David Yarborough

David Yarborough

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David has collected jury verdicts and settlements totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for his catastrophically injured clients in cases involving bad faith against insurance companies; industrial plant injuries resulting in worker deaths, product liability from automobile rollovers and industrial machine injuries; toxic chemical spills by railroad companies; pool drownings; medical, dental and hospital malpractice; trucking and auto accidents; nursing home and daycare negligence; airborne bacteria exposure causing Legionnaires Disease; dram shop and alcohol liability negligence by bars and restaurants; and negligence by retail stores, energy companies, apartment complexes, hotels, and construction contractors for job-site, balcony collapse and premises injuries. David and the firm achieved one of the top 100 jury verdicts in the United States stemming from their $35.9 million verdict against PEPCO in Montgomery County, Maryland. Today, his practice focuses on representing people who have suffered catastrophic injuries or death.

Year after year, David has been named among the Top 10 Super Lawyers in Charleston and Top 25 in South Carolina. He is frequently invited to speak on topics ranging from proving traumatic brain injuries to dram shop law and alcohol liability to trial techniques. He was a principal author of books “South Carolina Dram Shop Litigation: A Practice Guide,” “Insurance Bad Faith: A Primer on South Carolina Law” and a contributing co-author of “South Carolina Damages, Second Edition,” all published by the South Carolina Bar.

He is a member of the Charleston Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the South Carolina Association of Justice, the American Association for Justice, the Charleston County Bar’s Mental Wellness Committee, Lawyers Helping Lawyers, and the Board of Regents of TriCounty Family Ministries. For the past twenty-five years David has been heavily involved in mentoring and counseling of people suffering from alcoholism and addiction who are seeking recovery. He places a large emphasis on giving back to the local community both by doing free legal work and through generous financial and service contributions to local charities each year. He and his wife, Jessica, are both Charleston natives and have four children.

Prior to founding Yarborough Applegate, David was a partner at another Charleston-based law firm where he was part of a national trial team defending products liability cases in trials across the United States. His experience handling national litigation and having represented both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts around the country provides him a varied perspective in discovery strategy, negotiations, and trial.

About David
Education

University of South Carolina School of Law

Memberships

American Board of Trial Advocates (Charleston chapter)

South Carolina Association of Justice

American Association for Justice

Charleston County Bar’s Mental Wellness Committee

Lawyers Helping Lawyers

Board of Regents of TriCounty Family Ministries

Recent Results
Settlement
$20 Million

Settlement for Worker Death at Concrete Plant

After a North Charleston man was killed when he fell approximately 60 feet from an elevator he was working on at Holcim cement plant in Holly Hill, South Carolina, Yarborough Applegate attorneys helped his estate settle wrongful death and negligence claims for $20 million.

Settlement
$10 Million

Default Caused by Insurance Company Leads to Settlement

Woman who sustained a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a vehicle in a pedestrian crosswalk settles for $10 million.

Settlement
$11.7 Million

Insurance Bad Faith Settlement

After a motor vehicle collision left her with catastrophic injuries, a woman settled with State Farm for $11.7 million—after the insurer initially refused to tender its liability limits of $95,000.

Verdict
$3.1 Million

Dram Shop Jury Verdict

A 24-year-old man was seriously injured when an underage drunk driver crashed head-on into his car in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Settlement
$6 Million

Settlement for Injured Railroad Worker

After a railroad carman suffered on-the-job injuries including multiple orthopedic and nerve injuries, ocular trauma, and a concussion we secured this pre-suit settlement.

Settlement
$7 Million

Premises Liability and TBI

This confidential pre-suit settlement was reached on behalf of a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall at a premise due to faulty construction.

Settlement
$6.95 Million

Negligent Entrustment

Following a car crash that left a mother and son with traumatic brain injuries, we secured this settlement with at-fault driver and his employer.

Settlement
$6.5 Million

Product Liability: Tire Defect

An international tire manufacturer agreed to this settlement with our clients, a husband and wife who suffered permanent injuries in a single-vehicle crash.

Settlement
$18.25 Million

Construction Defect Settlement

We worked as lead co-counsel to recover $18,249,000 for construction deficiencies involving a downtown Charleston condominium complex. The alleged deficiencies involved water intrusion and various other issues with the building's envelope and structural integrity.

