Torts and Insurance Practice

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Turner Padget has built its foundation on serving the needs of state, regional, national and international insurance organizations. The firm’s Torts and Insurance Practice is one of its largest with a broad base of experience and capabilities.

Turner Padget prides itself on being one of only a few large firms left in the state that encourages their attorneys to develop through trial experience. The firm’s Torts and Insurance Practice affords our attorneys that opportunity.

One of our attorneys, Thom Salane, is a respected analyst for the insurance industry and has served as State Counsel for the American Insurance Association. He is recognized as a leading authority in insurance-related matters.

The firm’s areas of practice include:
First-Party Defense. Turner Padget’s work in this area involves coverage analysis, pre-suit investigations such as examinations under oath and litigation. The firm maintains a comprehensive archive of past coverage opinions from which to draw effective and efficient responses to our clients' questions.

We prosecute and defend declaratory judgment actions, defend bad faith claims and respond to administrative complaints.

Third-Party Defense. Turner Padget has extensive experience in defending third-party insurance claims across South Carolina, both in state and Federal courts. This includes:

Personal Lines Coverage. We defend individuals in a wide variety of claims, including automobile and homeowner liability claims. These claims range from the minimum impact variety to serious bodily injury and death claims.
Commercial Lines Coverage. We also handle a wide variety of commercial claims, including claims against motor carriers, products liability actions, construction litigation and premises liability suits (abuse of process, assault and battery, defamation, dram shop, false arrest, malicious prosecution and slip and falls).
Professional Liability Coverage: We defend physicians, nursing homes, accountants, directors and officers and others covered under professional liability policies.

Appellate Work. Many of the controlling appellate insurance and tort decisions in South Carolina carry the name of our attorneys as counsel. We have an active appellate practice in both state and federal court.

Attorneys focused on serving the Insurance and Torts practice include

Shareholders
Edward W. Laney, IV, Torts and Insurance Practice Leader, Columbia
David S. Cobb, Practice Leader, Charleston
William C. Barnes, Jr., Practice Leader, Florence

Wilson S. Sheldon, Practice Leader, Greenville

R. Heath Atkinson, Florence
R. Hawthorne Barrett, Columbia
John K. Blincow, Charleston
Patrick W. Carr, Charleston

Edward R. Cole, Myrtle Beach
Danny C. Crowe, Columbia
John E. Cuttino, Columbia
Eric K. Englebardt, Greenville
Charles E. Hill, Columbia
Richard L. Hinson, Florence
Michael S. Hopewell, Florence
Donnell G. Jennings, Columbia
J. René Josey, Florence
Arthur E. Justice, Florence

William E. Lawson, Myrtle Beach

Charles F. Moore, Columbia
Curtis L. Ott, Columbia

Jimmy C. Powell, Jr., Myrtle Beach
Thomas C. Salane, Columbia

M. Scott Taylor, Florence
Charles F. Turner, Greenville
John S. Wilkerson, III , Charleston
D. Andrew Williams, Columbia

Associates

Julian K. Allen, Charleston
Shannon F. Bobertz, Columbia

Anne R. Culbreath, Greenville
Christopher T. Dorsel, Charleston

D. Michael Freeman, Myrtle Beach
Mark B. Goddard, Columbia

Erika V. Harrison, Charleston

Andy E. Hendrick, Myrtle Beach
J. Douglas Hodge, Florence
Christopher H. Pearce, Myrtle Beach

Brandon A. Smith, Florence
G. Troy Thames, Charleston
Samuel C. Weldon, Greenville