Henry County Jury Awards $9.04 Million After Head-On Crash Kills Grandmother, Injures Grandson

In 2019, Darin Lutman's vehicle crossed the centerline on a Missouri highway and slammed into the car carrying 75-year-old Sondra Murrell and her then 12-year-old grandson. Murrell died from her injuries. Her grandson broke his arm, sustained a traumatic brain injury, and experienced lasting emotional trauma from the collision.

Murrell's daughter, Tanya Bush, brought a wrongful death claim on behalf of the family. The grandson's personal injury claims were pursued alongside it. Before trial, Lutman's defense team conceded liability. As defense attorney Warren E. Harris put it after the verdict: 'We basically told the jury that Dan was responsible for the accident. He acknowledged that. It was a question of just determining what the damages were.'

Wm. Dirk Vandever of the Popham Law Firm in Kansas City served as one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, joined by Andrew J. Gelbach of Warrensburg and Mark Emison and Alex Thrasher of Langdon and Emison. The plaintiffs' last pretrial demand for the wrongful death claim alone was $6 million. The defense offered no counter that matched it.

On September 21, 2023, the jury returned a verdict of $9.04 million. The award broke down as $5.5 million in compensatory damages for wrongful death, $340,000 in aggravating wrongful death damages, $3 million in compensatory damages for the grandson's personal injuries, and $200,000 in punitive damages related to his claims. Judge M. Brandon Baker presided over the Henry County Circuit Court trial (Case No. 20HE-CC00032).

Lutman did not appeal. The insurer, Progressive, covered the claim. Murrell left behind her husband, three adult children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.