Find Lawyers in Tennessee, United States for Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
Practice Area Overview
It is important for a defendant not to ignore the deadline to answer the complaint, because doing so can lead a court to decide in favor of the plaintiff and award money damages. Many times, a defendant will have insurance that covers any allegations being made in a complaint. For example, if you are being sued for an auto accident, you probably have car insurance. If someone was injured on your property, you probably have homeowner’s insurance. If you believe you have insurance for the claims being made against you, immediately contact your insurance agent to report the claim and to provide information about the complaint. Failing to do this could result in an insurance company refusing to pay for any money damages awarded in the lawsuit. If you do not have insurance for the claims being made against you, it is important to contact an attorney so that they can protect your interests in court.
When you are a defendant in a civil lawsuit (a matter not involving a crime) you need to consult with a civil defense attorney who specializes in litigation (i.e., matters pending in court). Civil defense attorneys tend to specialize in a specific area. Some examples include: auto claims, homeowner claims, business/contract claims, property disputes, etc. Before hiring a lawyer, you should determine if a particular lawyer has experience in the subject matter relevant to the complaint. If you have insurance that covers a specific claim, your insurance company will typically hire and pay the lawyer for you.
Beecher A. Bartlett, Jr. is a highly effective trial lawyer with over 30 years of experience. He focuses his practice in the areas of Litigation, Insurance, Personal Injury and Labor and Employment. He strives to create reasonable expectations for his clients in the resolution of their legal matters, which ultimately helps minimize the stress and anxiety that many clients experience. Mr. Bartlett is committed to providing and honest assessment of each matter by engaging in early dispute inter...
William L. Bomar concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, health care, medical malpractice, construction litigation and insurance litigation. Speaking Engagements with Publications -Tennessee Construction Law: What Do You Do When, 1997, 1998 -Advanced Construction Law, 1996 -Advanced Issues in Tennessee Medical Malpractice, 1994, 1999, 2004 -Nursing Law in Tennessee, 2001, 2005 -Medical Malpractice in Tennessee, 1997, 2002 -Nursing Home Malpractice, 2002 -Nursing Home ...
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Mr. Brown has practiced with the firm since 2002 and has been a Equity Member of the firm since 2008. He concentrates his practice in the areas of workers' compensation and general liability defense, primarily premises and auto liability. He also has a background in defense of governmental entities, having formerly served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Lee J. Chase, III, concentrates his practice in the areas of tort, health, and construction law with an emphasis on litigation, concerning personal injuries, medical malpractice, commercial disputes, and construction contracting, including construction contract negotiation and dispute resolution. Speaking Engagements: The Law – Big News in Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury, Understanding what you need to know about what the Courts have decreedMemphis Bar Association Annual Litigat...
C. Douglas Dooley is a litigation attorney with over 25 years of experience handling workers’ compensation, trucking accidents, personal injury law, insurance coverage disputes, premises liability, food-borne illness cases, dram shop liability, and complex litigation. Doug is regularly invited to lecture on workers’ compensation, premises liability, and tort liability to risk managers, human resource administrators, and insurance claims professionals across the country. Doug has b...
Alan Easterly is an Equity Member of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC. He practices out of the firm's Chattanooga, Tennessee office. His practice concentrates on transportation, product liability (including food liability), complex/ mass torts, insurance, premises liability, auto liability, construction, and general negligence matters. He has managed, tried, or otherwise successfully defended numerous significant product liability, transportation, toxic tort, and complex tort c...
Mr. Godbold is Of Counsel with the firm and represents pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and a leading clinical laboratory. He has successfully defended malpractice cases for various professional disciplines including physicians, attorneys, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and accountants. Mr. Godbold has experience in litigating product liability cases of all types including significant complex matters involving construction equipment, electrical transformers, chemical pr...
Thomas practices out of the firm’s Chattanooga office and assists and represents individuals, businesses, and insurance companies in a variety of civil matters. He has been with the firm for many years and has been a member since 2009. Thomas attended the University of Georgia and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993. He then earned his Juris Doctorate from the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in 1997. While in law school, Thomas was named to the Dean’s L...
Steve’s 39 years handling asbestos, products liability, trucking and automobile, and premises liability litigation provide him the background to effectively represent clients in virtually all types of personal injury, property damage, insurance, and products liability cases. For more than 35 years he has defended equipment manufacturers and insulation contractors in hundreds of asbestos personal injury lawsuits in Tennessee, as well as serving for 20 years as national counsel for a regi...
John T. (Tom) Johnson, Jr., is a highly skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable civil trial lawyer who has over 48 years of jury trial experience. He is passionate about providing ethical, efficient, and effective representation for his clients in his practice areas of General Litigation, Insurance Defense, Insurance Coverage and Arson and Fire Claims. While every case presents different scenarios and challenges, Mr. Johnson focuses diligently on each case and the clients he represents, and h...
David King is a shareholder in the Health Care Litigation and Disputes group in Nashville and also serves as the Managed Care and Payor Disputes practice leader. Leveraging over 35 years of health care litigation experience, David leads a national practice representing many of the country’s renowned health care providers in all types of commercial payor disputes, payor strategy and managed care contracting. David has a deep understanding of the very complicated and constantly evolving m...
Al is a trial lawyer and adviser to Spicer Rudstrom’s business and insurance clients who focuses on civil litigation. As someone who has always enjoyed a challenge, pursuing a legal career, where he is able to find solutions to the issues facing his clients, seemed to be a perfect fit. He is most passionate about providing top-quality legal services and obtaining the best possible results for his clients. Al obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Virgini...
Mr. Napolitan is an AV-rated trial attorney with 50+ years of experience. He specializes in catastrophic claims involving the trucking industry, product manufacturers, premises owners, and workers’ compensation defense. His career trial results are recognized by election into the American Board of Trial Advocates and Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. He was the President of the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association (2000). He is also counsel for Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Un...
