Following accident, bar accused of overserving group; $1.15M settlement ensues

Amount: $1.15 million

Injuries alleged: Traumatic brain injury with subdural hematoma, skull fracture, broken jaw, broken ribs, lumbar spine fracture, pelvic fracture, broken tibia with hardware placement

Case name: Withheld

Court/case no.: Withheld

Jury and/or judge: N/A (settled)

Date of settlement: Oct. 24, 2022

Special damages: $344,282.26

Most helpful expert: David Eagerton

Attorneys for plaintiff: David Yarborough and Alexandra

Heaton, of Yarborough Applegate Law Firm; Shelly Leeke and Richard “Chip” Alexander, of Shelly Leeke Law Firm

Attorney(s) for defense: Withheld

Were liability and/or damages contested: Yes

Has judgment been successfully collected? Yes

On Jan. 29, 2022, the plaintiff was attending a farewell party with co-workers at the defendant bar. The group was served alcohol for several hours before the plaintiff and her boyfriend left the establishment. The plaintiff was the passenger in the vehicle driven by her boyfriend when they entered the Park Circle area of Charleston, where the accident occurred.

Due to their injuries, neither have any recollection of the exact details of the accident. The plaintiff was transported via EMS to MUSC hospital, where she spent several weeks in a coma and several more recovering prior to discharge, plaintiff’s counsel reported. The plaintiff was subjected to several surgeries during her rehabilitation from the injuries sustained in the accident.

Based on the evidence secured after the accident, David Yarborough and Chip Alexander elected to pursue a dram shop recovery against the defendant bar in addition to a liability claim against the driver of the involved vehicle. After gathering the necessary evidence, a pre-suit demand was made for the policy limits from both the bar and the involved vehicle, which totaled $1.15 million. The defendant bar ultimately agreed to tender their policy limits.

New associations

Promotions

Professional groups

J. Calhoun Watson, managing member at Robinson, Gray, Stepp & Laffitte in Columbia, has been elected a board member for the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Hunter Freeman has joined Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm’s Greenville office. He focuses primarily on patents, trademarks, trade secrets, contracts, licensing and copyrights.

Chris Dorsel has joined Bringardner Injury Law Firm, a Charleston-based catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death law firm

Angela G. Strickland has been elected managing partner at Bowman & Brooke’s Columbia office.

Kevin J. Malloy has been elected co-managing partner at Bowman & Brooke’s Columbia office.

Law firms

Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein has relocated its Charleston office to Morrison Yard, a new building overlooking the Cooper River in Charleston.

Gignilliat, Savitz & Bettis, a Columbia law firm specializing in employment law, will be moving to new office space in Forest Acres.

Randall DeWitt Williams

• 90-day suspension

Cooper C. Lynn

• Disbarred

Tiffany Jane Brown

• Reprimand

To read the full text of the above disciplinary notices, go to sclawyersweekly.com.

“Geri-Care named itself, and no other company, as the eyewash’s distributor on the label and as the registrant to the FDA. By placing its logo on the eyewash bottle and by registering the eyewash in Geri-Care’s name with the FDA, Geri-Care intended the public to think that Geri-Care manufactured the eyewash.” Senior Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan