W. Joseph Dozier, Jr.

Contact Information

Phone: (704) 372-6373
Fax: (704) 347-0674
Email: jdozier@dmpm.com

Profile

Joe Dozier is a respected North Carolina trial advocate who is known for getting exceptional results for his clients. Joe began his legal career in 1973 as Assistant District Attorney for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. For the next six years he developed his trial advocacy skills and became an aggressive prosecutor on behalf of victims of crime in thousands of bench and jury trials. In 1979, he helped form Dozier, Miller, Pollard & Murphy, LLP so he could use those skills to help victims of personal injury, wrongful death, and unfair business practices. Since that time, he has used the powerful tool of litigation to hold wrongdoers accountable. He gives the other side an opportunity to settle, but if they refuse, he takes them to court.

Proven Experience and Results

The following is a partial list of some of the results Joe has achieved for his clients over the years. This list does not constitute a promise or guarantee of any particular result in any particular case. Each case was handled and resolved on its own merit, and the outcome of any particular case cannot be predicted by these results. Unless otherwise specified, each of the following cases was contested on liability and damages, the opposing parties were represented, the matters involved complex legal and/or factual issues, and the law firm was successful in collecting the amounts stated:

  • $26.05 million recovery for the wrongful deaths of a husband and wife in a North Carolina plane crash (at the time reported, February 3, 2006, the largest wrongful death settlement ever in North Carolina and the highest aviation settlement in U.S. history for the death of a husband and wife) (Cabarrus County 2005)
  • $4.5 million verdict and permanent injunction for a contractor in North and South Carolina against several defendants who had infringed on his patent license (trebled by the court to $13.5 million against one defendant, regretfully the judgment remains uncollected) (Mecklenburg County 2001)
  • $2.12 million recovery for the wrongful death of a wife and mother in a trucking accident in South Carolina (Mecklenburg County 2002)
  • $2.025 million recovery (policy limits) for the wrongful death of a Georgia resident in a Mount Airy, North Carolina plane crash (Polk County, Georgia - 2009)
  • $1.5 million recovery for failure to diagnose and treat melanoma in North Carolina (Mecklenburg County 2003)
  • $1.1 million recovery for a retired businessman for aggravation of a preexisting knee injury in an automobile accident in North Carolina (Mecklenburg County 2006)
  • Confidential settlement for the wrongful death of pilot of an airplane with a defective fuel tank switch that crashed in New Jersey (Trenton, New Jersey - 1984)
  • Confidential settlement for the family of a police officer killed in a North Carolina plane crash (Mecklenburg County - 2004)
  • $925 thousand recovery for an automobile accident victim with severe ankle injuries in North Carolina (Bumcombe County 1984)
  • $750 thousand recovery for the wrongful death of a retired smoker for failure to diagnose and treat small cell lung cancer in South Carolina (Lancaster County, South Carolina 2005)
  • Confidential settlement for the wrongful death of an infant for the failure of a hospital nurse to connect the child to an A/B monitor in North Carolina (Mecklenburg County 1988)
  • $590 thousand recovery for the wrongful death of retired smoker for failure to diagnose and treat non small cell lung cancer in North Carolina (Mecklenburg County 2004)
  • Confidential settlement for the misdiagnosis of breast cancer resulting in unnecessary surgery in North Carolina (Mecklenburg County 2000)
  • Confidential settlement for the wrongful death of a South Carolina husband and father for failure to diagnose and treat Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (Horry County, South Carolina 1999)
  • $300 thousand verdict for an automobile accident victim with soft tissue injury (at the time, April 1992, believed to be largest jury verdict in North Carolina for a soft tissue injury treated by chiropractic care) (Mecklenburg County 1992)
  • $250 thousand recovery for a burn victim of a fire stunt at local bar in Charlotte, North Carolina (Mecklenburg County 2008)

Professional Activities

  • Assistant District Attorney, 26th Judicial District (1973-1979)
  • Managing Partner, Dozier, Miller Pollard & Murphy, LLP (1979 – present)
  • Mecklenburg County Civil Service Board (Member, 1981-1984 and Chairman, 1983-1984)
  • American Bar Association
  • North Carolina Bar Association
  • 26th Judicial District Bar Association (President, Young Lawyers Section, 1980-1981)
  • North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers (President’s Club)
  • The American Association for Justice (Sustaining Member)

Bar Admissions

  • North Carolina
  • 26th Judicial District
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Education

  • J. D., 1973, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, Phi Delta Phi
  • B.A., 1970, Washington & Lee University, Phi Delta Theta