of my mom, Joan Burger. Last week she was featured in an article in The New Yorker magazine. As many of you know, she was a Circuit Court Judge in the City of St. Louis for many years before she joined our firm. In that role, and throughout her life, she personifies Justice for All.

The article highlights a case where a prosecutor tried three people for the acts of two. She presided over a trial where the 3rd Defendant was found guilty of the same crime. After he was found guilty she reviewed post-conviction motions.

She then learned, for the first time, that two other Defendants had been found guilty for the same crime. At the hearing on the motion: “She was angry. You could tell that,” Allen said.

The prosecutor tried to keep his conviction arguing "the state “did not use inherently factually contradictory theories.” It had accused the three defendants of “acting with each other.” Burger was unmoved. Two months after the hearing, she threw out Bankhead’s conviction, writing, “The state has convicted three people for the acts of two.”"

As noted by the article, there are numerous instances where prosecutors try multiple people for one crime, which challenges our notions of justice and fair play. My mom had been a prosecutor for years, too. She described her duty as such in the article: "As a prosecutor, she said, “you have a duty to justice, for both the victim and the defendant, and we took that to heart.”"

While my mom and everybody I know are true believers in law and order and putting criminals in jail, this has to be balanced with the right to be accused in America. As a judge, my mom balanced those interests perfectly.

Over the years, people have asked why I'm a lawyer and do what I do. It comes from my parents, and my mom as a lawyer and judge. It is important that the powerless are protected in our legal system.

Too many times, whether through fighting big corporations, insurance companies or the government in criminal prosecutions, individual’s rights are trampled. I learned this from my mom (even if I didn’t realize it at the time).

So this is a big thank you to my mom for teaching me great values, and how to be a good lawyer and a good person.

Hit and Run Justice

Our client Danielle was rear ended in a hit and run accident during a rainstorm. An SUV hit her car when she stopped at a stop sign and sped off. Fortunately, Danielle had the presence of mind to get the license plate for the truck before going to Urgent Care for her neck, back and shoulder pain.

We filed an uninsured case with Danielle’s insurance, but continued to look for the owner of the vehicle that hit her. We searched for the license plates of the truck, and found out it was registered to a construction equipment retailer in Texas. We sent letters, emails, and made phone calls to them and their insurance company.

We learned the license plates were stolen and had been reported. The accident was not the company's fault. We proved this to Danielle’s insurance company, confirming that the case was indeed an uninsured claim. In uninsured claims, the insurance company has a right to investigate to ensure the driver who hit their insured doesn't have coverage.

While we were investigating the claim and fighting the insurance company, Danielle continued to get treatment for her injuries. After going to Urgent Care, she saw her primary care doctor, who recommended chiropractic care. She also missed significant amounts of work, and had to use her personal days to go to treatment.

After hard negotiation with her insurance company and lien holders, I settled the case and Danielle wound up with $8,500 in her pocket (and no taxes).

Chasing Justice

On March 8, 2016, Joe and his girlfriend were traveling north on Highway 55 in the City when another driver came into their lane and hit the front side of their car. They were hit hard but followed the other car as it exited on Broadway to exchange insurance information.

But after they exited, the other driver took off at a high rate of speed going the wrong way on South Broadway. They tried to follow but lost the other car. They called the police and got assistance. They were both injured in the incident. They did get the license plate of the vehicle, it was a Nissan Altima license plate ML9-R3K owned by Munira Sarac.

This was hit and run, but the police and the client found the hit and run driver. So, we could not make an uninsured motorist claim for a phantom driver. (The City would not prosecute).

We sued the owner of the vehicle. And it got trickier. The Defendant told us (through discovery) that it was their daughter's car and mom was not driving it. We amended the claim and sued the daughter Sejla Sarac. We said that Defendant negligently entrusted the vehicle to his daughter.

But the defendants are making it thrice tricky – Sejla has answered discovery and says she was not driving it either – an unknown friend was. (Ha) So we still do not know who was driving the car (allegedly).

We are limited to pursuing direct and negligent entrustment cases against these folks. I am really looking forward to these depositions. I will use some of my How to Spot a Liar tricks I shared a couple emails ago.

This is an interesting example of how you keep going to track down who the liable party is in a case like this. It would be a lot simpler if they would just admit they were driving the car and then maybe we could settle this case. We will keep fighting for Joe.

Still Fighting for Justice

We represent Vivian in an April 2016 car crash. Vivian was westbound on Martin Luther King in the City when she was rear ended. The vehicle who rear ended her took off. She described the vehicle to the police officers as a tan Ford Taurus with license plate V545269. The police conducted an inquiry and found the vehicle. They entered a ticket and warrant for leaving the scene of an accident.

Vivian was injured in the accident and obtained medical treatment. We made an underinsured motorist coverage claim. The Defendant would not offer any money, so we filed a lawsuit.

The Defendant took the deposition of the driver who apparently owned the vehicle after running the plate number. It was a less than fruitful deposition as the suspected driver didn't have much to offer. He testified he may have owned the license plates in the past, he wasn’t sure, and that he had sold some vehicles.

We were really not able to find an insured driver who was occupying or driving the car at the time. This has really stymied both Vivian’s insurance company on the uninsured motorist claim as well as us.

Regardless, Vivian’s insurance company should take care of this case. We have been litigating this case for a long time and cannot get them to pay enough. We will keep fighting for Vivian and try the case if necessary.

Response

“I read that article about your Mom. She was/is a wonderful person who cares about Justice.”

