Contact C. Andrew Childers
C. Andrew Childers
Andy is a founding partner of Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC. Andy was born in South Carolina, raised in Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C., and has lived in Georgia since 1995. He graduated from Clemson University in 1995, and went on to get his law degree from the University of Georgia in 1998. Andy remains actively involved with UGA Law, serving as a member of the Law School Alumni Council (LSAC) since 2012. Andy had the honor of being selected as a member of the Executive Committee of the LSAC starting in 2015, culminating in his tenure as President of the LSAC in 2018-2019. Andy is admitted to practice law in the states of Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Andy has been selected by his peers as a Super Lawyer in the Class Actions/Mass Torts category every year since 2018, and as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2007, 2009, 2011-2013, and a Super Lawyer in 2014-2023. In 2017, Andy and his co-counsel obtained the largest pharmaceutical injury verdict in Georgia history – just over $20.5 million ($17.5 million of which was awarded as punitive damages to punish the defendant drug company for its wrongful conduct). In 2018 and 2019, Andy and his co-counsel obtained verdicts for clients in West Virginia and Connecticut for injuries suffered as a result of using the blood-thinner Pradaxa. Both of those verdicts included punitive damage awards to punish the defendant drug company for its wrongful conduct. Until civil trials across the country were halted due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Andy was on track to obtain punitive damage verdicts against drug companies for the fourth year in a row in 2020. He is anxious for the opportunity to get back into court to continue fighting for his clients and holding negligent corporations responsible for the harms they cause to individuals.
In June 2022, Andy was appointed Co-Lead Counsel in MDL 3026 (In Re: Abbott Laboratories, Et Al,. Preterm Infant Nutrition Product Liability Litigation). The highest honor and position allowed in the nationwide fight against cow’s based preterm infant formula and fortifiers linked to necrotizing entercolitis (NEC).
In February 2021, Andy was appointed Plaintiff’s Liaison Counsel in MDL 2974 (In Re: Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation). He also currently serves as Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs in the Consolidated Pradaxa Docket in the Superior Court of Hartford, Connecticut, as well as being a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2782 (In Re: Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation). Andy served as Co-Lead of the Marketing Subcommittee of the Discovery Committee for the Plaintiffs in MDL 2592 (In Re: Xarelto Products Liability Litigation), and was a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for MDL 2016 (In Re: Yamaha Motor Corp. Rhino ATV Products Liability Litigation), serving in the role of Federal-State Liaison counsel. He also served as counsel for the plaintiffs in the majority of the consolidated Rhino ATV cases that were litigated in the State Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia, and was co-lead counsel in the first Rhino ATV trial to result in a plaintiff’s verdict.
Andy is an active member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, having served multiple times as Chairman of GTLA’s Education Committee and as Chairman of GTLA’s Communications Committee, as well as serving as Chairman of the Civil Justice PAC. Andy also serves as a frequent guest lecturer for graduate level classes at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University on the topic of “Litigation as a Health Policy Tool,” and is the emcee of the Mass Torts Made Perfect seminars held in April and October every year.
While Childers, Schlueter & Smith exclusively represents injury victims of all sorts, Andy concentrates his practice on the representation of individuals harmed by pharmaceutical products and medical devices, primarily in mass tort settings. Over the course of his career, Andy has represented tens of thousands of victims from all over the U.S. who have been injured by products such as: Methylene Blue; Xarelto; Risperdal; Pradaxa; Gadolinium Based Contrast Agents; Hair Relaxer litigation, DePuy ASR hip implants; Stryker hip implants; Fen Phen (Pondimin and Redux); Dilantin; Bextra; Celebrex; Vioxx; Phenytoin; Reglan, Metoclopramide; Fosamax; Yaz and Yasmin; Renu with MoistureLoc; Ethex/K-V Morphine; Topamax; Total Body Formula; Yamaha Rhino UTV’s; Baycol; Rezulin; Trasylol; Guidant defibrillators; Icy Hot patches; Kugel Mesh; Lotronex; Zyprexa; Ortho Evra; PPA; and many others.
In addition to mass torts, Andy handles cases for individuals who have suffered from Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) – horrific allergic reactions that cause the person’s skin to slough off, and that can lead to blindness, permanent disability, or death. Andy has successfully handled numerous SJS and TEN cases in several states around the country.
Andy has obtained settlements for his clients in excess of $250 million, and continues to fight for the rights of individuals injured through no fault of their own.
Andy currently represents individuals suffering from:
- Necrotizing Entercolitis (NEC) injuries caused by Abbott and Med Johnson’s preterm baby formulas and fortifiers;
- Injuries caused by Paragard IUDs breaking while in utero;
- Cancer as a result of Hair Relaxer Products;
- Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) as a result of their ingestion of a variety of pharmaceutical products, including Lamictal and allopurinol; and
- Other injuries as a result of their ingestion or use of other dangerous and defective products.
Education
- Clemson University, B.A.
- University of Georgia School of Law, J.D.
Honors
- Georgia Super Lawyer – Class Actions/Mass Torts (2014-2023)
- Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star – Class Actions/Mass Torts (2007, 2009, 2011-2013)
- Top 100 Lawyer in Georgia, National Trial Lawyers Association (2011-2024)
- Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in Georgia National Trial Lawyers Association (2011-2013)
- 40 Under Forty, The University of Georgia
Bar/Professional Activity
- Chairman – Civil Justice PAC
- Chairman – Communications Committee for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- Chairman – Education Committee for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- Ex-Officio Member of the Executive Committee of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- Member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- Member of the American Association for Justice (formerly ATLA)
- Member of the National Trial Lawyers Association – Top 100 Diplomat
- Member of the Mass Tort Trial Lawyers Association
- Member of the DeKalb Bar Association
- Member of the DeKalb Trial Lawyers Section of the Dekalb Bar Association
Scholarly Lectures and Writings
- Frequent guest lecturer for graduate level classes at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University
- Moderator of the semi-annual Mass Torts Made Perfect Seminar
- Frequent Presenter at the semi-annual Mass Torts Made Perfect Seminar
- Frequent presenter on pharmaceutical and other mass tort litigation at local, state-wide and nationwide continuing legal education seminars
Contact C. Andrew Childers via e-mail at AChilders@cssfirm.com.