John Mahon is a trial lawyer who has earned the respect of his clients and colleagues as a skilled and knowledgeable attorney, primarily concentrating on defending medical negligence, product liability and other personal injury lawsuits, as well as insurance coverage and litigation matters.  John is valued for his work ethic and thoughtful approaches to problem-solving.

John is active in local and national bar associations and regularly lectures to nursing students on legal issues.

Memberships & Activities

• Association of Defense Trial Attorneys
• The Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court at Saint Louis University School of Law
  • Barrister (2014 – 2017)
• The Lawyers Association of St. Louis
  • Executive Committee (2009 – 2013)
• St. Louis Association of Healthcare Risk Managers
• Defense Research Institute
• Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
• St. Louis County Bar Association
• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

Presentations

• Speaker, "Fundamentals of a Medical Malpractice Case", Missouri State Medical Association Annual Convention, with Josh Davis and Nate Leming (March 2018)
• Speaker, “Legal Issues for Health Care Providers”, Student Nurse Association, St. Louis Community College-Forest Park campus (August 2018, April 2017, September 2015, September 2014)
• Speaker, “Legal Update Panel – Tort Reform Legislation”, Washington University / BJC HealthCare Defense Counsel Seminar (November 2017)
• Speaker, “Legal Issues for Health Care Providers”, Fundamentals of Nursing, St. Louis Community College-Meramec Campus (November 2014)
• Speaker, “Legal Issues for Health Care Providers”, Practical Nursing/Respiratory Therapy Programs, St. Louis College of Health Careers (November 2017, November 2014, May 2014, October 2013)
• Speaker, “Legal Issues for Nurses”, Trends Nursing Program, Jefferson College School of Health Professionals (April 2012)
• Speaker, "Construction Fraud", Associated General Contractors of St. Louis Fraud Detection Prevention Seminar (July 2010)
• Speaker, “They Took What? Information Employers Need to Know About Computer Tampering Laws”, CLE Presentation for client (June 2009)

Awards & Recognition

• Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers® in America, St. Louis Metropolitan Area
  • Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (2016-present)
  • Insurance Law (2018-present)
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2019)
• AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury.
• Selected for inclusion in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® Rising Stars list, 2010-present.
• Missouri Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming award recipient, 2011.
• Recognized by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as receiving a “Top Plaintiff Verdict/Settlement” in 2009 and a “Top Defense Verdict/Settlement” in 2007 and 2018.
• Received recognition as Best Oral Advocate, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis Young Lawyers’ Division Inaugural Trial Advocacy Competition, February 2007.

Community Involvement

• St. Louis College of Health Careers (Advisory Board)
• Saint Louis Art Museum (Young Friends Steering Committee)
• Saint Louis University High School (Alumni Board)

News & Events

John Mahon, Jr. Admitted to Association of Defense Trial Attorneys

06.13.19 | Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice Member John Mahon Jr., has been admitted to the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA) as one of only thirteen Missouri members. Established nearly 80 years ago, the ADTA is comprised of civil defense trial attorneys in...

Results

Trial of Medical Malpractice Case Results in Defense Verdict for Hospital Client

In a trial win reported by Missouri Lawyers Weekly (Volume 33, Number 7, February 18, 2019) as a 2018 Missouri Top Defense Verdict, an eight-person jury deliberated for four hours after a five-day federal court trial in the Eastern District of Missouri, unanimously siding with our hospital client and an emergency room physician sued for medical malpractice by a teenager who suffered a severe bacterial infection after a piece of a broken stick remained lodged in his leg.

Defense Verdict Secured for Hospital Client in Medical Malpractice Trial

In a medical negligence case arising from postoperative care and treatment following ankle surgery, plaintiff alleged negligent failure to timely diagnose and treat an ankle joint infection that left her with permanent and painful injuries after multiple surgical procedures and lengthy hospitalizations to treat the infection.

Blog Posts

Supreme Court of Missouri Issues First-Of-Its-Kind Ruling Overturning a $2.3 Million Negligent Credentialing Verdict

06.12.19 | In Thomas E. Tharp, et al. v. St. Luke's Surgicenter – Lee's Summit, LLC, the Supreme Court of Missouri overturned a $2.3 million jury verdict in favor of a patient and his wife against a hospital, because there was no proof the hospital negligently credentialed a surgeon.

Missouri Court of Appeals Rules Venue Proper Only in County Where Decedent First Ingested Opioid Pain Medication and Not Where Drug Prescribed

02.21.19 | In State ex rel. Mylan Bertek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Vincent, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, held that, in a case alleging wrongful death, medical malpractice, and pharmaceutical liability, venue was proper only in the county where the decedent first ingested opioid pain medication, rather than the county where a defendant prescribed it.

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Judges Disagree Regarding Substantial Compliance and Affidavit of Merit Statute in Med Mal Case

08.06.18 | In Ferder v. Scott, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District (opinion authored by Judge Robert G. Dowd, Jr.). reversed a trial court's dismissal of a medical malpractice lawsuit for failure to comply with the affidavit of merit requirement in s. 538.225, RSMo.

Missouri Court of Appeals Holds Plaintiff Cannot Use Savings Statute to Revive Dismissed Lawsuit Brought by Improper Plaintiff

11.08.16 | The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, affirmed a trial court's dismissal of a lawsuit as being time-barred. The court held that the plaintiff could not rely on an earlier lawsuit and Missouri's "savings" statute because the earlier suit was brought by an improper plaintiff who lacked standing.

