Author

Christian Faiella

He holds an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer rating awarded for legal ability and ethical standards, renewed through 2026. He has been selected to Super Lawyers in Missouri and Kansas annually since 2020 and was named one of Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s “Up and Coming Lawyers” in 2001.

This blog is where he writes about Missouri personal injury law, insurance coverage doctrine, bad faith litigation, and the practical, doctrinal questions that arise in the cases he and his colleagues actually try. The intended audience is other lawyers and sophisticated readers. Posts are written from the perspective of a trial practitioner working through the same questions readers are working through.

A Note from the Author

I started the Missouri Injury & Insurance Law Blog because the bench briefs, demand letters, and case-strategy memos I had been writing for thirty years deserved a wider readership than the file folders they were buried in. Missouri has a rich body of injury and insurance jurisprudence — much of it underdiscussed — and I wanted to put substantive practitioner commentary into the public record. I write the way I think when I work: from the controlling Missouri authorities outward, with particular attention to the procedural and strategic mechanics that decide cases. If anything I publish here is useful to another Missouri lawyer, that is the point.

— Christian L. Faiella

Practice and Experience

Mr. Faiella’s practice covers the full range of plaintiff-side injury work and the full range of insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, on both the policyholder and the insured-defendant side.

Plaintiff representation. He has served as counsel for plaintiffs in single-event personal injury and wrongful death cases, in mass tort proceedings, and in class action litigation. His representative case categories include catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, trucking and motor-vehicle litigation, products liability, sports and recreational injury, premises liability, medical negligence, and consumer class actions.

Insurance coverage and bad faith. He has represented policyholders as plaintiffs prosecuting coverage and bad faith claims and as insureds defending against denials and reservations of rights. He has served as coverage and bad faith counsel to individuals, small businesses, corporations, and government entities in single-event tort matters, contract disputes, and class action cases. His coverage practice includes vexatious refusal litigation, declaratory judgment actions, reservation-of-rights disputes,  agreements and consent judgments, fiduciary-duty claims, and uninsured / underinsured motorist litigation.

Geographic scope. Mr. Faiella primarily practices in Missouri state and federal courts. He has represented clients from more than forty states in Missouri-related litigation and has appeared on behalf of clients in state and federal courts throughout the country in matters connected to Missouri jurisdiction, Missouri-based defendants, or Missouri choice-of-law issues.

History. He has handled more than fifty cases that resulted in million-dollar awards or settlements for his clients and has been recognized by Missouri Lawyers Weekly in its annual Top Verdicts & Settlements lists multiple times. The cumulative recovery for his clients exceeds three hundred million dollars. Several of those cases produced product recalls, modified business safety practices, or institutional accountability beyond the individual client’s recovery.

Books

Mr. Faiella is the sole author of one full-length legal text and the chapter author of two additional volumes published by Aspatore Books, the legal-industry imprint of Thomson Reuters.

Personal Injury Settlement Agreements Line by Line

A Detailed Look at Personal Injury Settlement Agreements and How to Change Them to Meet Your Clients’ Needs. Thomson Reuters / Aspatore Books, 2014. ISBN 978-0-314-29233-9. A practitioner’s guide to drafting, negotiating, and modifying personal-injury settlement agreements to protect client interests across releases, allocation, lien resolution, and structured payment terms.

Inside the Minds: Representing Plaintiffs in Personal Injury Cases

Leading Lawyers on Managing Discovery, Preparing Witnesses, and Presenting the Plaintiff’s Case. Aspatore / Thomson Reuters, 2011. Author of the chapter “Knowing Your Client and Your Case: The Foundation of a Successful Case Strategy for Personal Injury Lawyers.”

Inside the Minds: Representing Policyholders in Insurance Cases

Leading Lawyers on Educating Clients About Insurance Contracts and Navigating Different Types of Disputes. Aspatore / Thomson Reuters, 2012. Chapter author.

Missouri Bar CLE Publications

Mr. Faiella has authored five chapters of The Missouri Bar’s continuing legal education publications:

  • Insurance Law — Bad Faith, Chapter 13. The Missouri Bar CLE Publications, 2010.
  • Litigation Settlements — Mary Carter Agreements (supplement), Chapter 3. The Missouri Bar CLE Publications, 2009.
  • Civil Trial Practice — Pleadings (supplement), Chapter 4. The Missouri Bar CLE Publications, 2008.
  • Evidence (5th ed.) — Competency of Witnesses, Chapter 8. The Missouri Bar CLE Publications, 2006.
  • Tort Law (2003 / 2006 update) — Automobile Torts, Chapter 13. The Missouri Bar CLE Publications.

Articles

  • “Proving Damages in Mild Brain Injury Cases — A Thumbnail Sketch,” The Missouri Trial Attorney, Vol. XXI, No. 3 (Fall 2003).
  • “Featured Case — Devin West v. Standard Life Insurance Company of New York,” The Missouri Trial Attorney, Vol. XIX, No. 4 (Winter 2001).
  • “The Effective Use of a Claim Based Upon ‘Negligence Per Se’” (with Mark J. Evans), The Missouri Trial Attorney, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Spring 1999).
  • “Partial Settlement in Multi-Party Injury Cases,” Missouri Lawyers Weekly (July 1998) — named Article of the Year by the Missouri Lawyers Weekly Editorial Board, January 1999.
  • “Hunters, Landowners & The Law,” Rural Missourian (Fall 1995).

