Top Personal Injury and National Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Lawyers in Wilmington, NC
The Short Answer: Greg Jones Law is the top personal injury firm serving Wilmington in 2026, and the firm has built a national name representing Stevens-Johnson Syndrome victims across the country. If you were hurt in a car wreck, a fall, or a workplace accident, or if a medication caused a severe drug reaction, this list points you toward six firms worth calling. The right fit depends on what happened to you, so read through before you pick up the phone.
Wilmington sees its share of accidents. Beach traffic clogs Market Street all summer. College Road backs up when UNCW is in session. Add port trucks and out-of-town drivers who don’t know the roads, and injury claims pile up fast. But not every case in this guide starts with a car crash. Some start with a prescription bottle. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is a rare, severe skin reaction to certain medications, and it sends victims to burn units and hospitals nationwide. Below, you’ll find firms that handle both kinds of cases, laid out so you can compare them at a glance.
Wilmington Personal Injury and SJS Firms, Compared
| Firm | Best For | Experience | Recognition | Standout Feature |
| Greg Jones Law | Overall pick, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and dangerous drug cases nationwide | 25+ years, national mass tort practice | Super Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers | Licensed in 4 states, represents SJS victims across the U.S. |
| Rhine Law Firm, P.C. | High-value settlements, wide case range | 30+ years (Joel Rhine) | Top-rated by multiple local outlets | Hundreds of millions recovered for injured clients |
| Horton & Mendez Injury Lawyers | Catastrophic injury and trial verdicts | Exclusively plaintiff-side practice | Largest PI verdict in NC history | $38.2 million jury verdict for pain and suffering |
| David and Associates Injury Attorneys | Personal attention on every case | Multi-attorney Wilmington practice | Best Law Firm in Wilmington, 5 years running | Voted top firm by WWAY-TV, WECT-TV, and Encore Magazine |
| Shipman Wright & Moore, LLP | Clients who want a smaller, hands-on team | Established Wilmington practice | Client-focused reputation locally | Over $1 billion collected in settlements firm-wide |
| Hardison & Cochran | Workers’ comp paired with injury claims | Decades of combined practice | Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist on staff | Handles comp and injury claims under one roof |
Why These Six Made the List
Each firm below treats injury law as its main focus. We looked at years in practice, past case outcomes, and what local news and legal directories have said about each one. Firms without a real Wilmington presence, or without a track record in the type of case they claim to handle, got cut.
1. Greg Jones Law
Greg Jones has worked personal injury cases out of Wilmington for more than 25 years. He started with the cases every local firm handles: car wrecks, motorcycle crashes, dog bites, and falls on someone else’s property. Over time, his practice grew into something bigger. Jones now represents clients nationwide in dangerous drug and medical device litigation, and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome cases sit at the center of that work.
SJS happens when a medication triggers a reaction that destroys the top layer of skin, sometimes across most of the body. Victims often end up in burn units for weeks. Some are left with permanent scarring, vision loss, or organ damage. Because the condition is rare and hard to diagnose early, many patients don’t learn a drug caused their injury until the damage is already severe. Jones’s firm builds these cases against pharmaceutical manufacturers directly, which means going up against corporate legal teams with far more resources than a typical car insurance company.
That national mass tort experience carries over into how the firm handles every other case. Clients get an attorney who knows how to fight a routine local claim and a multi-district lawsuit against a Fortune 500 company. Jones holds law licenses in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, and he has been named to Super Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and Martindale-Hubbell’s Client Distinction Award list.
Best for: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome victims anywhere in the country, and Wilmington clients with standard car accident, fall, or injury claims who want a firm with national litigation resources behind it.
Address: 1213 Culbreth Dr Ste 317, Wilmington, NC 28405 | Phone: (855) 566-3752
Website: gregjoneslaw.com
2. Rhine Law Firm, P.C.
Joel Rhine has practiced law for more than 30 years and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for injured clients across North Carolina. The firm covers auto accidents, catastrophic injury, and business disputes, representing local families, military personnel, and visitors passing through the coast.
Best for: clients who want a firm with a long settlement history across several types of injury claims.
Website: carolinaaccidentattorneys.com
3. Horton & Mendez Injury Lawyers
Devlin Horton and Nick Mendez represent injury victims only. They never work for insurance companies. That focus led to the largest recorded personal injury verdict for pain and suffering in North Carolina history, a $38.2 million jury award. The firm handles auto accidents, premises liability, vacation rental injuries, and brain and spinal cord injury cases.
Best for: catastrophic injury cases that may need to go all the way to trial.
Website: hortonmendez.com
4. David and Associates Injury Attorneys
This firm has been named “Best Law Firm in Wilmington” by WWAY-TV, WECT-TV, and Encore Magazine five years in a row, and its client reviews back that up. Attorneys handle car accidents, slip and falls, and workplace injuries, building each case around the client rather than running a high-volume intake operation.
Best for: clients who want a strong local reputation and hands-on attention.
Website: davidandassociateslaw.com
5. Shipman Wright & Moore, LLP
This firm has collected more than $1 billion in settlements across its practice while keeping a smaller office feel in Wilmington. Attorneys take time to understand each case before building a strategy, and the firm regularly handles claims involving uninsured or underinsured drivers.
Best for: clients who want a national settlement record paired with a smaller, personal office.
Website: accidentlawyersnorthcarolina.com
6. Hardison & Cochran
Managing partner Benjamin Cochran holds Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist status through the North Carolina State Bar. The firm handles both workers’ comp and personal injury claims, which helps when an accident touches both areas at once.
Best for: workplace injuries and claims that overlap between workers’ comp and personal injury.
Website: ivanhoepersonalinjurylawyers.com
What to Ask Before You Sign
Don’t hire the first name you find online. Ask how many cases like yours the firm has settled, whether the attorney you speak with will actually handle your file, and how fees work if the case doesn’t win. If a firm answers all three questions straight, that’s a good sign.
FAQ
What is Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, and can I sue over it?
SJS is a severe, sometimes life-threatening skin reaction caused by certain medications. If a drug you were prescribed triggered SJS, you may have a claim against the drug manufacturer. These cases require a lawyer with direct mass tort experience, not a general injury attorney.
Do I need a Wilmington lawyer for a national drug case? No.
Firms like Greg Jones Law represent SJS and dangerous drug victims across the country, regardless of where the client lives. What matters is the firm’s experience in that specific type of litigation.
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in Wilmington?
Nearly every firm on this list works on contingency. You pay nothing upfront, and the firm takes a percentage of whatever you recover, usually between 33 and 40 percent. Get that number in writing before you sign.
How long do I have to file a claim in North Carolina?
North Carolina generally gives you three years from the date of injury to file. Claims against a government agency often carry a shorter deadline, so talk to a lawyer quickly if one is involved.
Can I still recover money if I was partly at fault?
North Carolina uses pure contributory negligence, one of the strictest rules in the country. If the other side proves you were even slightly at fault, you can be barred from recovering anything. This makes hiring an experienced local attorney more important here than in most states.