Hall Booth Smith, P.C.

daddison@hallboothsmith.com

Partner

843.720.3485

Biography

Dan Addison is a partner in Hall Booth Smith’s Charleston office with three decades of experience in medical malpractice, dental, and workers’ compensation. Before joining Hall Booth Smith, Dan was Managing Partner of his own firm, the Addison Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina, which specialized in workers’ compensation litigation, subrogation, insurance coverage, and mediation. He also spent more than a decade at a large firm in Columbia that specialized in conflict prevention, conflict management, and conflict resolution.

Dan also represented doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals in medical malpractice cases. Dan’s passion for the intersection of law and medicine stems from his childhood in a medical household, where he was raised by a father who was a doctor and a mother who was a nurse. His knowledge of the complexities and pressures faced by medical professionals, insurers, and patients alike gives him a deep understanding of the complicated medical issues underlying most matters and helps inform his approach to finding favorable resolutions that meet each client’s unique needs.

Dan earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law and clerked for Thomas W. Cooper Jr. of the South Carolina Third Circuit Court. He also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Political Science from Clemson University.

Experience



Dental

Having grown up in a dentist’s household, Dan learned early about the challenges facing those in the field. His father was a dentist for four decades in Columbia, South Carolina, and was an officer of the South Carolina Dental Association. Dan worked for his father’s office throughout high school and college and absorbed a great deal of knowledge about patient care from his father during those years. Based on his three decades of courtroom experience and a lifetime of being surrounded by dentistry, Dan can provide a knowledge-based defense of dental practitioners in cases brought against them.



LeJeune Claims

Dan is no stranger to the life of a services member. Having grown up with a father that served in the Army Medical Corps and a brother who served for 30 years in the Air Force, service is part of his family fabric. Dan himself signed a contract to be a Naval Aviator, and he understands the sacrifices made by our service members.

Dan’s brother contracted a very rare form of cancer which was traced to exposures to Volatile Organic Compounds during service in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. Dan was successful in helping his brother and his brother’s dependents pursue a VA disability claim for his cancer. The involvement in this very personal case lead Dan to help other Veteran’s with similar claims, including other members of his brother’s unit in Desert Storm.

When the Camp LeJeune Justice Act was under consideration, one of Dan’s lifelong friend’s led the Governmental Affairs team that pushed the bill through congress. That friend often “ran the traps” with Dan on the matters with bill before congress. With this experience, and per the involvement with his brother’s case, along with his 30 years of handling toxic exposure cases, Dan determined to help veterans and their dependents in claims against the Camp LeJeune Justice Act.



Medical Malpractice

Dan has been litigating in the health care field for 30 years. He has represented a variety of health care entities, including hospitals, physician practice groups, physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and other licensed personnel in medical malpractice litigation. His experience also includes defending clients in claims of alleged negligent care and treatment, negligent misdiagnosis, and lack of consent from the pre-suit stage through resolution.



Workers' Compensation

Dan has three decades of experience litigating complex workers’ compensation cases. He defends corporations and other employers in claims involving alleged exposure to hazardous substances unique to the claimant’s workplace and represents clients in other high-risk occupational exposure claims.

Dan is widely recognized and respected for his authoritative knowledge of occupational disease and related matters, and he is often invited to speak on panels and address professional gatherings about emerging issues and other matters of importance around workers’ compensation law. He also counsels clients on health care workers’ compensation disputes and trucking workers’ compensation cases and handles subrogation cases to help strategically manage risk, including claims involving workers’ compensation issues.

One of Dan’s most notable successes was the precedent-setting Skinner v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation lawsuit, 394 S.C. 428, 716 S.E. 2d 443 (2011), in which the claimant sought compensation for asbestosis allegedly caused by exposure to asbestos and other chemicals when he was employed at a Westinghouse manufacturing plant. Skinner later left that job to take a higher paying position with the National Guard. The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded Skinner a lump sum of $119,000, and upon appeal, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that asbestosis and other pulmonary disease cases were not compensable under the scheduled loss provisions and were only compensable if the claimant’s wage loss was proven.