Mr. Faiella has delivered more than two dozen continuing legal education presentations across a twenty-five-year teaching career. His CLE work is concentrated in insurance bad faith, coverage litigation, trial practice, and personal injury procedure. Selected engagements:

Insurance Bad Faith and Coverage

  • Advanced Insurance Bad Faith in Missouri, multi-session presenter (Strategic Discovery of Claims Handling; Institutional Bad Faith — Industry Standards, Carrier Compensation Programs, and Claims Process; Claims Adjusters and Corporate Representatives) — National Business Institute, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2018, 2017.
  • Prosecuting and Defending the Bad Faith Case A to Z — Thomson Reuters / West Legal Ed Center, CLE webcast.
  • Insurance Bad Faith, National Business Institute, 2019.
  • Bad Faith Insurance — 21st Annual Missouri Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference, Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach, June 10, 2016.
  • Insurer, Adjuster, Agent and Broker Liability: A-Z — National Business Institute, Parkway Hotel, St. Louis, May 16, 2016.
  • Insurance Law Update — Automobile Insurance Law — The Missouri Bar, 2009.
  • Combat Tactics: How to Turn an Insurance Coverage Denial Into A Successful Recovery for Your Client (co-author and presenter) — Solo & Small Firm Bar Conference, June 2004.
  • Preventing Policyholder Abuse: Recognizing, Understanding, and Litigating Third Party Bad Faith Cases.

Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist

  • Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Law-Made Simple — National Business Institute, March 2017.

Trial Practice, Personal Injury and Law Practice

  • Third-Party Criminal Acts and Premises Liability, Missouri Bar CLE Solo & Small Firm Bar Conference 2026.
  • Referral Fees, Co-Counsel Ethics, and How to Get Paid, Missouri Bar CLE Solo & Small Firm Bar Conference 2026.
  • The Basics of Handling an Auto Accident Case, Part 1: Screening the Case, February 23, 2012.
  • The Basics of Handling an Auto Accident Case, Part 3: Ethics, Mediation & Hot Topics, April 12, 2012.
  • Knowing Your Client and Your Case: The Foundation of a Successful Case Strategy for Personal Injury Lawyers, June 29, 2012.
  • Visual Persuasion and the Preparation of Exhibits for Mediation, Solo & Small Firm Bar Conference, June 2004.
  • Effective Exhibits for Mediation and Trial, Missouri Bar CLE / Randolph County Bar, October 1, 2003.
  • Kansas 8+4 Review of the Law, UMKC-CLE, Overland Park, Kansas, 2003.
  • Expert Witness Depositions, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, 2000.
  • Sanctions & Discovery Enforcement in State & Federal Courts, Missouri Bar CLE, Ethics in Personal Injury Litigation, December 2, 1999.
  • Getting & Handling Success Early in your Career, University of Missouri Student Chapter of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, October 19, 1999.

Media Commentary

Mr. Faiella has provided expert commentary on sports and recreational injury litigation, concussion management, and insurance industry practices in legal and sports-policy publications.

  • Featured Interview, Interview Platform, on school sports injury, untrained coaches, and youth recreational hazards in connection with his representation of athletes who have been injured.
  • Quoted, Global Sports Development, December 2014, in Concussion Management Laws, Protocols and Guidelines for Athletes, on the University of Michigan / Shane Morris concussion incident, NCAA concussion guidelines, and the state-by-state patchwork of concussion legislation.
  • Quoted in national sports media on youth sports safety, coaching standards, and recreational-equipment liability.
  • Quoted in Missouri local press on personal injury litigation, insurance disputes, and recreational safety issues.

Recognition

  • AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell — highest peer rating for legal ability and ethical standards (renewed 2026).
  • Super Lawyers, Missouri and Kansas — annually since 2020.
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly “Up and Coming Lawyers” — one of five attorneys statewide, 2001.
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly Article of the Year — Editorial Board, January 1999.
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly Top Verdicts and Settlements — listed multiple times.
  • Missouri Bar Leadership Academy, 2002.
  • Certified as an Advocate, American Trial Lawyers Association, 1999.
  • American Jurisprudence Award in Federal Courts, 1995.
  • American Jurisprudence Award for Torts, 1995 — highest grade in class.
  • Federal Court’s Award, 1995 — highest grade in class.

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law, 1995. Legal Research Clerk to Professor Robert Lawless, 1994–1995. Award in Federal Courts (1995). American Jurisprudence Award for Torts (1995).

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science

State University of New York, 1989. Feinburg Scholarship for Academic Excellence in Political Science, 1988–1989. Research Fellow, Department of Political Science, 1988–1989. New York Assembly Intern Program.

Bar Admissions

  • State of Missouri (1995)
  • United States Supreme Court (2008)
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2014)
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (1995)
  • United States District Court, Western District of Missouri (1995)
  • United States District Court, District of Kansas
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois
  • United States District Court, Central District of Illinois

Professional Memberships

  • The Missouri Bar (Bar Fellowship)
  • American Association for Justice (past sustaining member)
  • Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys — past member, past Board of Governors, past Advocate
  • American Bar Association
  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (2014–2020)

Civic Engagement

Former Board Member and Volunteer, St. Pius X School Foundation.

Connect

Here is my email [email protected] if you wish to discuss or comment on a blog or the site. If you want to find me my links are below.