Biography

Kevin Carnie Jr. has earned a reputation for taking on some of the most high-profile cases in the region, securing nearly half a billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients.

Carnie focuses on catastrophic personal injury and product liability cases. His product liability cases range from accidents involving cranes, vehicles, construction equipment, heavy machinery, factory equipment, and medical devices. His personal injury practice includes medical malpractice, auto accidents, trucking accidents, and civil rights cases.

Kevin’s business litigation experience includes antitrust claims, insurance coverage issues, securities fraud, real estate, consumer fraud, class action, banking litigation, patent infringement, and contract disputes.

Some of his most notable cases include a $109 million verdict on behalf of an asphalt company. In that case, Carnie proved a quarry company misrepresented the quality and gradation of its base rock that led to failures at two surface parking lots. The jury awarded the exact amount Carnie’s client lost in profits and the cost of redoing the parking lots as well as awarded more than $108 million in punitive damages.

He also represented a 17-year-old Tennessee girl who lost both of her legs when she was struck by a speeding and impaired driver who ran a yield sign. Kevin obtained a settlement close to the maximum amount state law allows against government entities, based on the government’s failure to place a stop sign at the intersection.

His class action work has included a $32.4 million jury verdict in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case involving robocalls.

In an eight-figure class action settlement for Illinois doctors, Kevin’s work forced insurance companies to pay doctors interest on late payments.

His product liability experience includes a $24 million settlement for a man who suffered catastrophic injuries during an industrial equipment accident. The case brought awareness to inadequate safety guards on industrial machinery.

He’s also been a fierce advocate for children with disabilities, winning a $20 million settlement after uncovering abusive conditions on their school buses.

Kevin also won a $3.1 million verdict for a murder victim’s family, highlighting the need for reform at a problem property in St. Louis.

Kevin’s work has also exposed the dangerous practice of overprescription of amphetamines. He represented a mother who brought her daughter to a rehab facility, where she was prescribed Vyvanse and eventually suffered a fatal stroke due to overprescription. Kevin secured a $5 million jury verdict in that case.

He represented a police officer who was paralyzed during a shooting after the officer’s bullet proof vest failed to protect him. The trial brought attention to the limitations of body armor, helping to save law enforcement lives.

Kevin also isn’t afraid to hold law enforcement accountable. In addition to his significant trial expertise, he has extensive experience in civil rights matters. He’s frequently quoted and featured in the media as a subject matter expert on the topic, including The Pulitzer Center, The Marshall Project as well as St. Louis Public Radio and TV news affiliates.

He represented a man who died while being held in a prone restraint position for too long, causing a fatal medical emergency. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, helping shape reform in policing tactics. Due, in part, to his work on that case, the police department adopted changes to its review of police misconduct and reassessed its legal policy for defending civil rights cases.

He also won a $1.25 million verdict for a man after an officer illegally entered his home and used a Taser to subdue him for a parking ticket.

Carnie graduated summa cum laude from Saint Louis University, where he double majored in psychology and criminal justice. He obtained his law degree from Saint Louis University, where he served as an editor of the Saint Louis University Public Law Review. He graduated cum laude and within the top 5% of his class, earning him induction to the Order of the Woolsack.

He lives with his wife and two daughters in St. Louis.

Kevin M Carnie Jr interview cover

“I want to make a difference, not just for an individual client, but I want it to go larger than that. I want to make a difference in the world.”

— Kevin Carnie, Jr.

Awards

Best Lawyers in America®

  • Best Lawyers in America® 2023-2026
    • Commercial Litigation
    • Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
    • Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
    • Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs
    • Professional Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs

Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® 

  • Recognized in 2024
  • Rising Stars℠ 2014-2022

Additional Awards and Recognition

  • The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40
  • Up & Coming Lawyers, Missouri Lawyers Weekly 2015

Results

As demonstrated by this sampling of case results, Kevin’s unique blend of experience allows him to effectively advocate for both individuals and companies faced with a variety of legal problems.

Class Action Results

  • $32 Million Verdict
  • $13 Million Settlement

Negligence Results

  • $24 Million Settlement – Negligent Design
  • $20 Million Settlement
  • $1.5 Million Settlement – School Injury

Product Liability Results

  • $17.5 Million Settlement
  • $8 Million Settlement
  • $4.5 Million Settlement
  • $3.75 Million Jury Verdict
  • $1.75 Million Jury Verdict

Business Litigation Results

  • $109 Million Verdict
  • $3.9 Million Verdict – International Arbitration Involving Intellectual Property
  • $3.5 Million Settlement – Breach of Contract
  • $2 Million Settlement

Wrongful Death Results

  • $10 Million Settlement
  • $6.5 Million Settlement

Medical Malpractice Results

  • $5 Million Jury Verdict
  • $5 Million Settlement
  • $3 Million Settlement

Civil Rights Results

  • $1.275 Million Jury Verdict
  • $1 Million Settlement

Personal Injury Results

  • $1.1 Million Settlement – Auto Accident

Premise Liability Results

  • $3 Million Jury Verdict

Probate Litigation Results

  • $2.2 Million Settlement – Trust/Will Dispute

Sexual Assault & Abuse Results

  • $6.5 Million Settlement – Workplace Assault

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts, Saint Louis University
  • Saint Louis University School of Law

Bar Admissions

  • State of Missouri
  • State of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

Professional Associations

  • American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
  • American Bar Association
  • Attorney Information and Exchange Group (AIEG)
  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Missouri Bar Association
  • Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys

Published Works

  • Co-Author, Basics of Preparing for a Civil Trial: The Checklist, 60 St. Louis Bar Journal 4 (2014).

Seminars Presented

  • Legislative & Mass Tort Changes in Missouri, 06/20/2017, The Simon Law Firm, P.C. Hon. Richard B. Teitelman Memorial Seminar to Benefit the Legal Services of Missouri
  • Anatomy of a Product Liability Case, 06/17/2014, Simon Law Annual Seminar to Benefit the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

Contact Us

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