Credentials

Admitted

State Courts:

  • South Carolina

U.S. District Courts:

  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

Certification

  • South Carolina Supreme Court Certified Mediator

Education

  • J.D., University of South Carolina
  • B.A., Clemson University

Memberships

  • Charleston Bar Association
  • DRI
  • Richland County Bar Association
  • South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys
  • South Carolina Employers’ Advocacy Association
  • South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association

Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Workers' Compensation Law - Employers, Best Lawyers®, 2014-2024
  • Legal Elite, Charleston Business Magazine, 2021-2023
  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Presentations

Dan often speaks at conferences, educational seminars, and other professional gatherings about evolving issues pertaining to workers’ compensation law.

Publications

In the Press

55 Hall Booth Smith Lawyers Recognized as 2024 Best Lawyers® Award Recipients

We're pleased to announce that 55 lawyers have been included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Read More

Charleston Business Magazine Honors Twelve HBS Attorneys as 2023 Legal Elite

Hall Booth Smith is proud to announce twelve of its attorneys were selected to be among Charleston Business Magazine’s 2023 Legal Elite, the only regional awards program that allows every active attorney to nominate and vote for their peers across 26 categories. The selected attorneys are recognized in the August publications of Charleston Business Magazine,

Read More

Sea Change Court Ruling on Settlements of Workers’ Compensation Cases in South Carolina

Written by: Dan Addison, Esq. South Carolina recently had a sea change shift in settlements involving workers’ compensation claims, as well as the procedural nature of Mediations of any workers comp case. In a recent decision from the South Carolina Court of Appeals issued on August 3, 2022 — in which I represented the defendants

Read More

Hall Booth Smith Names Five New Partners

ATLANTA, GA – September 13, 2022 – Hall Booth Smith, P.C. has named 5 attorneys to Partner as the firm recognizes the dedication, hard work, and leadership of the senior attorneys. The attorneys who join the firm’s partnership as of September 1 are: Dan Addison, a Partner based in Charleston, South Carolina, who concentrates his

Read More

Dan Addison | Workers' Compensation Attorney | Charleston Dan Addison | Workers' Compensation Attorney | Charleston
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Dan Addison

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Dan Addison

Partner
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Biography

Dan Addison is a partner in Hall Booth Smith’s Charleston office with three decades of experience in medical malpractice, dental, and workers’ compensation. Before joining Hall Booth Smith, Dan was Managing Partner of his own firm, the Addison Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina, which specialized in workers’ compensation litigation, subrogation, insurance coverage, and mediation. He also spent more than a decade at a large firm in Columbia that specialized in conflict prevention, conflict management, and conflict resolution.

Dan also represented doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals in medical malpractice cases. Dan’s passion for the intersection of law and medicine stems from his childhood in a medical household, where he was raised by a father who was a doctor and a mother who was a nurse. His knowledge of the complexities and pressures faced by medical professionals, insurers, and patients alike gives him a deep understanding of the complicated medical issues underlying most matters and helps inform his approach to finding favorable resolutions that meet each client’s unique needs.

Dan earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law and clerked for Thomas W. Cooper Jr. of the South Carolina Third Circuit Court. He also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Political Science from Clemson University.

Experience

Dental

Having grown up in a dentist’s household, Dan learned early about the challenges facing those in the field. His father was a dentist for four decades in Columbia, South Carolina, and was an officer of the South Carolina Dental Association. Dan worked for his father’s office throughout high school and college and absorbed a great deal of knowledge about patient care from his father during those years. Based on his three decades of courtroom experience and a lifetime of being surrounded by dentistry, Dan can provide a knowledge-based defense of dental practitioners in cases brought against them.

LeJeune Claims

Dan is no stranger to the life of a services member. Having grown up with a father that served in the Army Medical Corps and a brother who served for 30 years in the Air Force, service is part of his family fabric. Dan himself signed a contract to be a Naval Aviator, and he understands the sacrifices made by our service members.

