From trucking accidents to encountering dangerous conditions on a business’s property, catastrophic injuries will change your life in an instant. One of those moments started back in 2012 with a serious incident involving a collapsed tent at Kilroy’s Sports Bar in downtown St. Louis.
After over ten years of litigation, we recently won a settlement for the last part of multiple lawsuits related to the incident, which included a lawsuit for personal injuries and wrongful death and a bad faith case against the bar’s insurance company. In today’s blog, we explain the first portion of this case by focusing on the details of the tent collapse and the outcome of the personal injury and wrongful death lawsuit.
The Details of the Personal Injury/Wrongful Death Case
In the spring of 2012, before the start of the St. Louis Cardinal’s baseball season, Kilroy’s Sports Bar was looking to install a tent to keep the baseball crowds warmer during the chilly spring weather. Kilroy’s rented a tent from Sun Rentals and had the tent installed by Sun Rentals on a parking lot next to Kilroy’s Bar and Restaurant. Because the tent was larger than 1,000 sq/ft, it required a permit from the City of St. Louis. The City permit required Kilroy’s to comply with all building code requirements.
On April 28, 2012, following a Cardinal’s Saturday afternoon game, the 40’ X 60’ tent at Kilroy’s Sports Bar near Busch Stadium collapsed during a severe thunderstorm with high winds of over 50 miles per hour — striking and killing one man and causing catastrophic injuries to several others. The collapsed tent broke free of its tie-downs and supports during the storm, which caused the tent and the support structure poles to come loose and strike the individuals who were beneath it.
In all, 21 people sustained personal injuries that resulted in lawsuits being filed. The injuries sustained during the collapse included:
- Collapsed lungs;
- Broken necks and spines;
- Serious lacerations;
- Head injuries;
- Arm and shoulder injuries; and
- One death.
Within a few weeks, on May 14, 2012, our personal injury attorneys filed an initial lawsuit in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court against the tent manufacturer, the tent installer and the bar where the tent was installed. Eventually, several other lawsuits were filed and then consolidated with our clients’ lawsuits. In total, our firm represented 7 injured persons.
Taking the Case to Trial
After almost four years of litigation, we were able to secure a reasonable settlement against the tent manufacturer. The tent installer eventually paid its insurance policy limits. Despite making a demand for settlement against the bar and its insurer for an amount less than the liability policy limits, we began the trial in the City of St. Louis on March 7, 2016. The case proceeded to trial against the bar and focused on three areas of liability that led to the catastrophic collapsed tent incident:
- A premises liability theory claiming Kilroy’s Sports Bar was liable for having a dangerous condition on its property that caused the injuries to its customers.
- A general negligence theory claiming the bar and its employees did not adequately inform the public of the potential risks that may occur to those under the tent during the storm, as well as other breaches of duty related to monitoring the weather conditions.
- A negligence per se claim based on the violation of a City of St. Louis ordinance requiring a 40’ X 60’ tent to be able to withstand 90 mile per hour winds.
After a 5 day trial, the jury returned a combined verdict of $5.2 million for the wrongful death and the personal injury claims.
Continuing to Win in The Missouri Court of Appeals
Following the initial trial, the insurance company for the defendant bar filed an appeal in the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals. After writing legal briefs and arguing in front of the panel of appellate judges, the defendant’s appeal was denied on April 3, 2018 — upholding the jury verdict.
The appellate court found that the plaintiffs, those injured in the accident, had properly proved their cases for premises liability and importantly, their claim for negligence per se. The appellate case resulted in an important court opinion for negligence per se cases, which is a theory that if successfully proved, does not require a specific finding of negligence by a jury.
While the defendant attempted to have the Missouri Supreme Court hear the appeal again, it was eventually denied — making the verdict final.
Personal Injury Attorneys When Disaster Strikes
Catastrophic accidents at public places like this collapsed tent incident are extremely serious and can have lasting consequences on business owners and those that are injured. Our personal injury attorneys worked tirelessly to ensure the victims of this accident were able to receive the compensation they needed to move forward after their injuries. If you experienced a personal injury or lost a loved one to a wrongful death while on a business’s property, contact our attorneys for a free consultation to go over your case.
Additionally, keep an eye on our blog for part two of this momentous MHM victory detailing the next phase of the case, Kilroy’s Sports Bar vs. its insurance company.