$9.5 Million Verdict for Keith Magnuson Family in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

On Friday, November 30, 2007, a St. Louis County, Missouri jury awarded $9,500,000.00 to the family of former Chicago Blackhawk defenseman and coach Keith Magnuson in a trial arising out of Magnuson’s death in a car crash near Toronto on December 15, 2003. Dan Kotin of Corboy & Demetrio represented the Magnuson family.

On December 15, 2003, Magnuson was in Toronto for the funeral of a fellow retired National Hockey League (NHL) player who served with Magnuson on the board of the National Hockey League Alumni Association (NHLAA). Rob Ramage, a retired St. Louis Blues player, had rented a car from National Car Rental and was driving Magnuson to the NHLAA offices for a meeting when his car crossed the center line and crashed head-on into another vehicle. Magnuson died instantly from head and chest injuries. Blood alcohol tests revealed that Ramage was three times the legal limit for alcohol content. The jury’s verdict was against both Ramage and National Car Rental.

“Keith Magnuson was a remarkable man,” said Kotin. “I learned a lot about being a husband and father from the evidence in the courtroom this week. Based on their verdict, I imagine the jury was impressed by his life as well.”

The Magnuson family plans to use the proceeds from this verdict to set up the Keith Magnuson Charitable Foundation. According to Kotin, “Keith Magnuson gave countless hours of his life to dozens of charities. This Foundation will enable his family to carry on his legacy.” Information about making contributions to the Foundation will be available shortly.

Magnuson spent 11 years as a prominent defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1969 through 1980. After retiring as a player, he served two years as the Blackhawks coach. Since leaving hockey, Magnuson was employed by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Chicago where he was an executive and was very active in numerous charitable and community programs. He was voted to the Blackhawks’ 75th anniversary team in 2000 by his fans and was a member of the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame.  Magnuson and his wife, Cindy, were married for 28 years at the time of his death. They had two children, Kevin, who is now 31 and Molly who is 28.

Rob Ramage played 15 years in the NHL, most successfully with the St. Louis Blues. After retiring from hockey in 1994, Ramage worked as a color analyst for Blues television broadcasts.

In October, 2007, a jury in Newmarket, Ontario found Ramage criminally guilty of causing Magnuson’s death due to his impaired driving. Sentencing is scheduled for January 17, 2008.

For a free consultation with Attorney Dan Kotin or any other personal injury lawyer at Corboy & Demetrio, call 312.346.3191. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.