A St. Louis family will receive a $745 million settlement after their daughter was tragically killed when she was hit by a 20-year-old driver who snorted nitrous oxide as she left work in October 2020.
The trial hinged on whether or not attorneys could prove that the manufacturers of Whip-It! worked in cahoots with a smoke shop to sell balloon-inhaled nitrous oxide, also known as nitrous oxide, knowing buyers would misuse the drug.
Marissa Politte, 25, was struck by an SUV driven by 20-year-old Trenton Geiger shortly after Whip It! had inhaled. This caused him to fall asleep at the wheel, according to documents in the case. Geiger’s parents owned the car.
She then left her job at Ballwin Total Access Urgent Care on the outskirts of St. Louis.
Before the crash, authorities said Geiger had discarded the nitrous oxide chargers, known as “whippets,” in a wooded area. He purchased the nitrous oxide at a smoke shop called the Coughing Cardinal in Des Peres, Missouri.
Marissa Politte’s family has sued the makers of Whip It!, allegedly used to prepare whipped cream, for knowingly selling the cream to a smoke shop.
Trenton Geiger pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, among other charges; he received only two years in prison
Beat it! would be used to make whipped cream, but is deliberately sold to smoke shops
The chargers are intended as a food propellant to make whipped cream.
During the trial, Politte family attorneys, Johnny M. Simon and his father, John G. Simon, were able to prove to a jury that the company also included Whip It! to enter smoke shops as part of her business plan.
“They sell poison disguised as something else,” said Johnny M. Simon the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“Each of them makes 500 grams of whipped cream, so even if they had plausible reasons for selling it, which they don’t, that’s a… lot of whipped cream for a place that doesn’t sell food,” the lawyer said in a separate statement to KSDK.
Under the terms of the settlement, 70 percent, or $520 million, of the $745 million will be paid by United Brands Products Design Development, the company behind Whip It!, 20 percent, $148 million, from the Coughing Cardinal and ten percent, 74 million dollars, from Trenton Geiger.
An initial lawsuit involved Geiger’s parents, Douglas and Cathy Geiger, alleging that they “knew, or in the exercise of due diligence, should have known of the reckless and irresponsible conduct of defendant Trenton Geiger , including his drug use and drug use while operating a motor vehicle. .’
The lawsuit also mentioned Total Access Urgent Care, claiming that the exit used by employees is too close to the sidewalk and posed a hazard because cars could jump the sidewalk.
Marissa Politte was leaving work in October 2020 when she was hit by an SUV driven by Geiger
Geiger’s attorney, Thomas Magee, told the Post-Dispatch in the wake of the verdict that his client “has always taken responsibility for his actions.”
Politte’s parents, Karen Chaplin and Jason Politte, both testified about the devastating loss of their daughter, who was a radiologic technologist
In the trial, a former Whip It! According to a company employee, 75 percent of the product was sent to smoke shops. Jurors also received emails showing that the company’s marketing staff had direct contact with the smoke shop’s employees.
Politte’s parents, Karen Chaplin and Jason Politte, both testified about the devastating loss of their daughter, who was a radiologic technologist. The family first filed suit two months after the crash.
In their defense, United Brands’ lawyers said holding them responsible for Geiger’s misuse of the product is no different than if the family of a drunk driving accident victim were to sue a company like Anheuser-Busch.
Lawyers also said responsibility for Politte’s death should lie with Geiger because their products carry warnings about the dangers of solvent abuse.
Snorting nitrous oxide can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches and may cause fainting.
Geiger, now 23, was sentenced to two years in prison in March of this year after pleading guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia as part of a deal with prosecutors.
He also had to pay a $250 fine. A toxicology report showed the suspect had THC in his system at the time of Politte’s death.
His attorney, Thomas Magee, told the Post-Dispatch in the wake of the verdict that his client “has always taken responsibility for his actions.”
“We took responsibility for what he did during the trial, but we pointed out to the jury that there was more to it than just Trent. He fell into the trap of thinking what he was using was harmless. There is a bigger picture of these companies behind it,” Magee said.