CASE LIST

Jocelyn E Kizzie Case |  Carl Luss Case  |  Gloria Hall Case  |   Damion Shanklin Case |    Marcia Carson Case 

Damon Taylor Case | Kimnatta Jones Case|  Marilyn Banks Case  |  Joseph Thomas Case | Ellen Reasonover Case

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Most recent case: Gloria Hall

In Fall 2019, Marvailes Emory visited a convenience/gas station to get a snack.  An altercation arose that quickly turned serious.  Unfortunately, this convenience/gas station’s lack of proper security measures led to the death of a father of four and a light in the community.  To read more about this case, click the link above.

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MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE

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The Jocelyn E Kizzie Case

Incorrectly administered epidural led to brain damage

Case type: Medical Malpractice

 

When the late and brilliant attorney Johnnie Cochran opened a firm in St. Louis, he called upon Attorney MacArthur Moten to be “Of Counsel” on a medical malpractice case.  This decision was based on Attorney Moten’s previous recovery of 1.2 million on a premise defect, lead paint, and lead intoxication case.  His previous experience and attention to detail were invaluable in the case of Jocelyn E Kizzie.

 

This case begins with Ms. Delilah Kizzie in Madison County, Illinois where she described an egregious case of neglect. An Anesthesiologist intended to give Jocelyn an epidural to manage the pain of childbirth, but instead, he administered the needle too far into her spine. The anesthetic was consequently shot into her spinal column instead of the epidural space around the spinal nerves; she was given a spinal instead of an epidural. As a result, the anesthetic traveled through her body and Jocelyn went into cardiac and respiratory arrest. She suffered anoxic insult (oxygen depravation) which led to brain damage and the death of her child.

Some of the best experts we could find flew into St. Louis to work on this case. After intense trial preparation, a settlement conference was set up in the hotel of the Chicago O’Hare International Airport.  Attorney MacArthur Moten presented the Defendants with a detailed presentation complete with the advice of several specialists, future health care plans as a result of the accident and day-in-the-life videos of Jocelyn and her baby.  Attorney MacArthur Moten cited his preparation and attention to detail regarding the egregious neglect as a deciding factor in the case’s settlement for the sum of over one million dollars.

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PERSONAL INJURY CASES

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The Carl Luss Case

Merchant’s lack of security led to a robbery and shooting

Case type: Personal Injury

Carl Luss, a man well over six-foot, was leaving with his carryout order from a local restaurant in St. Louis City, when a man jumped out from bushes on the restaurant’s property. The assailant robbed Carl at gunpoint and opened fire, inflicting multiple gunshot wounds. It took a Herculaneum effort on the part of multiple doctors to save Carl’s life. While he survived, he sustained immense physical and psychological harm.

Does a business have any duty for the safety of its patrons who are hurt on their premises?  It’s important to note that an owner of an establishment has certain responsibilities to keep their customers safe if the owner knows, or should have known, about a defect on his premises. The defect, in this case, was a lack of security and the need for security as the area had a history of crime.  The problem was the fact that there were no security procedures nor security guard.  The law imposes a duty upon a merchant to spend some of the money that he/she gains from paying customers to keep those customers safe.

As in all of our serious personal injury cases, we hired great experts to explain each part of the case to the Jury; including the owners liability and the damages. We went to trial and settled for policy limits before the trial ended. MacArthur Moten P.C. has handled a multitude of cases against all types of businesses where people have been harmed by criminal third parties and robbers. This case was significant for our firm and the community as we were able to enforce a rule that has the power to increase the safety of patrons and the community.

The Gloria Hall Case

Lack of security at convenience store led to a life lost

Case type: Personal Injury

On a fall evening in 2019, Marvailes Emory and some of his friends stopped by a gas/service station in downtown St. Louis to grab a bite to eat. Shortly after Marvailes arrived, an altercation ensued regarding his disposable, surgical mask. As the argument between the gas/service stating employees continued, a large group of men, who were hanging out around the establishment, drew pistols and assault weapons on Marvailes.

We obtained surveillance footage at the gas/service station that depicted the following heart-breaking turn of events.  Almost all of the men threatening Marvailes in the establishment had a firearm except Marvailes.  One of the assailants struck him with the barrel of an assault rifle. Marvailes fearlessly attempted to protect his body with his hands, but he had come to a gunfight without even bringing a knife. Marvailes was thrown out of the gas/service station and immediately shot by the men that had pointed guns at him. No one from the business came outside to help him. He lay on the pavement alone and died from his injuries.

We sued the gas/service station for failing to have security. The lack of security, i.e. a properly trained security guard and storewide security measures, led to the death of a father of four and a light in the community. A correctly trained security guard who would have known procedures to help de-escalate the situation or call for help could have saved Marvelis life. The business demonstrated a lack of concern for the safety of Marvailes, as a patron, and the community by not employing proper security even though there was a historic need for security at the establishment. The one million plus recovery for Marvailes’ mother and his four children, who were left without a son and a father, did not replace the pain of losing someone so young. A picture of the boots that Marvailes liked to dance in were etched into his tombstone. He was an awesome and special person who will be missed.

