Charles W. Armbruster

Honors/Awards:

• Leading Lawyers surveys lawyers, asking them which of their peers, indeed their competitors, they would recommend to a family member or friend if they could not take a case within their area of law or geographic region. Lawyers cannot nominate themselves or anyone at their own law firm. Leading Lawyers limits the total number of Leading Lawyers in a state to less than five percent of all lawyers licensed to practice law in that state., Member, Leading Lawyers in America, 2015
• Member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. The National Trial Lawyers is a member-driven organization composed of the premier trial lawyers from across the country who meet stringent qualifications as civil plaintiff and/or criminal defense trial lawyers., The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, The National Trial Lawyers, 2018
• Member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts, awards and settlements. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Fewer than 1% of US lawyers are members., Life Member, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, 2017
• Current member of the Litigation Counsel of America. LCA is an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society. Membership is limited to less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. The purpose of the LCA is to recognize deserving, experienced, and highly qualified lawyers. Fellows are selected and invited into Fellowship after being evaluated on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation and trial work, along with ethical reputation., Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, 2011
• AV rated by the Martindale-Hubbell organization. According to the Martindale-Hubbell rating system,  AV Preeminent is a significant rating accomplishment a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence., Martindale/Hubbell, 2010

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Member in Illinois Trial Lawyers' Association, 2012
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
• United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
• United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
• American Association for Justice
• United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
• Missouri
• Member in the American Association for Justice, 2012
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• United States Supreme Court
• United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
• United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
• Litigation Counsel of America
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
• Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
• Illinois
• United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• Member in Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, 2012
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
• United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
• Illinois State Bar Association
• United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis 
• West Virginia

Pro bono/Community Service:

• Supporter of Disabled Athlete Sports Association (DASA). This organization provides athletic opportunities to people with various ability levels, from wheelchair basketball to track and field competition., 2017

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

• Masters in Trial seminar in Atlanta, GA., Presenter, 2016
• Masters in Trial seminar in Atlanta, GA, Presenter, 2017

Verdicts/Settlements:

• Madison County jury awards man $550,000 for a shoulder injury suffered when he fell in a Casey's General Store. The man fell because store employees left liquid on the floor, failed to clean it up, and failed to warn about its presence., 2017
• Together with partner, Roy Dripps, Charles Armbruster obtained judgment for Tyree Webb, a river worker who suffered PTSD after his employer required him and the rest of his crew to ride out Hurricane Katrina on board a river boat. The boat was located about 50 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana when the storm hit. Rather than evacuate the crew like it had with other crews in the area, TECO Barge Line, Inc. chose to keep this crew on the boat. During the storm, the boat broke loose from it’s moorings. It rode through 26 foot waves. It was blown across the river and up river, against the current by the force of the storm. As a result, Webb suffered physical injuries and was disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder. Webb filed suit under the Jones Act and general maritime law for unseaworthiness. Webb has not been able to work since. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois determined that Webb was entitled to recover $4.29 million dollars in total damages., 2012
• A St. Louis County woman was awarded $722,811.10 for injuries she received in a vicious dog attack. Based on the evidence presented at trial, the court agreed with the plaintiff, Emily Yowell, that she suffered serious, permanent injuries as a result of the 2008 attack., 2013
• Couple awarded $301,000 for injuries they received in an automobile collision in Madison County, Illinois. The couple was turning left from a Walgreens' parking lot when they were struck by Defendant's car. The defendant was improperly passing stopped traffic, at times crossing into oncoming traffic to do so., 2016
• On December 13, Charles Armbruster obtained a verdict of nearly $2,300,000 for his client who suffered a brain injury when a pizza delivery driver crossed the center line of the road and struck the plaintiff’s vehicle head on. In the case of Bruntjen v. Imo’s Franchising, et al., the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the plaintiff after 8 hours of deliberation   Imo’s last settlement offer before trial was $500,000.
• The family of a railroad worker in Florida requested that Charles Armbruster represent them for the death of their father and husband who suffered a heart attack at work. Because the heart attack was not caused by stress or overwork, Mr. Armbruster and Michael Blotevogel investigated the railroad’s emergency response. They discovered that the railroad gave wrong directions to the ambulance crew resulting in a significant delay in first response that caused the worker’s death. After a 5-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in the amount of $1,089,000.00 in favor of the railroad worker’s family., 2012
• An Illinois couple was awarded over $115,000 for injuries they suffered as a result of an automobile collision in 2010. On May 20, 2014, a jury in Macoupin County, Illinois returned a verdict in favor of the couple for the injuries they received. Fortunately, neither party required surgery for their injuries., 2014
• Charles Armbruster and Michael Blotevogel obtain a record setting verdict in Grant County New Mexico for an injured railroad engineer. After a four day trial brought pursuant to the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), the jury returned a net verdict of over $988,000 for the plaintiff, Raymond Chavez. Mr. Chavez suffered a back injury in a 2008 derailment. According to court personnel, the verdict is believed to be the largest personal injury verdict ever returned in Grant County., 2012
• A St. Louis County, Missouri jury awarded an automobile transport driver over $2,000,000 for injuries he suffered in 2007. Johnson alleged that known defects with the truck he was using caused permanent back injury. After several hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict agreeing with Johnson., 2013

Educational Background:

• University of Michigan with a BA in 1989