ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A St. Louis jury awarded a $745 million verdict Friday to the family of a 25-year-old woman killed in 2020 by a driver, who had abused inhalants right before the crash.
The trial lasted two weeks.
The attorney for the victim's family, Johnny Simon of the Simon Law Firm, alleged the company willingly "poisoned people for profits" with their product.
The defendants in the case were Coughing Cardinal LLC and United Brands Corporation. United Brands Corporation manufactures the product the driver used moments before the crash. United Brands is the maker of Whip-It! nitrous oxide. Coughing Cardinal LLC is one of the many stores that sells it.
"These companies are marketing and selling their products directly to smoke shops knowing it will be inhaled," Simon said.
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Simon believes both companies knew the addictive nature of their product and the driver used it "as they intended."
The jury found United Brands Corporation responsible for 70% of the verdict, Coughing Cardinal LLC responsible for 20% and the driver, who killed 25-year-old Marissa Politte, 10% responsible.
"The jury punished these companies exactly how they deserved to be punished," Simon said.
Politte was a radiology tech at Total Access Urgent Care in Ballwin. When she was leaving work on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 Trenton Geiger crashed into the urgent care.
Ballwin police said before the crash, Geiger was involved with "huffing" fumes. The fumes were later discovered to be inhaled from a "Whip-It!" dispenser full of nitrous oxide.
Geiger drove through oncoming lanes on Clarkson Road, across a grassy area, through the parking lot and into a light pole and tree, according to charging documents. He then hit Politte outside of her workplace just 15 minutes after the urgent care closed.
Initially, Politte's parents filed a lawsuit against the driver and the urgent care.
In the filing against Total Access Urgent Care, the lawsuit said the front door entrance where staff, customers and patients enter and leave the facility is less than 29 yards from the roadway in certain areas.
The lawsuit said Total Access Urgent Care knew or should have known its customers, patients and in employees were at risk of injury and death from vehicles entering the sidewalks, common areas or crashing into one of its buildings years before October of this year.
Then, in March of 2021 the case changed course and lawyers went after the manufacturer and retailer that sold the product to Geiger.
According to court documents, Geiger admitted he caused the death of Politte.
The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to the following charges on March 7, 2023, in connection to the fatal crash:
- Second-degree involuntary manslaughter, a Class E felony
- Possession of a controlled substance, a Class D felony
- Tempering with evidence in a felony prosecution, a Class E felony
- Unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class D misdemeanor
Through plea bargaining, Geiger was sentenced to two years in prison for each felony count, to be served concurrently, and fined $250 for the misdemeanor.
"This case shows how hard intoxication by drugs other than alcohol can be to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, given the current state of toxicology science," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement. "Though no number of years in prison can ever compensate for the tragic loss of a life, this young man has taken responsibility for his criminal negligence and will serve time, and Ms. Politte's loved ones have some closure."
Coughing Cardinal LLC hung up on 5 On Your Side when we asked for a comment. United Brands Corporation hasn't responded.
It's unclear whether these companies will appeal.
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