Charles Hinnant | Anderson Personal Injury Lawyer

• American Bar Association, Litigation Section Member
  1999 - Present
• American Bar Association, Health Law Section Member
  1997 - Present
• American College of Legal Medicine | Fellow, General Counsel and Past President
• South Carolina Bar, Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee Member
  2003 - 2003
• South Carolina Bar, Continuing Education Committee Member
  2003 - 2003
• Member, Bar of the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Member, Bar of the United Stataes Supreme Court
• Membership Committee Chair, The World Association for Medical Law

• CALI Award in Advanced Legal Research Georgia State University College of Law
  2000
• Finalist Moot Court Competition Georgia State College of Law
  1998

Three come to mind. I was retained by an elderly lady who had developed pelvic osteomyelitis as a result of a bedsore contracted when she was an inpatient at a rehabilitation hospital. We litigated this case and had to retain a different expert initially when the initial expert from Atlanta could not opine liability. I subsequently obtained a nurse expert and physician expert from Boston and Los Angeles, respectively. We went through almost two years of discovery and eventually settled the case for multiple six figures. Unfortunately the Client died after settling the case and before her check arrived. We did the probate work and were able to provide a comfortable home for her children that took care of her for over three years prior to her death. A second involved a rare disease, neuromyelitis opticans (Devic's Disease), in a young woman. She had mistakenly been treated for MS for almost 7 years and never improved. She was sent to another neurologist and received the proper treatment very quickly regaining her ability to walk. Based on my medical training, I had an advantage over the Defendant Neurologist. We also settled that matter for in excess of six figures and allowed that Client and her family to pay off their home. Criminal matters involve potential loss of personal freedom and sometime even the pain of obvious criminal liability can be eased. One client was indicted on felony DUI charges when he struck a couple on a motorcycle and killed both of them. Further, he left the scene, but was quickly apprehended. Despite being in his late 20's he faced the potential for life in prison. The evidence was overwhelming and the prosecutor would make no plea recommendation that would have amounted to less than 25 years in prison. We were able to show that the decedents had significant levels of methamphetamine in their blood. I ended up entering a plea by agreement before a judge of my choice with our additional evidence and achieved a sentence of less than 15 years with credit for time served.

By being responsive to Clients and really caring. In the context of the injured, its important to let them know that you feel their pain and understand that money is tight when you are unable to work. Criminal clients face the potential loss of liberty and vigorously defending their interest is important, even when they realize they made a mistake. You never judge and you always keep the Client's best interests at heart.

Someone who has a thorough knowledge base and will honestly answer their questions, point out realistic expectations, stand by then every step of the way and then hopefully achieve a meaningful positive result.

Local knowledge is important. I have been doing this long enough that I practiced law with most of the judges before they left for the bench and the personal relationship can sometimes be to the Client's benefit. The same applies to having worked for years with prosecutors. They know you will not lie to them and that if you espouse an opinion, you have evidence to support it. This facilitates a more reasonable appraisal of the case from their standpoint. On the civil side, just knowing the major roadways, knowing if there were major traffic engineering changes in an area and having ongoing relationships with adjusters and investigators can add value to an auto accident case. Relationships with treating healthcare providers can also benefit a Client.

Mostly just a lay of the land as to potential liability and various routes of recovery. We can generally provide a reasonable expectation as to costs and what the timeline on a case may be. We can also usually identify potential experts, if needed, fairly early on, in some cases actually being able to discuss the matter with them before a Client actually comes to the office for a face-to-face meeting.

Just a name, phone number and email address. We can actually answer questions through the practice's website at www.doctorlawyers.com

Chiefly that I have an MD degree. In the case of injury cases, wrongful death and medical malpractice cases, I generally have an in-depth knowledge of the medical aspects of their case from the outset. This allows me to focus on the liability and monetary recovery as opposed to having to read and catch up on the anatomy and physiology of what their injuries may be.

Building relationships with our Clients and their families and seeing them recover from a financial or medical setback. If you have an ongoing attorney-client relationship, you become a part of their family and they a part of yours.

I enjoy traveling, college football, great music and theatre, cooking, hunting, fishing and gardening. Its also a pleasure to meet and enjoy relationships with new friends.

I am actively involved with my local church and am a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. I sponsor needy kids to attend a local circus annually and contribute to several of our local school sports programs. I am a former President of the American College of Legal Medicine and presently serve as membership chair for the World Association of Medical Law and also actively counsel attorneys and physicians with substance abuse problems.