James B. "Jim" Matthews III

James B. "Jim" Matthews III


Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C.

Recognized since 1999

Athens, Georgia

Practice Areas

Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs

Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs

Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs

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Jim handles a wide range of plaintiffs’ personal injury cases. He focuses his practice on product defects, medical negligence, and trucking accidents. Jim is actively involved in hernia mesh litigation; the Atrium C-Qur mesh products (he is State Liaison Counsel in New Hampshire) and mesh products made by C.R. Bard, Inc. (he is co-lead counsel in Rhode Island).

With more than 37 years of legal experience, Jim has earned a reputation as a seasoned and successful trial lawyer. In the early years of his career he defended hundreds of personal injury cases. He defended hospitals and physicians, trucking companies, and manufacturers of a wide range of products, including tobacco and asbestos products. He also worked on behalf of companies in business litigation matters.

Jim eventually decided to switch sides and, in 1990, he began practicing on behalf of plaintiffs. At Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C., he now handles a wide variety of personal injury and wrongful death cases brought by injured victims and their families, as well as plaintiff business litigation. Most of Jim’s clients are referred to him by other attorneys and former clients he has helped in the past.

Jim is actively involved in the pelvic mesh and hernia mesh litigation. He is co-lead counsel in the C.R. Bard hernia mesh consolidated litigation in Rhode Island, was lead counsel in the Atrium C-Qur hernia mesh litigation in state court in New Hampshire and was state court liaison to the New Hampshire federal court C-Qur multi-district litigation. He had active roles during the discovery, pre-trial, and trial stages of the Ethicon/Johnson & Johnson Physiomesh hernia mesh multidistrict litigation in Atlanta (which was settled before trial) and the C.R. Bard pelvic mesh MDL in federal court in Charleston, West Virginia (which settled after a win for his client in the first bellwether trial).

Contact & Links
Location
  • 440 College Avenue, Suite 320
    Athens, GA 30601
Education
  • Georgia Southern University, BS Econ, graduated 1980
  • University of Georgia, JD, graduated 1983
Bar Admissions
  • Georgia, State Bar of Georgia
Affiliations
  • American Association of Justice - Member
  • American Bar Association - Member
  • American Bar Foundation - Fellow
  • Georgia Trial Lawyers Association - Champion Member
  • Medical Negligence Information Exchange Group - Member
  • Southern Trial Lawyers Association - Member
  • State Bar of Georgia - Member

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024 for work in:
  • Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
  • Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs
Special Focus:
  • Medical Malpractice
Awards:
  • American College of Trial Lawyers, Elected Fellow
  • AV® Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®
  • Best Lawyers in America®
  • Georgia Super Lawyers®
  • Legal Elite, Georgia Trend Magazine
Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
  • Medical Malpractice Law
  • Personal Injury Litigation

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Publications

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