Verdicts and Settlements
This list is not a description or characterization of the quality of the firm’s representation and is in no way a guarantee of a specific result for your case. Every case is different, and our South Carolina injury lawyers and the court will evaluate each case on its own merit.
You may know Chappell, Smith & Arden as Personal Injury and Workers’ Comp attorneys. We have handled thousands of Workers’ Comp cases and THOUSANDS of Personal Injury cases since the firm was Established in 1993. But you don’t really know us until you see some of the verdicts and settlements our clients have received.
Notable Settlements
$150,000,000
bridge collapse
$56,000,000
military class action
$14,500,000
hartford insurance bad faith
$5,000,000
FORK LIFT ACCIDENT / NEGLIGENT HIRING
$4,000,000
On June 22, 2012, Chappell, Smith & Arden was appointed Co-Class Counsel in Temporary Services, Inc., et al v. American International Group, Inc., et al. Chappell, Smith & Arden 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.
$3,500,000 Verdict
We represented the victim of a near head-on collision which led to severe trauma and temporary comatose state for vehicle driver. A jury returned a verdict for $3.5 million, at the time the largest automobile verdict of its type in York County.
$3,500,000
head-on collision / with trauma
$2,000,000 Settlement
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.
$1,620,000 Settlement
Pedestrian Accident/Wrongful Death
This case involved the death of a pedestrian who was hit by a motorist. We successfully settled this case without the need of trial.
$1,284,000 Settlement
Trucking Litigation/Multiple Vehicle Wreck
Mark Chappell and Hugh McAngus, members of Chappell, Smith & Arden’s litigation team, 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.
$1,284,000
multiple vehicle wreck
$1,200,000 Settlement
Mark Chappell and Hugh McAngus represented the family of a husband and wife killed by a drunk driver who was speeding and erratically passing other motorists on I-95 in Colleton County. This settlement represented a complete exhaustion of all available insurance coverage.
$1,150,000 Settlement
Hugh McAngus 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.
$875,000 Settlement
Plaintiff was struck head-on by a cable company truck in the mountains of South Carolina causing serious and permanent injuries. In addition to negligent hiring claims, we pursued claims of negligent maintenance of the vehicle.
$800,000 Settlement
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.
$750,000 Settlement
Wrongful Death Motor Vehicle Collision
We represented the family of a man who was killed in a motor vehicle accident while he was traveling to work. We actively investigated this case and were able to achieve a satisfactory settlement prior to filing a lawsuit.
$700,000
Settlement/Declaratory Judgment Action
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.
$600,000 Settlement
We achieved this recovery for our client who suffered significant injuries in a motor vehicle accident.
$550,000 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.
$550,000 Settlement
Hugh McAngus represented a man who was rearended by a drunk driver. Our client suffered permanent injuries requiring surgery to both shoulders. After offsets, we achieved a settlement equivalent to a $550,000.00 jury verdict.
$545,000 Settlement
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.
$510,000 Settlement
Wrongful Death Four Wheeler Accident
We represented the family of a teenager who died in a four wheeler accident at a birthday party. After the case resolved, the boy’s parents were featured on Good Morning America fighting for stronger and safer ATV safety laws. Through the efforts of these parents, the South Carolina legislature has twice passed ATV safety laws which were unfortunately vetoed by Governor Mark Sandford. Through the perseverance of our clients “Chandler’s Law” was passed and signed into law in 2010.
$500,000 Settlement
Recycling Yard/Heavy Equipment Accident
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.
$500,000 Settlement
Mark Chappell and Hugh McAngus 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.
$500,000 Settlement
Multiple Care Interstate Pile-up
We represented a man severely injured in a multi-car pile-up on I-85 in Virginia.
$475,000 Settlement
Premises Liability/Inadequate Stage Protection
We represented a terrorism investigator and security specialist for the Department of Justicewho suffered severe hip, shoulder, and ankle injuries after falling from an unguarded stage. As our client attempted to leave a crowded stage after giving a panel discussion before an audience of federal prosecutors and investigators, he fell from the back of the unguarded stage. We filed suit against the facilities management company that erected the stage and the property owner. Through aggressive discovery, we were able to learn that the facilities management company had possession of guardrails in a storage closet adjoining the auditorium, but neglected to install them.
$450,000 Settlement
Products Liability/Depalletizer Head Injury
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.
$450,000 Settlement
Medical Device Products Liability
We represented an elderly nursing home patientwho suffocated in her nursing home bed when the bed’s inflation system failed.
$417,500
Wrongful Death Settlement – Tractor Trailer Collision
The family of a man killed in a near head on collision with a flat bed tractor trailer came to Chappell, Smith & Arden 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.
$400,000 Settlement
Hugh McAngus represented an elderly bicyclist who was struck by a driver that was not paying attention while driving into the glaring sun.
$335,000 Settlement
Texas Roadhouse Murder/Negligent Hiring and Retention
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 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.
$300,000 Settlement
We represented a man who suffered significant injuries requiring an extended hospitalization and surgery. We brought suit against the driver of the vehicle who caused the multiple car collision and his employer for negligent hiring. Through diligent discovery we were able to learn that the driver’s employer did not conduct an adequate background screening. This case was settled prior to trial.
$300,000 Verdict
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 $300,000.00 in damages when our client had only incurred $13,000.00 in medical expenses.
$200,000 Settlement
Concrete Burn/Negligent Warnings
We represented a man who sustained severe chemical burns to his legs while using ready mix concrete. Our client ordered ready mix concrete to help his brother lay a patio and sidewalk. The ready mix concrete company delivered the concrete, and their driver stayed on site watching our clients expose themselves to the wet concrete. Only after the job was complete and our clients had been exposed to the concrete for a number of hours did the driver deliver a receipt containing warnings about possible skin irritation and burns. We brought claims against the driver that delivered the concrete and his employer based on the concrete company’s failure to warn our client about the hazardous nature of ready mix concrete.