Verdict
$35.9 Million

Verdict for Paralyzed Worker

This verdict was achieved after a two week trial for a 28-year-old construction worker who was paralyzed from the neck down after he was electrocuted and fell eight feet from scaffolding. The power company and its insurers refused to offer anything close to fair compensation to cover this young man's basic needs.

Settlement
$3.75 Million

Tractor Trailer and Distracted Driving

A tractor trailer truck struck a couple's vehicle as they slowed to turn into their driveway. The truck driver was talking on his phone at the time of the crash.

Verdict
$3 Million

Vehicle Injury at Power Plant Verdict

Following a week-long trial, a jury unanimously decided in favor of our client, awarding him $3 million for serious injuries he suffered after a car crushed his foot.

Settlement
$3.1 Million

Construction Site Brain Damage

A construction worker was working on a condominium complex when a roofing truss crashed down onto his head, leaving him with a brain injury

Settlement
$3 Million

Wrongful Death of Cyclist

A construction worker was riding his bicycle home from work when he was struck and instantly killed by a drunk driver.

Settlement
$2.2 Million

Settlement in Suit Over Baby's Botched Delivery

Yarborough Applegate negotiated a $2.2 million settlement for a young woman whose baby was born with brain damage and later died. The doctor at the center of the case lied during her deposition, claiming she waited to deliver the baby by C-section because the 19-year-old mother withdrew her consent to have the operation.

Practices
Recognition and Community Involvement
Yarborough Applegate Earned 7 of SC’s Top Verdicts and Settlements in 2021, Including Top Spot

Each spring, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly publishes a list of the top verdicts and settlements in the previous year. For the second year in a row, one of our cases claimed the top spot on the list.

Yarborough Applegate Claims 5 of SC’s Largest Verdicts and Settlements in 2020, Including Top Spot

Yarborough Applegate has once again claimed a number of South Carolina’s highest-dollar verdicts and settlements for the year, including the top spot for an $8 million settlement over an insurance bad faith claim.

David Yarborough Voted into American Board of Trial Advocates

David Yarborough was voted into the Charleston chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) on Saturday, June 20, 2020 by the ABOTA National Board, making him one of a select group of members in the state of South Carolina.

David Yarborough Interviewed about Dram Shop Litigation and Trial Strategy in the Latest Episode of The Sidebar

Our co-founding partner, David Yarborough, was interviewed by Mark Bringardner of Joye Law Firm on his podcast, The Sidebar, this month, where he shared his experience on dram shop litigation and trial strategy, as well as offered invaluable advice on how to develop skills as a trial lawyer.

sc lawyers weekly
Yarborough Applegate Recognized for Obtaining 8 of the Top 25 Largest Recoveries Reported By SC Lawyers Weekly Last Year

Each year, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly releases a list of the top recoveries in the state reported in its newspaper.  In 2018, Yarborough Applegate earned 8 of 25 cases on the list. The cases involved several automobile collision and dram shop cases, a negligent entrustment case, a backpay recovery and wrongful termination case and a […]

Yarborough Applegate Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers

Five of our seven attorneys have been named as 2020 Super Lawyers Honorees or Rising Star Honorees, and our founding partner, David Yarborough, has been selected to the Top 10 in Charleston and Top 25 in South Carolina.

Yarborough Applegate Achieved 8 of The Top 18 SC Settlements in 2016

Every year, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly compiles a list of the top million-dollar settlements in the state reported in its newspaper. Since 2011, Yarborough Applegate has appeared on this list every year, always securing at least 3 spots. In 2016, Yarborough Applegate earned 8 of the 18 spots on the list totaling $18.15 million in […]

Yarborough Applegate Verdict One of the Top 100 Verdicts of 2014

Yarborough Applegate’s $35,940,545 verdict against Pepco in Montgomery Co., Maryland Circuit Court for their client Hugo Hernandez is one of the Top 100 Verdicts of 2014, according to VerdictSearch, the leading provider of verdict and settlement research. The Hernandez verdict is ranked 58 on the VerdictSearch’s Top 100 list. The $35,940,545 verdict against Pepco in Montgomery Co., […]

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