Missouri Court of Appeals Holds Ingredient List Label on Product Not an Absolute Defense to Claim for Deceptive Merchandising Practices

11.08.16 | The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, reversed a trial court's order dismissing an action on the grounds that an ingredient list label was a complete legal defense to a claim for deceptive merchandising practices because the consumer could not reasonably be deceived or misled by the packaging. The court held that the presence of an ingredient list label on a product is not an absolute defense, though it may be used as evidence in support of a defense at trial.

Supreme Court of Missouri Holds No Waiver of Work Product Privilege When Party Rescinds Designation of Expert Witness Without Disclosing the Expert's Analysis or Conclusions

11.01.16 | The Supreme Court of Missouri reversed a trial court's order permitting the deposition of a plaintiff expert witness on the grounds that, by designating the expert, the plaintiff had waived the work product privilege. The Court held that designating an expert witness pursuant to Rule 56.01 does not, standing alone, irrevocably waive the work product privilege. The case provides guidance to...

New CMS Guidance on Abuse of Patient Privacy Rights

08.05.16 | We recently noted new media reports raising patient privacy concerns due to health care providers' use of social media in the workplace. It appears the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") has also taken note of media reports on this topic. CMS has issued new guidance to state survey agency directors in an effort to safeguard patient privacy and prevent abuse related to photos or audio/visual recordings by nursing home staff.

The Potentially Dangerous Intersection of Healthcare and Social Media

08.05.16 | Lately, there have been numerous reports in the media raising patient privacy concerns due to healthcare providers' use of social media in the workplace. Employers, regulators and even law makers and law enforcement are taking very seriously these new types of privacy concerns spawned by emerging and evolving social media platforms, and they are becoming more aggressive in pursuing such cases

Supreme Court of Missouri Holds Patient's Family Could Not Sue Physician for Wrongful Death, but Patient's Personal Representative Could Have Brought Action for Medical Negligence

04.19.16 | The Supreme Court of Missouri, en banc, vacated a trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a physician and remanded the case, because the allegations in the petition stated a cause of action for medical negligence that would have been actionable under sec. 537.020, RSMo (Missouri's "survivorship" statute) if brought by the patient's personal representative.

Supreme Court of Missouri Upholds Health Care Affidavit Statute for Medical Malpractice Claims

10.13.15 | The Supreme Court of Missouri, en banc, affirmed a trial court's decision to dismiss a wrongful death action premised on medical malpractice because the plaintiffs failed to file the health care affidavit required by § 538.225, RSMo.

Supreme Court of Missouri Reverses Trial Court Order Setting Aside Default Judgment Against Insurance Company

06.16.15 | The Supreme Court of Missouri, en banc, reversed a trial court order setting aside a default judgment against an insurer, based on improper service/absence of personal jurisdiction, because the plaintiffs properly served the insurer via the Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, pursuant to § 375.906, RSMo. This case is significant for insurers because…

Missouri Court of Appeals - Western District Upholds Missouri Statute Requiring Plaintiff to Submit a Health Care Affidavit of Merit in Support of a Medical Malpractice Action

05.26.15 | The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, affirmed a trial court decision dismissing a plaintiff's medical negligence action, without prejudice, for failure to comply with §538.225, RSMo, the statute requiring a medical malpractice plaintiff to file an affidavit stating plaintiff has obtained a written opinion from a qualified health care provider in support of the claim's merit.

Supreme Court of Missouri Upholds 10-Year Statute of Repose for Foreign-Object Medical Malpractice Claims

04.28.15 | Missouri, en banc, affirmed a trial court's decision to dismiss a plaintiff's foreign-object medical malpractice claim against a health care provider for leaving foreign objects in the patient's abdomen during surgery almost 14 years earlier.

Excess Insurer v. Primary Insurer: Supreme Court of Missouri Recognizes Right of Excess Insurer to Recover from Primary Insurer for Bad Faith Failure to Settle Within Policy Limits

12.09.14 | In a matter of first impression, the Supreme Court of Missouri, en banc, affirmed a decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, holding in Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Addison Ins. Co., et al., that an excess insurer may recover on a theory of equitable subrogation amounts contributed from an excess policy as a result of a primary insurer's bad faith failure to settle a claim within policy limits.

Supreme Court of Missouri Holds CGL Policy Covers Statutory Damages Claim for Violations of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)

12.25.13 | In Columbia Casualty, the Supreme Court of Missouri held that statutory damages for violations of the TCPA were firmly within the "property damage" and "advertising injury" coverage provided by a CGL policy. The Court rejected an argument that TCPA statutory damages are considered fines or penalties precluded from coverage under a CGL policy, abrogating Olsen v. Siddiqi.

Excess Insurer v. Primary Insurer: Court of Appeals Recognizes Right of Excess Insurer to Recover From Primary Insurer for Bad Faith Failure to Settle Within Policy Limits

10.01.13 | In a matter of first impression, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, held in Scottsdale Insurance Company v. Addison Insurance Company, et al., that an excess insurer may recover on a theory of equitable subrogation amounts contributed from an excess policy as a result of the primary insurer's bad faith failure to settle a claim within policy limits.