Jump To Navigation

Attorney Profiles

Randall L. Rhodes 
Kansas City, Missouri
Founding Member of the Firm
phone 816-941-7600
fax 816-941-6666
email

Randy was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri . He attended Drury College (now called Drury University ) where he earned a triple major in political science, psychology and history. Upon graduating from Drury, Randy moved to Topeka, Kansas , where he attended law school at Washburn University School of Law. At Washburn, Randy was awarded several American Jurisprudence Awards for academic excellence. He also served as Associate Editor of the Washburn Law Review, was president of the Moot Court Council and was a member of the Order of the Barristers.

Randy began his legal career as a defense lawyer, successfully defending health care providers and some of the world's largest product manufacturers in lawsuits around the country. Over twelve years ago, after defending a vehicle manufacturer in a post-collision, fuel-fed fire case in which two teenage boys suffered horrific injuries, Randy realized that his personal beliefs were inconsistent with being a corporate defense lawyer. Today, Randy's practice is narrowly focused on representing people who were seriously injured and the families of people who were seriously injured or killed as a result of defective products or the negligence of others. Having nearly lost a child to a serious illness, Randy understands and is able to empathize with people who have undergone tragedies in their personal lives. 

Randy has represented plaintiffs in a broad array of cases around the country, including the following: 

  • Product Liability/Personal Injury
  • Product Liability (general)
  • Vehicular Product Liability
  • Rollovers
  • Roof crush
  • Post Collision Fuel Fed Fires
  • Seatbelts
  • Airbags
  • Seat failures
  • Child safety seats
  • Tires
  • General Crashworthiness
  • Wrongful Death
  • Personal Injury
  • Trucking Wrecks
  • Class Actions

    Along with his partners, Evan Douthit and Doug Gentile, Randy has recovered, through settlements and trial verdicts, well in excess of $100 million dollars for his clients.  As a result of that work, Randy has been elected as a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

    Our three lead trial lawyers Evan, Doug, and Randy have been involved in some remarkable cases all over the country.

  • They obtained a (record) $15.7 million settlement for a crippled child in rural New York who was injured in a car wreck due to a defective Evenflo child safety seat.
  • After being "no offered" by the defendant, they won a $15 million verdict in Kansas City for a deserving client who was injured by a thirty year old product.
  • They obtained a (record) $13 million settlement for a crippled child in North Carolina who was injured in a car wreck due to a defective child safety seat.
  • They obtained a $10.4 million dollar settlement (which included $500,000 above the insurance limits) for a teenage girl who was seriously injured in a wreck caused by a negligent truck driver.
  • They recently won a (record) $10.4 million verdict in Montana in a case involved a young boy who died due to defects in his Evenflo child safety seat.
  • They won an $8.5 million verdict (and collected an additional $2 million in pre-judgment interest and $2 million in post-judgment interest) for a crippled child in St. Louis who was injured in a car wreck due to a defective Evenflo child safety seat.
  • They won a landmark appeal in a case that established new law in Missouri that, for the first time, acknowledged on-call emergency room physicians have a duty of care to emergency room patients.


    Evan, Doug and Randy are particular about the cases they agree to take. They only want to represent deserving clients who have good cases and who are in need of the highest quality legal representation.

    It's not always about high dollar cases. Often, it's simply about doing what is right.

    For example, several years ago, a newspaper article exposed a horrific study from the 1930's in which innocent orphans were unwittingly used as human guinea pigs by researchers at the University of Iowa. Outraged by the revelation, Evan, Doug and Randy agreed to represent some of the orphans who were still alive and some of the estates of those orphans who had died. After years of litigation with the State of Iowa, justice was obtained for those orphans in the form of an apology and a high six figure settlement.

    As another example, Evan, Doug and Randy represented the family of a homeless man who suffered fatal injuries when he was savagely beaten by a store clerk who erroneously believed that the homeless man stole a 99 cent bag of ice. The family of the homeless man was denied justice in the criminal trial of the store clerk, who got off with probation and a slap on the wrist. In a subsequent civil lawsuit, Evan, Doug and Randy obtained a settlement for the family, providing them some measure of justice.

    Randy is married. He and his wife, Debbie, have three children and they reside in Leawood, Kansas . Randy coaches and sponsors several youth sports teams and he is involved with numerous charitable endeavors, including the Rainbow Network, Catholic Charities, the American Diabetes Association, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Relay for Life.

    • Areas of Practice:
    Products Liability
    Personal Injury
    Commercial Litigation
    Litigation Percentage:
    100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
    Bar Admissions:
    Missouri, 1992
    Kansas, 1993
    U.S. District Court District of Kansas
    U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri
    U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
    U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
    Education:
    Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, Kansas, 1992
    J.D.


    Drury University, Springfield, Missouri, 1988


    Representative Cases:
    Millard v. Corrado, 14 S.W.3d 42 (Mo.App. 1999)
    Lay v. P&G Health Care, Inc., 37 S.W.3d 310 (Mo.App. 2000)
    Steele v. Evenflo Company, Inc., 147 S.W.3d 781 (Mo.App. 2004)
    Steele v. Evenflo Company, Inc., 178 S.W.3d 715 (Mo.App. 2005)
    Professional Associations and Memberships:
    American Academy of Justice
    Member


    Attorneys Information Exchange Group
    Member of the Board of Directors


    Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
    Member


    Kansas Bar Association
    Member


    Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
    Member


    Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
    Member

    *CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.

    How Can We Help?

    NOTE: Labels in bold are required.

    Contact Information
    5. disclaimer.

    Douthit Frets Rouse
    Gentile & Rhodes LLC

    903 East 104th Street, Suite 610
    Kansas City, MO 64131

    Phone: 816.941.7600
    Fax: 816.941.6666
    Email: Contact Us