Verdicts and Settlements

On June 22, 2012, Chappell Smith & Arden, P.A. was appointed Co-Class Counsel in Temporary Services, Inc., et al v. American International Group, Inc., et al. Chappell Smith & Arden, P.A. is one of three firms representing a class of plaintiffs who have alleged that several AIG subsidiaries charged their insureds inflated Lost Cost Multipliers, one of the components of workers’ compensation premium. Following more than four years of litigation, including questions certified to the South Carolina Supreme Court, Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. also gave final approval to a $4,000,000 settlement on behalf of the class members.

We represented a sanitation worker who was struck in the head by a steel door while unloading his vehicle at a transfer station. The door, weighing 500 pounds, became disengaged from its locking position while the contents of the dumpster were being unloaded.

Mark Chappell represented a husband and wife injured while attempting to enter I-26 in Orangeburg County, South Carolina when they were involved in a multiple car collision, spun into the interstate, and struck by a tractor trailer.

Chappell Smith & Arden, P.A. represented a woman whose car was struck by a large dump truck driver. At the scene of the wreck, the dump truck driver blamed a phantom black truck that he claimed cut him off, causing him to swerve into our client. Through the discovery process, we were able to obtain convenience store video of the collision that did not show any phantom truck and learned that the dump truck driver had a disqualified CDL license at the time of the wreck. In addition, we alleged that the company that had hired the driver just six weeks prior to the wreck failed to follow the required hiring regulations and had been warned by a previous employer that the driver had a history of speeding and driving too close. This settlement represents a payment of all available liability coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, and uninsured motorist coverage.

We represented a foreign national laborer who was severely injured when the snorkel lift he was operating tipped over while using a negligently placed and maintained snorkel lift.

In this case, CSA represented a young man who had been shot outside of a bar and grill. We initially brought suit against the bar and a neighboring strip club that provided security to the bar. The insurance companies for the bar and strip club did not provide a defense to our first lawsuit and claimed that their policies did not provide coverage for our client’s injuries. CSA took that case to trial and recovered a large verdict. Then we set about attempting to collect the verdict from the bar, strip club, their joint owners, and the insurance company that alleged their policy did not provide coverage. After instituting supplemental proceedings and successfully opposing a summary judgment motion, the insurance company paid this large settlement.

We represented a woman injured in a T-bone collision with an 18-wheeler on Highway 378. We quickly retained several damages experts, including a vocational expert, life care planner, and economist, and resolved this case without having to file a lawsuit.

We represented the family of a remarkable four year old who was brain damaged as a result of a vehicular collision caused by a police pursuit gone bad. We were able to discover, through the litigation process in obtaining 911 tapes as well as in-car video, exactly how a two-county, fifty minute police chase, involving up to ten police cars led to the near-fatal collision and severe injuries to this young man. This case was resolved under the State Tort Claims Act for substantial funds to compensate the parents for their losses as taking care of this child, but also to provide the young man additional rehabilitation and educational opportunities and to assure that his future is well taken care of.

We represented a truck driver who was injured while picking up a load of steel beams at a recycling yard. He was injured when the operator of a back hoe struck the load of beams causing them to crush our client’s leg. The man suffered significant leg injuries, including a fracture and compartment syndrome, which required multiple surgeries. We were able to achieve this result within three months of being associated by another attorney’s office.

Mark Chappell represented a woman and her granddaughter who were t-boned by a logging truck in the middle of an intersection. We pursued claims against the driver and the logging truck for negligent hiring, retention, and training.

We represented people in a number of elevator-related injuries. Most recently we represented a gentleman who was nearly decapitated while repairing an elevator used in the bottling industry. Our client was attempting to repair a stuck depalletizer. To do so, he was required to lean his head and body into the depalletizer shaft below the stuck depalletizer lift. As he was leaning into the shaft, the lift freed and crashed down on his head. Because of design failures, stored energy in the elevator was released while he was beneath it, causing him severe injuries. The matter has been resolved through the litigation process.

The family of a man killed in a near head-on collision with a flat bed tractor trailer came to Chappell Smith & Arden, P.A. when the police investigation into the cause of the collision left them with many questions. The highway department found that our client’s husband was at fault in the wreck for crossing the center line of the highway. Through aggressive discovery and investigation, and with the use of accident reconstruction, trucking safety, and human factors experts, we were able to determine that the trucking company was hauling a large bridge section in violation of its DOT permitting requirements, that the bridge section at all times hung over the center line, and that a lack of lighting or other warnings decreased the visibility of the wide load. This case settled at mediation shortly before trial.

We represented the estate of a young man who was killed by a Texas Roadhouse employee. The case involved negligent hiring and negligent retention of a Texas Roadhouse employee.

We were able to prove that not only should this individual not have been hired but a number of actions taken by him while on the job should have indicated to any employer that he was a risk to fellow workers as well as customers. In representing the family, Chappell Smith & Arden, P.A. was able to ascertain not only the exact occurrence of events surrounding his hiring and his employment status, but believe that this case set precedent for employers in being held more responsible for their hiring, obtaining criminal records as well as more supervision over employees. The case was resolved for a considerable sum.

We received this trial result for a client who suffered a thumb injury in a motor vehicle accident. This case is notable because the jury awarded $300,000 in damages when our client had only incurred $13,000 in medical expenses.