 

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NEUROLOGICAL CASES

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The Damion Shanklin’s Case

Physician’s negligence led to anoxic brain damage

Case Type: Personal Injury – Neuro case

Damion’s mother, Christine, was very serious about the health of her unborn child and carefully followed all her doctors’ instructions throughout her pregnancy. When Christine’s water broke, she rushed to the hospital to deliver her baby, yet complications quickly arose. It took hours for her baby, Damion, to move down the birth canal. Damion’s head was delivered but his shoulders were stuck in shoulder dystocia and in the process of pulling, his umbilical cord was compressed. An unborn baby breathes through its umbilical cord.  The lack of oxygen led Damion to be born severe brain damage.

Despite clear signs of anoxic brain damage, the doctors said that they did not know how the brain damage could have occurred.  They insisted that they had done absolutely everything they could to pull the baby out; from suprapubic pressure, the Woods Cork Screw Maneuver, and even the McRoberts Maneuver. To get some answers, our firm contacted Dr. Sherman, an OB/GYN on Park Avenue in New York. Based on the medical records and fetal monitoring strips we sent him, he shared that Damion had been too big for a vaginal birth. This was supported by Christine’s pelvis shape which was more androgynous (narrow) than gynaecoid (wide).  Additionally, once delivery failed to progress, the doctors should have preformed a C-Section.  A C-section could have enabled a safe delivery.

When we notified the defendants of this information, they insisted on hearing it directly from Dr. Sherman. Thus, we met in New York City where Dr. Sherman told the defendants, in no uncertain terms, the reasons they should

 have performed a C-section. The unfortunate brain injury could have undoubtedly been avoided and was the result of negligence on the part of the physicians involved.  Despite this meeting, the Defendants decided to go to trial. The Defendant’s Attending Physician built his argument on the foundation that he and the other doctors had done everything they could for the patient indicating that they were thorough. To demonstrate, he showed Dr. Emanuel A. Friedman’s curve, which at the time was recognized by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology as the gold standard of labor progression at the time of the case.

According to the curve, Christine’s labor progression did not warrant a C-section. However, our expert, Dr. Sherman, found a deadly and crucial flaw; the presented Friedman’s curve was from 1972 and not the correct year, rendering it obsolete and unusable. Dr. Sherman was pivotal in pointing out this egregious error which highlighted, even more, the glaring neglect on the part of the Attending Physician who was called back to the stand and admitted that he and the defense had attempted to perpetrate an out of date curve.  This was the nail in the coffin for the defendants and the court ruled in our favor.

The Marcia Carson Case

Instance of Malpractice led to Meningitis and brain damage

Case Type: Medical Malpractice – Neuro case

When Marcia Carson fell ill, her mother rushed her to the emergency room at the local Children’s hospital in a desperate search for answers.  Yet on three separate occasions, she was turned away. On the first visit, Marcia arrived with a very high fever. The second time she still had a fever but with febrile seizures. The third time, in addition to a high fever and febrile seizures, a Nurse-Practitioner found that Marcia had a stiff neck otherwise known as nuchal rigidity. Marcia was still sent home without intensive or overnight care after each visit.

Marcia was born a healthy baby. She had reached the usual milestones of development and growth for infants in a timely manner. After this illness, however, she showed signs of serious brain damage and neurological deficits. The hospital took the position of confusion as to how brain damage could have occurred and the illness turned serious.  A specimen taken from Marcia that was sent to a laboratory at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, was the key in finding the answers we needed.

We issued a deposition dedimus, or Court order, to the University of Alabama (UAB) which compelled them to provide answers on the tests they ran on Marcia’s specimen. The specimen was found positive for herpes. The University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) has a long and prestigious history of important Herpes Research and at the time they owned the Gold Standard of herpes samples. UAB proved to be the best place to get serious answers.

Marcia had contracted herpes meningoencephalitis. In other words, Marcia suffered meningitis caused by the HSV virus. Meningitis is a virus that causes inflammation of the meninges or the layer of membranes that protect the spinal cord and brain. Meningitis has a rapid onset and catastrophic outcomes when left untreated and can often be fatal. Marcia’s nuchal rigidity, consistently high fever and pain should have signaled the doctors to run more comprehensive tests as they are textbook signs of meningitis.

Proper medical treatment and testing could have saved the day in Marcia’s case. Timely treatment with Acyclovir would have been immensely helpful had she been correctly diagnosed.  Attorney MacArthur Moten worked diligently to provide Marcia with just compensation and the money to try and brighten her horizons after her brain damage from meningitis.

 

The Damon Taylor Case

Teen suffers traumatically induced Meningitis  from being hit by a car

Case Type: Personal Injury – Neuro case

Damon Taylor was a typical teenager: he went to school, hung out with his friends, played sports and spent time with his family. One afternoon, Damon, aged 14, and a group of friends decided to listen to music and hang out in front of his home. His neighbor peeled out of her driveway, in a rush to attend a fundraiser, and hit the group of three boys.

