$50k jury verdict, including $26,600.00 in punitive damages due to the egregiousness of the diner’s conduct

A 15-year worker at a well-known St. Louis area diner is seriously injured on the job while slicing meat. Immediately after the worker reports his work-related injury to the diner’s owners and inquires about their workers’ compensation insurance, the worker is informed that he would “never work for the owners again.” A short time later, the worker is fired. The worker sues the diner for retaliating against him in violation of Missouri’s Workers’ Compensation Laws. Following a jury trial in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis…