Practice Areas
Tom Cartmell is a founding partner of Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP and a nationally recognized trial attorney who represents individuals, businesses, and public entities in complex litigation across the United States. He has been appointed by federal judges to leadership positions in over a dozen multidistrict litigations (MDLs) and is widely regarded for his courtroom skill and strategic leadership.
Tom is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers, both prestigious, invitation-only trial lawyer organizations. In 2024, he was named to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America and 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in America. He has been repeatedly honored by Best Lawyers in America, including multiple recognitions as “Lawyer of the Year,” and is ranked by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Local Leadership & Recognition
Locally, Tom has served as President of the Kansas City Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and as a Municipal Judge for the City of Mission Hills, Kansas, for 16 years. He also taught trial advocacy for eight years as an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas School of Law.
His early recognition included the Thomas J. Conway Award (2001) from the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association for professionalism and advocacy, and the Lon O. Hocker Award (2003), presented to three outstanding trial lawyers in Missouri each year. He has been named a Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer annually since 2006 and recognized more than 15 times in the Kansas City Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar.”
Trial Practice & National Litigation
Tom’s practice includes high-stakes product liability, mass torts, class actions, and commercial litigation. He has secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for clients and is routinely appointed to lead roles in landmark cases. For example, in the Transvaginal Mesh MDLs, among the largest MDLs in U.S. history, he served as lead or co-lead counsel in five bellwether trials. Settlements in these cases exceeded $8 billion.
He currently represents more than two dozen counties—including Buchanan County, Missouri, one of the hardest-hit by the opioid crisis—in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation (MDL 2804). He has taken numerous depositions of opioid manufacturer corporate witnesses.
Tom was appointed by Judge William Orrick in the JUUL Labs MDL (MDL 2913) as Government Entity Liaison Counsel, representing over 75 school districts. He also represents the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the State of Oregon in consumer protection actions against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon. In the 3M Combat Arms Earplug MDL (MDL 2885), he was named to the five-member Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee by Judge M. Casey Rodgers.
He also serves as of counsel to Davis, Bethune & Jones LLC in litigation involving contaminated water exposure at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Select Leadership Appointments in MDLs and Mass Torts
T-Mobile Customer Data Breach MDL (MDL 3073) – Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee
Social Media Adolescent Addiction MDL (MDL 3047) – Local Government Entities Subcommittee
Bard Port Catheter MDL (MDL 3081) – Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee
Hair Relaxer Litigation MDL (MDL 3060) – Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
JUUL Labs MDL (MDL 2913) – Government Entity Liaison Counsel
3M Earplug MDL (MDL 2885) – Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee
Bard IVC Filters MDL (MDL 2641) – Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
Ethicon Pelvic Mesh MDL (MDL 2327) – Co-Lead Counsel
Zoloft MDL (MDL 2342) – Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
DePuy Hip Implants MDL (MDL 2244) – Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
Avandia MDL (MDL 1871) – Co-Lead Trial Counsel
Celebrex/Bextra MDL (MDL 1699) – Co-Lead Trial Counsel
Ephedra MDL (MDL 2071) – Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
Kugel Hernia Mesh MDL (MDL 1842) – Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
JCCP No. 5255 (Social Media Cases) – Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
Notable Trials and Settlements
$5.7 Million Verdict – Perry v. Ethicon & Johnson & Johnson (TVT Abbrevo mesh)
$1.2 Million Verdict – Batiste v. Ethicon & Johnson & Johnson (TVT-O mesh)
$3.02 Million Verdict – Novogradac v. Beverly Manor, Missouri nursing home abuse case
$1 Million Verdict – Pei v. City of Kansas City, wrongful death in auto/pedestrian accident
Defense Verdict – Dick v. Children’s Mercy Hospital
Confidential Settlement – Blue Cross Blue Shield v. Pfizer Inc. (third-party payor litigation)
Mass Torts – Represented Federal Signal Corporation in firefighter hearing loss litigation
$745+ Million Settlement – Celebrex/Bextra MDL
$50+ Million Settlements – Ephedra MDL (NVE and MuscleTech cases)