Damon’s friends suffered minor injuries and the insurance companies settled quickly. Damon however, was knocked to the ground, hit his head, and suffered a broken leg. While the broken leg commanded his immediate attention, Damon developed severe headaches in the weeks that followed. When he could no longer stand the pain, he visited the Children’s Hospital. Imaging studies showed puss covering the surface of his brain called the meninges. Doctors found that the bones surrounding his sinuses were cracked from the car accident and that fluid from his sinuses had backed up towards his brain resulting in meningitis.

Our demand before the trial was within the policy limits: $100,000.00. The insurance company, however, offered only $12,000.00. They insisted that there was no such thing as traumatically induced meningitis and they were certain that no jury would even understand the diagnosis. Additionally, they felt certain that a jury would not return a significant verdict of a large sum against an influential and a popular politician. The insurance company wanted to use the politician’s influence in the community to escape punitive punishment. The case subsequently went to trial. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Damon for just over a half million dollars: $575,000.00.

The Kimnatta Jones Case

Negligence on the Part of Landlords caused Brain Damage from Lead Paint

Case Type: Personal Injury – Neuro case

The Missouri Lawyers Weekly reported our case on brain damage caused by lead paint as the largest recovery for a lead intoxication case of its time. Lead poisoning has been a pernicious and insidious problem that landlords have historically ignored and insurance companies have tried to avoid covering.  Lead is a neurotoxin that can cause catastrophic brain injuries and it should be addressed by both insurance companies and landlords as a serious problem as was seen in this case.

April Jones and John Hurd did everything within their power to raise healthy children, however, they could not have predicted that the condition of the apartment would ultimately affect the neurological development of their children for the rest of their lives. The paint on the walls contained lead which chipped and flaked off around the family. Lead, even in small quantities, can be highly dangerous when ingested or inhaled.  The lead eventually got onto the children’s hands, it was ingested, and breathed into their lungs.

We hired several experts to help us explain the effects of lead posioning on the children to the jury. More specifically, we explained the detrimental impact lead paint can have on brain development. Lead poisoning can cause long term permanent intellectual delays, slowed development, hiring and speech problems, behavioral problems and more.  The knowledge and testimony of the reputable neuropsychologist we hired as a point person were vital in the case and helped us to obtain 1.2 million: a feat that had never been achieved before.

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The Ellen Reasonover Case

Innocent bystander wrongfully convicted of robbery and murder at a gas station

Case type: Criminal, Civil and pro bono

Let’s talk about cases that are done for free: cases for the sake of the community. Although we have done many pro bono cases over the years, this case stands out in particular. This was a major case with efforts made by our Law Firm, The NAACP, Centurion Ministries and many others. This case went all the way to the Supreme Court and became important in the legal field for examining jailhouse informants as was written about in The Innocence Project. Our client is also listed in The National Registry of Exonerations.

Ellen Reasonovor was wrongfully convicted of the robbery and murder of a Vickers Gas station attendant by the St. Louis County Court. After Ellen happened upon the scene of the crime at the gas station, the police became suspicious of her and placed her in custody. While in custody, two convicted felons, who were awaiting trial on their cases, were put in the cell with Ellen.  They were given deals by an unscrupulous prosecutor to get obtain a confession from Ellen.

The two felons used information provided by the prosecutor about Ellen’s case to lie. They testified in court that Ellen confessed to them that she had committed the crime. Ellen never said anything of the sort but it was her word against two.  Ellen was convicted and sentenced to fifty years without parole.

Ellen was initially represented by another firm. Later, The Community, the OBS, and Jamala Rogers asked the Law Offices of MacArthur Moten, namely Attorney Moten, to help. No fee was requested and none was paid. Attorney Moten took up Ellen’s appeal, worked with organizations throughout the day and evening and gave speeches at fundraisers to pay for costs and expenses accrued from working on the case. Fortunately, we were able to involve the NAACP and their brilliant attorney, George Hairston. 

During the appeal, Ellen picked up a new case for striking a prison guard. Attorney Moten traveled to Columbia, Missouri where he tried the case for three days and got an acquittal. A disaster was averted that might have been an additional obstacle to Ellen getting out via a successful appeal of the original case. Attorney Moten appealed Ellen’s conviction through the Missouri Courts (the Appellate and Supreme Courts) and to the US Supreme Court. Finally, a Writ of Habeas Corpus in Federal District Court was filed. Unfortunately, Ellen was unable to be extradited.

The law office of MacArthur Moten P.C. was happy when Centurion Ministries got involved. They picked up where our firm left off and used all that we had uncovered. They discovered evidence that the prosecuting side had withheld from Ellen’s trial attorney and from us: her appeals attorney. A very sagacious judge heard Ellen’s case and set her free.  The next steps were helping Ellen recover mentally from the nightmare of being incarcerated for a crime that she did not commit. Prison itself is trying enough when the person is guilty, but Ellen was innocent. The day that she walked out of prison was a very happy and rewarding day for the firm and everyone involved. Her manumission and the partial undoing of this injustice went a long way towards restoring a part of her and the community’s faith in the justice system that had gravely miscarried.