Platte County Jury Awards $6.4 Million to Man Burned in Antique Car Explosion

In April 2012, Jeff Bash and a friend, Paul Bodde, were trying to coax an antique vehicle back to life. The two had a method: Bash would prime the carburetor with gasoline while Bodde worked the ignition, but only after Bash had stepped clear. The first three attempts went without incident.

On the fourth try, Bash was still pouring fuel when Bodde engaged the starter. The engine fired, and the gasoline ignited. Bash was engulfed in flames. He was hospitalized for thirty days with third-degree burns covering roughly 24 percent of his body. During that stay he developed sepsis, renal failure, and pulmonary edema, and he required multiple surgeries, with additional procedures expected in the future.

The case turned on a single disputed fact: whether Bash had signaled Bodde that it was safe to start the engine on that fourth attempt. Bodde's side argued Bash bore responsibility for still being in position when the ignition was triggered. Plaintiff's attorneys, including Wm. Dirk Vandever of The Popham Law Firm alongside co-counsel Stephen Sanders and Nicholas Zevenbergen of Sanders Law, argued that Bodde acted without authorization and that his decision to start the car caused the explosion.

The jury heard the evidence and split fault 80 percent to Bodde and 20 percent to Bash. The gross award was $8 million. Under Missouri's comparative-fault rules, Bash's 20 percent share of responsibility reduced the judgment to a net $6.4 million. A $301,000 prior settlement with the car's owner was credited as an offset, and Bash's team anticipated roughly $1 million in pre-judgment interest on top of the net judgment.

Judge Dennis Eckold presided. The verdict was returned September 11, 2019, in case number 15AE-CV02688-01.