William S. Stone
Top rated Personal Injury attorney in Atlanta, Georgia
Stone Law Group Trial Lawyers, LLC
Practice areas: Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Products Liability; view more
Licensed in Georgia since: 1977
Education: University of Georgia School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2004 - 2026 Call today:
404-947-4994
Stone Law Group Trial Lawyers, LLC
5229 Roswell Rd NEAtlanta, GA 30342 Visit website
William 'Bill' Sims Stone is a founding member of the law firm Stone Law Group Trial Lawyers, LLC, located in Atlanta, Georgia. With more than four decades of experience in the field of law, he focuses his practice on personal injury, representing clients with matters involving birth injuries, medical negligence, automobile accidents, wrongful death and catastrophic injury.
Mr. Stone understands the difficulties faced by persons who suffer injuries as a result of another party's thoughtless and irresponsible behavior and is sympathetic to the needs and best interests of his clients. From the start of the case until its conclusion, he acts as a fervent and aggressive fighter for their rights and liberties.
With a major in accounting, Mr. Stone has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia. He earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1977 from the University of Georgia School of Law. Additionally, he studied at the Netherlands Institute of Industrial Economics in the Netherlands.
Mr. Stone is an active member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, the State Bar of Georgia and its Advertising Regulation Committee, the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission, the Alabama State Bar and the Southwest Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. Giving back to his society, he is enthusiastically associated with the Blakely Rotary Club and the First United Methodist Church of Blakely.
Licensed to practice in Georgia and Alabama, Mr. Stone is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th and 11th Circuits, and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Honored for his impeccable work in the field of law, Mr. Stone has received the highest rating through Martindale-Hubbell, the AV Preeminent* peer-review rating, and has received the Traditions of Excellence Award (Plaintiff’s Practice) from the State Bar of Georgia’s General Practice and Trial Section.
*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff, Aviation and Aerospace, Insurance CoverageFocus areas
Aviation Accidents - Plaintiff, Bad Faith Insurance, Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 30% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 30% Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
- 20% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
- 10% Aviation and Aerospace
- 10% Insurance Coverage
First Admitted: 1977, Georgia
Professional Webpage: https://stonelaw.com/william-sims-stone/
Bar / Professional Activity
- Member, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
- Southwest Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Member
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
- Member, Pataula Circuit Bar Association, President, 1984-85; Secretary, 1983-84; Treasurer, 1982-83
- Member, State Bar of Georgia, General Practice and Trial Section; Advertising Regulation Committee
- Member, Court of Appeals of Georgia
- Member, Supreme Court of Georgia
- Member, Supreme Court of Alabama
- Member, U. S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
- Member, U. S. Courts of Appeals: Fourth Circuit, 1998 - present; Fifth Circuit, 1981 - present; Eleventh Circuit, 1981 - present
- Member, U. S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
- Board of Governors, American Association for Justice (AAJ), The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
- AAJ Board of Governors
- Member, Bar of the U. S. Court of Federal Claims, 2002 to present
- Member, AAJ Leaders Forum
- Member, AAJ President’s Club
- Member and Director, Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG)
- Member, American Trial Lawyers Association
- State Bar of Georgia, 1977
- Member, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, The American Association for Justice
- Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission (recommends candidates to the Governor for appointment to vacant judgeships in Georgia)
- Member, U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
- Member, U. S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
- Life Member and Past President, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- The Alabama State Bar, 1985
- Member, The Middle District of Alabama
