At Stone Law Group, the firm’s trial-tested lawyers are known for delivering results, and with good reason: in addition to recovering more than $1.2 billion for its personal injury and business and consumer fraud clients, the firm has achieved the sort of precedent-setting results that set it apart from other plaintiffs’ firms.
In 2011, for example, the firm achieved the largest wrongful death verdict in Georgia—a $40.1 million award against a trucking company over a tractor-trailer accident that killed two people and injured a third. In 2008, the firm helped obtain a record $250 million fraud settlement against the pharmaceutical company Merck for concealing the actual price of the drug Pepcid from the government.
This year, the firm continues its tradition of newsworthy results, with a $45.8 million medical malpractice verdict for a woman, Shannon Trabue, who just days after giving birth suffered a hypertension-related heart a attack that le her permanently brain damaged.
“The facts of this case resonated with the jury because Shannon’s cardiac arrest could easily have been prevented,” notes William Stone, who served as lead counsel in the case. “Pregnancy-induced hypertension is a common complication seen in pregnancy, and any doctor working in obstetrics should know how to manage it.”
The jury’s award consisted of $9.8 million in economic damages and $18 million in compensatory damages for Trabue, as well as $18 million for her husband, Keith, due to their loss of marital relationship—an amount that set a record as the largest loss of consortium award in Georgia’s history.
“We had focus grouped this case 12 times before trying it, so I wasn’t surprised by the verdict,” says Stone. “Our promise to our clients is that we will aggressively pursue their case, preparing it for trial from day one, and I think that approach certainly helped influence the result here.”
Joining Stone in trying the Trabue case were his sons Ryals and James, who represent the fifth generation of Stone attorneys to work at the firm and its predecessors. In fact, the firm was initially founded by Stone’s grandfather in 1915; and with 2017 marking what will be Stone’s 40th year of practice, Stone Law Group only continues to grow: Ryals recently opened an office in Rome, Georgia, and in January Michael Regas II joined the firm as a partner, bringing significant trial experience in medical malpractice.
Like Stone, Regas is AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell® and has long been included in Super Lawyers. In addition, Stone has been listed for many years in e Best Lawyers in America and was named as its 2013 Lawyer of the Year for plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation in Atlanta. Stone, a past president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, also remains active in the legal community, including as a member of the American Association for Justice.
“Ultimately, our success stems from the fact that we are ethically driven and hold high standards of excellence,” notes Stone. “We take great pride in our ability to serve the community by working to eliminate negligence, corruption, and fraud.”