Personal Quote
“A wise friend once told me to invest time to save time. This has become my personal motto.”
Biography
Veronica L. Armouti joined Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard in 2004. She focuses her practice in Health Law.
Veronica has experience in civil litigation, which includes negligence, wrongful death, nursing home defense, medical malpractice, personal injury, complex construction litigation and insurance coverage issues. She has handled cases in Madison, St. Clair, Randolph, Jefferson, Sangamon, Bond, Jersey, Montgomery, Jackson, Marion, Adams, Macoupin and Franklin Counties in Illinois, as well as cases in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jackson and Platte Counties in Missouri.
Prior to joining Sandberg Phoenix, she worked for many years in the insurance industry handling liability and coverage issues. Recently, Veronica was named as one of the 2009 Women of Distinction by the YWCA of Alton. The YWCA of Alton recognizes women whose outstanding professional or volunteer efforts carry out its mission to empower women and to eliminate racism in Southwestern Illinois. In April of 2009, Veronica was named a recipient of the Saint Louis University Black Law Students Association's (BLSA) Service Award for her dedication to the organization, including her work in assistance in organizing the Midwestern BSLA's regional convention and serving as a moot court judge. In April of 2008, she was honored by BLSA as a BLSA Legal Legend. This honor is made to those attorneys who have made an impact in the St. Louis legal field, while still reaching out to the law student community. Veronica illustrated willingness to mentor students, and shined by example through her professionalism and accomplishments.
In August 2007, the fourth year in a row, Veronica was asked to present a seminar on nursing home litigation at the national convention of the National Bar Association. In April 2005, she spoke at the Illinois State Bar Association's seminar in Collinsville, Illinois regarding medical records and a nursing home case. Veronica served on the professional panel for Teen Speak presented by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis in April of 2003. In November 2002, Veronica produced, presented, and drafted materials for a seminar on nursing home litigation in Missouri and Illinois which was attended by nursing home owners, executives, administrators, nursing professionals, and insurance claim supervisors. She was a speaker at the Liability Insurance Basics seminar sponsored by the Missouri Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Division in September of 2002. She was on the speaker’s panel for the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s minority women at risk program in the Spring of 2002. During the National Bar Association's International Seminar in the Middle East, she presented on Jordanian Family Law and arranged for meetings with members of the Jordanian Supreme Court and the American Ambassador.
A sampling of Veronica Armouti's litigation experience includes:
Maday v. Scenic View. This nursing home case was tried in the City of St. Louis in April, 2008. An 80 year-old resident was removed from her ventilator by an unlicensed Respiratory Therapist, and died four days later. The plaintiff alleged that no physician had ordered her removal from the ventilator. The Respiratory Therapist was charged and entered a plea of involuntary manslaughter as a result of the incident. Plaintiff's counsel sought $4.0 million from the jury. The jury rendered a verdict against the nursing home for $26,000 (the amount of the medical specials).
Practice Groups -
Health Law
Industries/Areas of Practice - Nursing Homes
Civic Activities Veronica is a member of Stephens Honor Chapter of Phi Delta Phi, a member of the special education curriculum committee for the
Edwardsville School District. She is also a member of the Charmaine Chapman Society of the
United Way, which is the premier philanthropic program for African-Americans in the region. She also serves on the
United Way allocation panel.
Veronica serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Alumni Association and is on the Advisory Board of Directors of the Children's Museum.
In addition, Veronica manages a basketball club.
Professional Activities
Veronica Armouti is admitted to practice law in Missouri and Illinois.
She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Missouri Bar Association and the Barrister’s.
Recently, the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Alumni Board of Directors voted and unanimously selected Veronica to serve as legal counsel for the Board.
Veronica is the Chair of Sandberg Phoenix’s Diversity Committee and a member of the Recruiting Committee.
Publications She co-authored "Pressure-Sore Litigation: An Overview," Illinois Bar Journal, June 2000.
Education Veronica earned her Juris Doctor at Saint Louis University School of Law in 1997.
She earned her Masters Degree in Public Policy Analysis in 1988, and her B.A. in Sociology in 1986 from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.