--Eric

In the News

December 4, 2017

Kathy,

I thought I would share some stories that have been in the news recently and updates on some past stories.

I was recently interviewed by Katie Baker of Buzzfeed magazine for a story on Massage Envy. We represented a client in a case against Massage Envy for sexual assault. Our client went to Massage Envy for a massage, and fell asleep. She woke up to the masseuse sexually assaulting her.

She told the assistant manager, but Massage Envy never spoke with her about the incident. Our client then contacted the police and filed a police report. Only then did Massage Envy react – but they did not acknowledge what their employee had done to our client or seem to really care.

We were surprised – so we filed suit against the masseuse, the franchisee and chain as a whole. After significant litigation and fighting the other side, we resolved the case to our client’s satisfaction.

Myself and our client were interviewed for the article, which came out last week. Over 180 women have reported sexual assaults at Massage Envy. Here's the article. Not nearly as many have pursued legal claims. I explained to the reporter that it’s hard to do so.

It can be hard to stand up and assert claims. Prosecutors are usually overwhelmed and have limited resources. Civil cases face aggressive defenses and not as many lawyers pursue these claims or know how to do it. Assault victims are shocked and reeling from the event and often do not know what they should do.

I was so happy my client stood up to the company, sued them and got a good result. Very proud she also called and talked to the reporter to provide important information for the story. Women need to know about companies like Massage Envy that do not make sure their masseuses are good people or protect their customers.

National massage chains have expanded without proper rules to protect their guests from sexual predators. They know their customers entrust themselves to Massage Envy employees intimately. Massage chains promise their masseuses will treat customers with a high degree of care, respect and safety.

They even make people fill out medical history questionnaires requesting personal info like they are a medical patient.

In our suit, we learned that Massage Envy did nothing to vet their employees, do background checks or ensure their guests are in safe hands. They do not investigate charges of misconduct like they should. Looks like this has not changed.

Their continued dereliction of duty is shown in these assaults on many women. Here's some press the issue has received.

These places also do not make sure their franchisees pass muster. The St. Louis Massage Luxe owner Todd Beckman is a kidnapper and drug dealer. What a nut. He pled guilty last week to these charges. Check out the first reporting on this here. His recent plea deal is reported here.

If you have any questions about a claim against Massage Envy or for sexual assault, please call us at [dynamic-phone-number] or contact us online.

Bonne Terre Mine in the News

Bonne Terre Mine was just named in the top 50 state bucket list destinations by USA Today. The article listed one destination in each state that is a must see on everyone’s bucket list. Check out the article here. It was voted the best in the nation.

And today the Mine is featured on the Travel Channel for a series called Top Secret Swimming Holes.

While you can see the mine on a walking tour or on a boat tour, the best views are seen underwater.

I work as a divemaster at the Mine and have for 6 years or so. Out of the many places I have had the privilege of diving in, Bonne Terre Mine continues to amaze me. If I can ever take you scuba diving there – email me. I'll be leading dives this weekend.

Here’s a YouTube video of the Mine; along with a History Channel story here.

And here’s Red Bull wakeboarding in the Mine (crazy).

Stink Bug Safety Update

My dive buddy at the Mine and friend Todd is an Edwardsville firefighter and texted me the following after my stink bug article a couple weeks ago:

”Hey dude! Just saw your newsletter regarding the stink bug resolution!

Just a little heads up..... Keep a close eye, and I mean a CLOSE eye on 2 things....

1. The ventilation ability of the screen due to the extremely reduced size of the vent holes compared to the original grate type covering already installed. This could create a draft reduction & allow smoke to back up in the house. AND......
2. (And most importantly) Monitor soot build up in the screen material. This could also contribute to ventilation reduction, excessive heat retained in the chimney leading to cracked mortar joints & fire extension to the truss space & the potential for ignitable carbon build up increasing the chance of a chimney fire at the rooftop.

As long as you're getting good draft & burning good hardwoods, you most likely won't have any problems, just keep a good eye on it. Good luck with the bugs, that have been a pain in the A** this year! Hope to see you soon brother!

As I told Todd - we burn gas and not hard wood - so will not be as much of a problem for us. But we will be careful.

Opioid Crisis Update

Last week in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Missouri we had a Multi District Litigation hearing to determine whether all opioid litigation should be consolidated in one proceeding.

There are currently 160 cases pending in the US against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and prescribers.

Burger Law has cases pending that this decision could affect. Go to our site for information and answers to questions. If they are not answered, email me.

Last week for the first time in Missouri there were more deaths from opioid overdoses than there were deaths from car accidents. KWMU 90.7 talked about the crisis happening today with opioids.

The FDA has approved an injectable opioid to curb this crisis.

Great Result for Client Attacked with a Pizza Cutter at Work

We had the pleasure of representing Angela M., a cook at a downtown St. Louis truck stop. Angela was cooking in the kitchen when she was suddenly attacked by a crazy employee wielding a pizza cutter! Angela was forced to defend herself, but not before she was thrown backwards and endured a painful fall to the floor.

Angela suffered cuts to her hands, a hernia to her abdomen, and severe injuries to her ankle, which required surgery. Angela also received surgery to repair her hernia. After her surgeries and physical therapy, Angela has recovered and is back to work.

Burger Law fought hard for Angela every step of the way. We forced her employer to provide her with all of her surgical treatment and physical therapy.

We just settled the rest of Angela’s claim for an additional $37,500 in Workers’ Compensation PPD payments. We also supported the prosecution of the attacker – who went to jail.