Dan’s brother contracted a very rare form of cancer which was traced to exposures to Volatile Organic Compounds during service in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. Dan was successful in helping his brother and his brother’s dependents pursue a VA disability claim for his cancer. The involvement in this very personal case lead Dan to help other Veteran’s with similar claims, including other members of his brother’s unit in Desert Storm.

When the Camp LeJeune Justice Act was under consideration, one of Dan’s lifelong friend’s led the Governmental Affairs team that pushed the bill through congress. That friend often “ran the traps” with Dan on the matters with bill before congress. With this experience, and per the involvement with his brother’s case, along with his 30 years of handling toxic exposure cases, Dan determined to help veterans and their dependents in claims against the Camp LeJeune Justice Act.

Medical Malpractice

Dan has been litigating in the health care field for 30 years. He has represented a variety of health care entities, including hospitals, physician practice groups, physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and other licensed personnel in medical malpractice litigation. His experience also includes defending clients in claims of alleged negligent care and treatment, negligent misdiagnosis, and lack of consent from the pre-suit stage through resolution.

Workers' Compensation

Dan has three decades of experience litigating complex workers’ compensation cases. He defends corporations and other employers in claims involving alleged exposure to hazardous substances unique to the claimant’s workplace and represents clients in other high-risk occupational exposure claims.

Dan is widely recognized and respected for his authoritative knowledge of occupational disease and related matters, and he is often invited to speak on panels and address professional gatherings about emerging issues and other matters of importance around workers’ compensation law. He also counsels clients on health care workers’ compensation disputes and trucking workers’ compensation cases and handles subrogation cases to help strategically manage risk, including claims involving workers’ compensation issues.

One of Dan’s most notable successes was the precedent-setting Skinner v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation lawsuit, 394 S.C. 428, 716 S.E. 2d 443 (2011), in which the claimant sought compensation for asbestosis allegedly caused by exposure to asbestos and other chemicals when he was employed at a Westinghouse manufacturing plant. Skinner later left that job to take a higher paying position with the National Guard. The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded Skinner a lump sum of $119,000, and upon appeal, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that asbestosis and other pulmonary disease cases were not compensable under the scheduled loss provisions and were only compensable if the claimant’s wage loss was proven.

Credentials

Admitted

State Courts:

  • South Carolina

U.S. District Courts:

  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

Certification

  • South Carolina Supreme Court Certified Mediator

Education

  • J.D., University of South Carolina
  • B.A., Clemson University

Memberships

  • Charleston Bar Association
  • DRI
  • Richland County Bar Association
  • South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys
  • South Carolina Employers’ Advocacy Association
  • South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association

Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers, Best Lawyers®, 2014-2024
  • Legal Elite, Charleston Business Magazine, 2021-2023
  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Presentations

Dan often speaks at conferences, educational seminars, and other professional gatherings about evolving issues pertaining to workers’ compensation law.

Publications

In the Press

55 Hall Booth Smith Lawyers Recognized as 2024 Best Lawyers® Award Recipients

We're pleased to announce that 55 lawyers have been included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Read More

Charleston Business Magazine Honors Twelve HBS Attorneys as 2023 Legal Elite

Hall Booth Smith is proud to announce twelve of its attorneys were selected to be among Charleston Business Magazine’s 2023 Legal Elite, the only regional awards program that allows every active attorney to nominate and vote for their peers across 26 categories. The selected attorneys are recognized in the August publications of Charleston Business Magazine,
Read More

Sea Change Court Ruling on Settlements of Workers’ Compensation Cases in South Carolina

Written by: Dan Addison, Esq. South Carolina recently had a sea change shift in settlements involving workers’ compensation claims, as well as the procedural nature of Mediations of any workers comp case. In a recent decision from the South Carolina Court of Appeals issued on August 3, 2022 — in which I represented the defendants
Read More

Hall Booth Smith Names Five New Partners

ATLANTA, GA – September 13, 2022 – Hall Booth Smith, P.C. has named 5 attorneys to Partner as the firm recognizes the dedication, hard work, and leadership of the senior attorneys. The attorneys who join the firm’s partnership as of September 1 are: Dan Addison, a Partner based in Charleston, South Carolina, who concentrates his
Read More