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Mr. Stone was lead counsel in the trial of a wrongful death case of an 18 year old college student. The young man was killed in a head on collision on a divided highway. The Georgia State Troopers did not use appropriate accident reconstruction methodology and got the reconstruction backwards. This was in part due to their failure to consider the rotational movements of the two vehicles involved in the initial collision, or the rotational movement imparted to the offending vehicle when it was struck in the left rear side by a tractor trailer truck in other lane. After deposing the three state troopers, Mr. Stone successfully persuaded the court to exclude their accident reconstruction and causation testimony. Using correct accident reconstruction methods and an electronics and computer signal analyst, Mr. Stone and his team were above to prove conclusively that the young man's vehicle was travelling in the correct lane and direction, and the offending driver was severely intoxicated. The jury awarded $ 26,160,000 as damages for the full value of the young man's life. The case was successfully and satisfactorily settled with his family's Florida uninsured motorist carrier within six months after a Florida statutory bad faith claim denial lawsuit was filed against the insurer, 2021
- Mr. Stone was co-counsel in a medical malpractice birth injury case that settled in mediation for a confidential amount. Before the mother’s labor was induced with Pitocin the obstetrician and hospital’s labor and delivery nurses did not check the size of the mother’s pelvis to assure the baby’s head could pass through during vaginal delivery. The baby’s head was stuck during delivery in the mother’s pelvis and had to be removed by emergency C-section and vacuum suction device. During the procedure, the baby sustained a skull fracture and brain injury. The family was quite satisfied with the settlement, and with the consultants, Mr. Stone employed to set up a trust to manage it to optimize the child’s care for the remainder of her life. Leanne Usry et al on behalf of Ava Usry, a Minor, et al v. Doctors Hospital of Augusts, LLC, et al, CA No. 16-EV-000014, in the State Court of Fulton County, Georgia, 2018
- Mr. Stone was lead counsel in a wrongful death case arising out of the crash of a UPS Freighter, an Airbus 300 aircraft, because of a defect in the enhanced ground proximity system (EGPS). The EGPS was supposed to sound an alarm if the aircraft’s landing descent placed it in danger of colliding with the ground or objects close to it during an instrument landing. Because of a computer programming defect, the device failed to sound the alarm until after the aircraft had contacted trees on final approach. The case was settled to the pilot’s widow’s satisfaction at mediation for a confidential amount. Darla Beal, administrator v. Honeywell International, Inc., dba Honeywell Aerospace, CA No. 2:15-cv-02257-VEH, U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, 2018
- Mr. Stone and his team obtained a verdict and judgment for $45,822.777.20 for a catastrophically brain-injured woman and her husband in a medical malpractice action. Three days after her child was delivered by C-section delivery the lady suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest and was oxygen-deprived for approximately 12 minutes. The obstetricians breached the medical standard of care by failing to establish and maintain control of the mother’s wildly fluctuating blood pressure and her rapidly increasing fluid volume. The verdict for the wife was $27,822.777.20 for economic losses and general damages. The verdict for the husband for the destruction of his marital relationship was $18,000,000.00. These verdicts were at the time the largest verdicts in Georgia history for a malpractice case and a loss of marital society and companionship claim. Keith Trabue, et al v. Atlanta Women’s Services, LLC et al, CA No.14-EV-001821Y, in the State Court of Fulton County, Georgia. The judgment was affirmed on appeal. Trabue, et al v. Atlanta Women's Specialists, LLC, 349 Ga. App. 223, 825 S.E.2d 586 (Ga. App. 2019). The opinion is a very important decision construing and applying Georgia’s apportionment of fault statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, 2017
- Mr. Stone successfully negotiated a very substantial confidential settlement of a wrongful death action arising out of a corporate aircraft crash with multiple defendants. Davidson v. Georgia Power Company et al, CA No. 15EV000304A, in the State Court of Fulton County, Georgia, 2016
- After a four-week trial on the liability phase of a trifurcated trial, Mr. Stone and his team successfully settled a Georgia RICO personal injury case against an insurance company in the boiler inspection business for an electrician worker who suffered third and fourth-degree burns over 68% of his body and lived after a wood bark fired boiler exploded and sprayed the area where the plaintiff was working with fire. The amount of the settlement is confidential, but the defendant met Mr. Stone’s team’s very substantial demand. In addition, Mr. Stone negotiated the complete discharge of the plaintiff's employer's multi-million dollar worker’s compensation subrogation lien against the plaintiff's recovery. Tracey Armstrong Evans, guardian of Klay Armstrong, v. The Hartford Steam Boiler & Insurance Company, CA No. 2008-062, in the Superior Court of Early County, Georgia, 2014
