Season’s greetings! As 2022 comes to a close, we are reflecting on the seminal cases and community moments that shaped the last twelve months. To close the year, our team here at Yarborough Applegate is looking forward to celebrating the joy of this season with our families, friends, and community—and then, we’ll be right back to work for our clients.
AGENTS OF CHANGE IN GROUNDBREAKING CASES
Every case we take on is an opportunity to guide, support, and fight for a victim whose life has been upended by no fault of their own. We’re endlessly grateful that our clients trust us to be their advocates and allies in the courtroom.
Among this year’s cases were a number of high-profile, eight-figure recoveries. They are standouts not only for the critical financial compensation they secured for seriously injured individuals and their families, but because their outcomes held companies accountable for putting profits over safety. In some cases, we secured a safer future for all by mandating safer corporate policies.
We won a major settlement in a medical malpractice case that required the defendant—one of the largest medical imaging companies in the country—to make critical changes for patient safety. When a horrific tractor-trailer collision forever changed the lives of several teenagers and their families, we secured a settlement after three years of hard-fought litigation against a Goliath-size trucking company and its driver.
Litigating against “Big Concrete” after a worker tragically died at a South Carolina plant presented a challenge, but one our team was fully prepared to take on. And last month, we again stood by a hard-working, immigrant worker against an employer and other defendants whose negligence resulted in a catastrophic injury. The settlement we earned for her—a temporary construction laborer who suffered a traumatic brain injury and paraplegia after falling from a scaffold on a job site outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana—will secure critical future access to medical care.
These landmark cases exemplify why we do what we do. At Yarborough Applegate, we pride ourselves on securing top-dollar settlements and earning major verdicts for our clients no matter the industry: medical, trucking, construction, industrial, consumer safety. But the greatest legacy we can leave is to make tomorrow safer. When we’re able to mandate a company enact safer policies moving forward, the number of unknown lives we are hopefully able to save or protect in the future is endlessly rewarding.
LEADERSHIP THAT ENRICHES THE LEGAL PROFESSION
Yarborough Applegate’s attorneys continued to set the standard for leadership in the legal industry through speaking engagements, writing, and recognition. We’re dedicated to these opportunities because they deepen our individual legal practices and collectively elevate the profession for all.
From releasing South Carolina’s first-ever book on insurance bad faith to presenting the inaugural Dram Shop Justice Award and leading a dram shop training for law enforcement, we paved the way for industry advancement in 2022. We also presented before audiences of our peers on a range of topics, including catastrophic workplace injury, trucking cases, nursing home litigation, premises liability, and improving mental health in the legal workplace.
In April, six of our attorneys were recognized as South Carolina Super Lawyers, and we continued to draw on our first-hand trial experience in courtrooms as we penned thought leadership pieces in industry publications.
SUPPORTING VICTIMS, SUSTAINING COMMUNITY
Through our practice, we advocate for victims and build healthier, safer communities. But throughout the year, Yarborough Applegate is also proud to support many nonprofits and community-based organizations. We encourage you to consider giving back to these worthy causes this holiday season.
MADD South Carolina: Supports victims of drunk and drugged driving.
Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center: On a mission to prevent abuse, protect children, and heal families.
WakeUp Carolina: Extends resources and support to individuals and families facing addiction and substance abuse disorder at no cost to them.
Neighbors Together: Provides critical social services in the greater Charleston, South Carolina, area.
Quest in Recovery: Connects young adults to mentors and recovery allies to strengthen mental well-being.
Camp Happy Days: Offers local children with cancer cost-free access to programs and special events.
Share Our Suzy: Raises money and resources to assist and support breast cancer patients from diagnosis to remission.
Communities in Schools: Works to unlock the potential of South Carolina’s students.
Crisis Ministry Health Center: Extends aid to the unhoused.
Southern Environmental Law Center: Protects the basic right to clean air, clean water, and a livable climate.
One80 Place: Works to end and prevent homelessness.