Janae Edmondson sues City of St. Louis

By Rheanna Wachter

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    ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — Janae Edmondson, the volleyball player from Tennessee who lost her legs after a car hit her Downtown, has filed a case against the City of St. Louis.

The case was filed Tuesday by Kevin Carnie of Simon Law Firm, who is representing Edmondson.

Other defendants include:

Daniel Riley Elizabeth Smith Kimberly Riley EAN Holdings LLC

Daniel Riley was the driver of the car that struck Edmondson. Elizabeth Smith is the other driver that was involved in the crash.

According to court documents, Kimberly Riley and EAN Holdings LLC are responsible for granting Daniel Riley access to the car he was driving when he struck Edmondson.

Edmondson’s lawyer Kevin Carnie tells News 4 that they are still weighing their options on whether the lawsuit is filed against Kim Gardner as well.

“In the state of Missouri, that’s done by statute,” said legal expert Andrew Mundwiller. “You can only sue a government entity for personal injury or wrongful death if there’s a defective premises. In this case, there were allegations relating to the roadway.”

Since the accident, the City has changed the sign at the intersection where Edmondson was hit; what used to be a yield sign is now a stop sign stating that cross traffic does not stop.

The lawsuit states that Edmondson has lost future earning potential from the accident, and is asking for a judgment on seven counts against the defendants in excess of $25,000. Edmondson’s lawyer tells News 4 that’s a threshold the lawsuit had to meet to be in circuit court, but they will be looking for more money.

However, according to Mundwiller, the government has a cap on damages they have to pay.

“We’re talking about a very young lady who life expectancy is probably not going to be affected by her injury,” said Mundwiller. “She’s probably going to live a full life, but she’s going to live a full life with no legs and the cost of care just to take care of her is gonna be well in excess of the amount the City would ever have to pay.”

News 4 reached out to the City of St. Louis for comment, and a spokesperson said that the City could not comment on pending litigation.

This story is developing and will be updated as News 4 learns more.

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