Mr. Nicoson’s practice focuses primarily on products liability, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury defense (premises/auto/trucking), defense of governmental entities and governmental immunity claims, toxic tort, and medical negligence. He actively practices before state and federal courts and has tried over a dozen matters and arbitration proceedings to verdict, including multiple jury trials. He is also an experienced appellate practitio...
Mr. Noblit has spent his entire professional career with the firm beginning in 1979; and becoming a member in 1985. He has concentrated his practice in assisting clients who are forced into litigation to resolve a wide spectrum of legal disputes. Clients have included many of the nations largest corporations both by direct assignment and through insurance defense referral. He has served as lead counsel in state and federal Courts in Tennessee and Georgia and over the course of the first thirt...
Mr. Noel is an Equity Member of the firm and located in our Nashville office. The greater part of Mr. Noel's practice hours is spent in the representation of management in Employment Law litigation and related matters, pre-litigation corporate counseling, and the creation of human resource tools. He has handled all aspects of litigation in matters involving Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, ERISA, FMLA, common law employment actions, workers’ compensation, workers’ compensation retaliat...
Darrick O’Dell is a seasoned, AV-rated litigation attorney. He has practiced for over 15 years and has extensive jury trial and courtroom experience. He represents insurance companies and their insureds, as well as self-insured companies, in serious litigation involving premises liability, retail and hospitality defense, construction damage, insurance coverage, employment practices liability, and other complex litigation including sexual assault and wrongful death claims. Darrick began ...
Mr. Overstreet is an Equity Member located in our Memphis office concentrating his practice in general civil litigation and insurance defense. He has experience in a wide spectrum of cases involving trial and appellate practice in both Tennessee State and Federal Courts. Mr. Overstreet is also licensed in Mississippi. REPRESENTATIVE CLIENT WORK Represent Insurance Companies in coverage analysis and declaratory judgment actions regarding coverage disputes Represent Insureds Business Owners in ...
Edd is an Of Counsel attorney with Spicer Rudstrom in the Memphis office. He focuses on litigation throughout Tennessee and Mississippi. Edd primarily practices in the areas of employment law, healthcare liability, insurance defense litigation, and products liability. He is also a Tennessee Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He received all league honors three years as a tight end on t...
Rick Powers graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1975 and was Order of the Coif. He has more than 40 years of general civil trial practice experience with more than 350 jury trials. His practice areas now primarily include health care liability for hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians; insurance defense in trucking, automobile, and homeowners’ cases; and other commercial litigation. Over the last five years, Mr. Powers has successfully tried five ...
John Quinn's practice is in the defense of all aspects of civil litigation, including commercial, professional negligence, personal injury, products liability, employment and insurance litigation. He has extensive trial experience and has conducted more than 50 trials in both state and federal courts, as well as arbitrations in Tennessee and Europe. John earned his J.D. at Vanderbilt University Law School. He holds a B.A. in political science and a B.A. in history from Southern Methodist Univ...
Rob is an experienced trial lawyer in the firm’s Chattanooga office. Rob’s practice areas include tort liability defense to include catastrophic injury cases, trucking and transportation, construction defect litigation, workers’ compensation and automobile liability. A natural problem solver, he enjoys formulating creative trial strategies and solutions for handling claims and lawsuits across industries.Rob has received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the hi...
Bill Vines was admitted to the courts of the State of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Eastern District in 1966. He is admitted to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and in 1972 was admitted to the United States Supreme Court. He is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 listed mediator both in state and federal co...
Clint J. Woodfin is the Managing Partner of Spicer Rudstrom and the Managing Member of the firm’s Knoxville office, a Member of the firm’s Board of Directors and the Chair of the firm’s Trucking and Transportation practice. He graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1990 and the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1993. He is a member of the Hamilton Burnett Inns of Court and has obtained an AV-Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubb...
Brian Yoakum's practice includes a wide range of complex commercial litigation in the areas of general and business law, premises liability defense, mass tort defense, contract and transactional disputes and business divorces among owners of all types of business entities. Mr. Yoakum regularly represents property owners and businesses such as restaurants, retail stores, and apartment communities in defense of lawsuits brought pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing Act, ...
Chancey Miller is a shareholder in the Chattanooga (TN) office. He defends individuals and businesses in all kinds of civil litigation throughout Tennessee. His practice primarily includes defense of commercial and construction disputes, personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims. Chancey is a proven litigator with success in the courtroom. On behalf of his clients, he has obtained complete dismissals on summary judgment in personal injury lawsuits involving significant d...
Maddin Nelson brings her wide-ranging experience representing clients to provide expertise in an array of litigation and transactional matters. Her varied background allows her to assess and manage potential areas of exposure while providing practical advice to her clients so they can navigate a legal landscape. She concentrates her practice on business law, employment, estate planning, probate, and commercial litigation. Nelson, a Nashville native, handles a broad area of commercial practice...
Kate Patton is an Equity Member in the Nashville office whose practice focuses on the area of insurance defense, specializing in workers’ compensation claims. Throughout her practice, Kate has assisted in the litigation of hundreds of Workers’ Compensation claims from their inception through trial and appellate levels. She is a member of the ALFAI Workers’ Compensation Practice Group and ALFAI Future Leaders. Kate earned her law degree from Salmon P. Chase College of Law, No...
Michael J. Petherick is a shareholder in Carr Allison’s Chattanooga (TN) office. Michael’s practice concentrates on transportation, professional liability and other complex litigation. Michael has successfully defended commercial motor carriers throughout the State of Tennessee in both pre-suit and litigated matters. In addition to his transportation practice, Michael has experience defending clients in commercial, construction, products liability and professional liability litiga...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.