- Mr. Stone led his team to a verdict in an interstate trucking wrongful death case of $54,186,315.32, including attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, and prejudgment interest. At the time it was the largest wrongful death verdict, the largest bystander’s emotional distress verdict, and the largest fee-shifting award in a personal injury case in Georgia history. Theresa K. Foster, et al v. Landstar Ranger, Inc., et al, CA No. 09-A-1698-2 in the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia, 2011
Pro bono / Community Service
- Past President, The Blakely Rotary Club
- Member, AAJ President's Club
- Member, First United Methodist Church of Blakely, Blakely, GA
Honors
- Selected by the National Trial Lawyers Association to Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers Association, 2022
- In 2017 awarded the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Guardian of Justice Award for lifetime service in protecting the civil justice system and the right of trial by jury, Guardian of Justice Award, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2017
- In 2017 selected as Courtroom Video Network’s Georgia Plaintiff’s Lawyer of the Year, Plaintiff’s Lawyer of the Year, Courtroom Video Network, 2017
- Named to Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia by America’s Top 100 Attorneys®, Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia, America’s Top 100 Attorneys®
- In 2016 awarded the Georgia State Bar General Practice and Trial Section’s Traditions of Excellence Award in Plaintiff’s Trial Practice, Traditions of Excellence Award, Georgia State Bar, 2016
- Inaugural inductee into American Law and Media’s Georgia Verdicts Hall of Fame in 2014 for his record setting $40.2 million verdict for a single wrongful death and with an additional $14 million award of attorney’s fees in Foster v. Landstar Ranger, Inc. et al. , American Law and Media’s Georgia Verdicts Hall of Fame, American Law and Media, 2014
- In 2013 selected as Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year, Personal Injury Law, Atlanta Market Tier 1, Plaintiffs' Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers®, 2013
- Named to Best Lawyers in America by U. S. News & World Report, Best Lawyers in America, U. S. News & World Report, 2012
- Named to Best Lawyers in Georgia by U. S. News & World Report, Best Lawyers in Georgia, U. S. News & World Report, 2012
- Martindale Hubbell Client Distinction Award for excellence in quality of service, overall value, responsiveness, and communication ability, Martindale Hubbell, Martindale Hubbell Client Distinction Award, Martindale Hubbell
- 2007 Selected by The American Trial Lawyers Association to Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2007 Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The American Trial Lawyers Association, now known as the National Trial Lawyers Association, 2007
- Named to Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia by National Trial Lawyers Association, Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia, National Trial Lawyers Association, 2007
- Named to Georgia Super Lawyers 2003 to present by Thomson-Reuters, Super Lawyers, Georgia Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Thompson/Reuters Super Lawyers, 2004
- Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent rated 2002 to present for legal ability and integrity, Martindale Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ rated, Martindale Hubbell, 2002
Educational Background
- Netherlands Institute of Industrial Economics, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1973
- University of Georgia Terry College of Business Administration, B.B.A., Accounting, 1975
- Early County High School, 1971
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Georgia's new rules for recovery of damages for emotional distress., Author, Emotional Distress - The Impact Rule - Adding Injury to Insult, The Verdict, 1990
- Persuasive use of technology in the courtroom, Author, Presenting Your Case: High Tech for High Stakes, The Verdict, 1997
- What works, and what doesn't work with juries, Author, Thoughts on Jury Trials, The Verdict, 1996
- Jury instructions that help achieve adequate wrongful death verdicts, Author, Charging the Jury in a Wrongful Death Case: Have You Given Them a Proper Yardstick to Measure the Full Value of a Human Life?, 1993
- Changes in the Georgia Judicial Branch, Author, An Overview of the Proposed Judicial Article, The Verdict, 1981
- How and when to assert a civil RICO claim, Author, Civil RICO Can be a Powerful Weapon in the Trial Lawyer's Arsenal, The Verdict, 1988
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2004 - 2026
