DONALD PRICE CHANEY, JR.
Don P. Chaney is a civil justice attorney with the Chaney Law Firm in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and practices injury law statewide. The Chaney Law Firm is committed to protecting injury victims in the fight for justice and fair compensation for injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes and other kinds of personal injuries. In today’s insurance injury claim handling environment, hardball methods of “Delay-Deny-Defend” have been implemented by some of the national insurance carriers. Many believe these unfair practices are a form of insurance fraud against innocent injury victims, and were exposed by the CNN Anderson Cooper 360 investigation reporting television show. Such tactics require legal representation from an experienced lawyer, well versed in the scheming tactics used by many insurance carriers to put profits over people and avoid their responsibility for harm caused by wrongdoers.
In college Mr. Chaney majored in Finance and Banking, and was graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in 1975, and with a Juris Doctorate Degree in 1978, following which he began the private practice of law in Arkansas. He is licensed to practice in all state and federal courts in Arkansas. Mr. Chaney has served as a Special Associate Justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court, Special District Court Judge, Tort Section Chairperson and House of Delegate Member of the Arkansas Bar Association, and as an Associate Editor of the Arkansas Law Review journal. He has earned the highest “AV” lawyer rating possible for legal ability and professional ethical standards of practicing lawyers from the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory based upon peer review ratings. He supports the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice as a Sustaining Member, which are legal organizations committed to seeking justice for all by preserving the constitutional right to a trial by jury under the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.
In over 30 years of law practice, Mr. Chaney has successfully represented injury victims by securing fair compensation for their losses. He has led the way in proving to juries the reality of long term disability. While he strives for a just settlement through negotiations, he is not afraid to press a client’s case to the courtroom when necessary. Since 2003, Mr. Chaney has helped to promote the use of new medical technology tools, including Digital Motion X-ray (DMX), digitized x-ray radiology reports, proton thin density MRI and Upright MRI imaging, for use as evidence in court to help motor vehicle collision and other injury victims achieve justice by receiving fair jury verdicts, as well as reasonable out of court settlements. These kinds of injuries from motor vehicle crashes often result in permanent adverse changes, and lost health and well-being. The use of such medical technology tools provide an accurate diagnosis, and objective medical evidence that can be correlated to a whole person impairment rating using the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment published by the American Medical Association. Mr. Chaney has been requested to give seminar presentations and has written articles published in professional journals about these topics.
On November 28, 2007, Mr. Chaney won the first appeals court decision in the United States to approve the use of DMX as trial evidence over a defense Daubert challenge, in the case of Graftenreed v. Seabaugh, 100 Ark. App. 364, 268 S.W.3d 905 (2007).
EDUCATION:
- Juris Doctor, University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville, 1977
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance and Banking, Magna Cum Laude, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, 1975
- Paragould High School, Paragould, Arkansas, 1971
BAR ADMISSIONS:
- Arkansas Supreme and Inferior Courts - 1978
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas - 1978
- United States Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit - 1982
- Admitted Pro Hac Vice to practice law in Other States
CAREER HISTORY:
- Principal, Chaney Law Firm, 2002 - present
- Principal, Wright, Chaney, Berry, Daniel, Slaughter & Hughes Law Firm, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 1979 - 2002
- Associate, Cathey, Goodwin, Hamilton & Moore, Paragould, Arkansas, 1978 - 1979
- Law Clerk, Niblock & Odom, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 1976 - 1977
JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE:
- Special Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, published opinion:
- Special Clark County Municipal Court Judge
LEGAL AFFILIATIONS:
- American Association for Justice
- Arkansas Association for Justice (1200 Club Member)
- Arkansas Bar Association (elected to the House of Delegates governing body 1990-1992)
- Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association
- Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year - April, 2013
- American Bar Association
- Southwest Arkansas Bar Association
- Member and past President of Clark County Bar Association
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS:
- Clark County Law Library Board, Chairperson 1994 - present
- Arkadelphia Airport Commission 1984 - present
- Boy Scout Troop 24 Committee, Chairperson 1992-2014
- Clark County Community Foundation
- Board Member 2002-2008
- Abused Women and Children, Inc. (AWAC) Board of Directors 1989-1992
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS:
- Author, Program Speaker and Seminar Planner, Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, 1998 Winning the Motor Vehicle Accident Case Seminar, Using Internet Technology to Locate Legal, Medical, Engineering and Other Resources in the Information Age (also published in the The ATLA Docket magazine, Winter 1998 issue)
- Author and Program Speaker, Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, 1994 Basic Insurance Seminar, Spoliation/ Presentation of Evidence
- Author and Program Speaker, Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, Mid-Winter Meeting 1991, Handling Insurance Subrogation Claims to Benefit Accident Victims
- Author, Utilization of Disclaimer of Warranty Clauses Under the UCC, 32 Arkansas Law Review 772
- Author, The Battle of Contract Formation Under the UCC-Win, Lose or Draw, 27 Arkansas Law Review 528
OTHER AFFILIATIONS:
- Clark County Bar Association
- Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
- First United Methodist Church of Arkadelphia
- Ducks Unlimited
- Mooney Aircraft Pilots Association
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon Alumni Association
- The Nature Conservancy
- University of Arkansas Alumni Association
