Tom Porto is a trial lawyer and partner at Popham Injury Law who stands with Kansas City families after a death or a life-altering injury. He tries these cases to verdict in Missouri and Kansas courts, and he is the attorney our firm turns to when the other side intends to fight.
Tom joined us in 2013 and became a partner two years later. If you are trying to understand what happened to someone you love and what comes next, we are here to listen. Call (816) 221-2288 for a free consultation.
Who Does Tom Porto Represent?
Tom represents people living through the hardest stretch of their lives, and the families left behind when someone does not come home. His clients are usually ordinary people facing an insurance company, a corporation, or a government agency with far more resources.
- Spouses, parents, and children bringing a wrongful death claim
- People living with a brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other permanent harm
- Families hurt in car, truck, and drunk driving crashes
- Employees who were treated unlawfully at work
Every one of these cases begins the same way, with a conversation about what happened and what your family needs now.
Tom Porto’s Practice Focus
Tom concentrates on serious harm: deaths, catastrophic injuries, and civil rights cases against public agencies. He handles wrongful death claims in Kansas City on both sides of the state line, under Missouri’s wrongful death statute, RSMo 537.080, and its Kansas counterpart, K.S.A. 60-1901.
A wrongful death claim is the lawsuit surviving family members bring when another party’s conduct caused a death. Tom also handles catastrophic injury cases, meaning injuries that permanently change how a person lives, works, and cares for themselves.
The rest of his docket follows from that focus:
- Truck accidents involving commercial carriers and their insurers
- Auto accidents that leave lasting physical and financial damage
- Drunk driving crashes, including claims against those who served an impaired driver
- Employment discrimination and retaliation claims
These areas overlap more than people expect, and Tom often builds one case on evidence another type of claim would have missed.
What Results Has Tom Porto Obtained?
Tom has tried cases to eight-figure verdicts and resolved others through confidential settlements. A few examples from his record:
- $10 million verdict for an unarmed mother who was shot while pregnant by a sheriff’s deputy
- $5 million settlement for the family of Terrence Bridges, who was killed by a Kansas City, Missouri, police officer
- Undisclosed settlement in the litigation over the drunk driving crash that catastrophically injured five-year-old Ariel Young, when Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid struck a parked vehicle
- Numerous confidential six- and seven-figure results for parents, families, and surviving children after catastrophic injury and wrongful death
- Numerous confidential six- and seven-figure results in catastrophic motor vehicle injury and wrongful death cases
These are examples of past work, not a prediction of what any other case is worth. Every case turns on its own facts, its own evidence, and its own jury.
From Public Defender to Trial Lawyer
Tom spent more than five years as a Missouri State Public Defender before joining us, and that period shaped how he works today. He learned to try cases with very little, for clients most people had already written off.
That background shows up in how he prepares. He reads the file the way the other side will read it, and builds the case around the human facts a jury remembers.
It also explains his view of the courtroom. The 7th Amendment right to a jury trial is what lets one family hold a large institution accountable, and Tom treats that right as the point of the work.
Where Does Tom Porto Handle Cases?
Tom handles cases throughout the Kansas City metro and the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Kansas. Our office sits at 712 Broadway in the River Market area, a short walk from the Jackson County Courthouse where many of these cases are heard.
- Missouri: Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties
- Kansas: Leavenworth and Miami counties, plus the greater Johnson and Wyandotte County area
- Federal court, including the U.S. District Court for the bvaDistrict of Missouri and the District of Kansas
Because he is licensed in both states, Tom can file where the evidence and the law give a family the strongest position.
What Are Tom Porto’s Credentials?
Tom has been licensed since 2007 and has been recognized by judges and fellow trial lawyers throughout his career.
Bar Admissions
- Missouri, 2007
- Kansas, 2015
Education
- University of Missouri School of Journalism
- University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
Honors and Awards
- Lon O. Hocker Award, 2017, given each year to one Kansas City trial lawyer under 40 and selected by a committee of federal and state judges and the Trustees of the Missouri Bar Foundation
- Rising Stars, Missouri and Kansas, 2015 to 2017
- Super Lawyers, Missouri and Kansas, 2019 to 2025
Memberships
- Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
- Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
- National Police Accountability Project, 2024
Taken together, these reflect a practice built in courtrooms rather than in settlement conferences alone.
Civic and Professional Leadership
Tom serves in several roles connected to housing, court administration, and accountability in Kansas City.
- Elected to the Missouri Bar Board of Governors, 2018
- Chairman of the Board, Planned Industrial Expansion Authority of Kansas City, which creates housing for low-income residents
- Board member, Tax Increment Finance Commission
- Elected to the 16th Circuit Judicial Commission, 2024
This is the same interest that drives his cases, which is how institutions serve the people who depend on them.
Tom Porto in the News
Reporters regularly cover the cases Tom brings. His work has been reported by The Kansas City Star following a $10 million jury award in a Jackson County deputy shooting, by KCUR on a family’s federal claim after a fatal police shooting, and by ABC News when he spoke on behalf of the Young family.
When a case draws that kind of attention, the pressure on a family is public too. Tom carries that weight so they do not have to.
Why Families Ask for Tom
Families come to Tom when the answer they were given does not add up. Here is what they get when they do:
- A firm founded in 1918, with more than 100 years of trial work behind every case we file
- More than $500 million recovered for people and families across Missouri and Kansas
- A lawyer who has actually tried these cases, not one who prepares only to settle
- Direct access to Tom, not a rotating case manager
- A free consultation, with no fee unless we recover for you
For a family after a wrongful death, this is not about money or getting even. It is about accountability, and about the resources your children need to keep going. Tom will tell you honestly what he can and cannot do in the first conversation, not the fifth.
FAQs about Tom Porto
A few questions we hear often from people considering whether to call.
Does Tom Porto take cases outside Kansas City?
Yes. Tom is licensed in both Missouri and Kansas and handles cases across both states, including in federal court. Our single office is in downtown Kansas City, and Tom travels for the cases we take.
What does it cost to talk with Tom Porto?
Nothing. Consultations are free, and injury and wrongful death cases are handled on a contingency fee, meaning our fee comes out of a recovery rather than your pocket. If there is no recovery, you owe us no attorney fee.
Will Tom be the attorney working on my case?
Tom personally handles the cases he takes, and he tries them himself. Our other partners work alongside him when a case calls for it, and you will know who is doing what from the beginning.
Talk With Tom About What Happened
If your family lost someone or is facing an injury that changed everything, Tom will listen and give you a straight answer. Call (816) 221-2288 or schedule a consultation with Tom at our office at 712 Broadway, Suite 100, Kansas City, MO 64105. The first conversation is free, and it is yours whether or not you decide to hire us.