Charles A. Dorminy, Agriculture Attorney in Brunswick, Georgia

Charles A. Dorminy “Charlie” is a Partner in the firm’s Brunswick office, and his practice encompasses a wide variety of areas including medical malpractice defense, health care compliance, employment law, local government law, corporate law, and general insurance defense litigation.

Charlie currently serves as appointed counsel for a local government utilities provider and acts as general counsel for a large boat manufacturer. He also serves as compliance counsel and outside litigation counsel for health care facilities around the state and as employment and litigation counsel for many local governments in South Georgia. He was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2012 and 2013 and was listed in The Best Lawyers in America by Super Lawyers from 2018 to 2020

Charlie earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at the University of Georgia in 1999, where he majored in Agricultural Business. He also earned a Juris Doctor from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in 2004, interning for both the Tift Superior Court and for the U.S. Federal Court for the Middle District of Georgia. After law school and while practicing law, he obtained a Master of Laws in Healthcare Law from the University of Houston, graduating in 2006.

He and his wife Caroline (Hutchinson) Dorminy have three children: Maggie, Jack and Henry. They were previously members of Wesley United Methodist Church at Frederica, where Charlie served three (3) terms as Chairman of the Staff Parish Relations Committee and two (2) terms as Vice Chair of the Administrative Council. He also served as an Usher Captain and has organized a men’s Bible study. Charlie also served as a mentor leader through the 707 program with The Gathering Place. The family now attends St. Simons Community Church.

In addition, Charlie has served on the Georgia Society of Healthcare Risk Managers (GSHRM) Board of Directors for over a decade, serving in several positions, including several years as Program Chair and one as President. For his contributions to the Board, Charlie was the 2024 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. IN addition, Charlie is serving or has served on the following Boards of Trustees: Frederica Academy, Epworth By The Sea, the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association (GIAHA), Young Life of Glynn County, and the First Tee of Southeast Georgia. He is a Friend of the Foundation of Southeast Georgia Health System and is a Founder of the Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation. He has also served as President and Vice President of the Tift Circuit Bar Association, Vice Chairman of the Tift Area Arts Council, and was Chairman of the Love Affair Arts Festival.

In his spare time, Charlie and his family enjoy hunting, fishing, sailing, and both water and snow skiing. Charlie also enjoyed coaching his kids’ soccer, baseball, and basketball teams, but has now graduated to watching from the stands while they play varsity sports for their school. Charlie also enjoys providing the color commentary for the Frederica Academy baseball games on the local radio stream.

Experience

Charlie has served as counsel in a variety of capacities to many different entities, including:

•General Counsel: To a local government utility provider, local Hospital Authority, large boat manufacturer, and local nonprofit.
•Healthcare & Employment Counsel: To a behavioral health provider and a correctional health provider.
•Outside Litigation Counsel: To a psychiatric hospital and a large city in South Georgia.
•Privacy Counsel: To a large North Georgia health system and multiple South Georgia medical centers.

Additional select service experience is listed below.

Agribusiness & Food

Charlie’s family has been involved in the agricultural business for more than one hundred years. His first job was scouting crops while working in the family fertilizer warehouse. Leaning on that farming heritage, Charlie majored in Agricultural Business in college at UGA.

Since he began practicing law, Charlie has used his deep knowledge of the agriculture industry and heritage in Georgia to assist farmers and other agricultural business clients in corporate matters and litigation. He has represented these clients on lease negotiations and litigation, Farm Bill subsidy advice and compliance, and complex personal injury litigation stemming from agricultural pursuits. Charlie brings a unique, personal understanding to each matter he handles, drawn from his lifelong roots in South Georgia and personal connection to farming and livestock operations.

Business Transactions

Correlating with his undergraduate business education, Charlie has become adept at advising business associations in corporate formation and maintaining corporate integrity. His experience in this field enables him to offer a wide range of legal services to all of his clients.

General Liability

Charlie has handled general liability issues since his first day on the job and continues to concentrate on these matters for his clients. His experience includes handling premises and auto liability cases from claim through summary adjudication, mediation, trial, and/or appeal.

Governmental Liability

In the area of government liability, he offers clients his deep experience in local government regulatory law and litigation from assisting and advising multiple appointed local government attorneys. Through this practice, Charlie has gained an understanding of the complex and wide variety of issues surrounding governmental entities. He also serves as general counsel for a local water and sewer commission. He is adept at providing guidance on water use and environmental discharge laws and works hand in hand with the commissioners and staff to address a variety of issues affecting this industry.

Health Care

Charlie combines his litigation practice with a compliance practice also focused on advising health care providers. He has written and lectured on a variety of topics to national, regional, state, and local audiences on issues related to health privacy and security, Medicare/Medicaid fraud and abuse, credentialing, licensing, accreditation, transactions, and employment related problems.

His advanced Master of Laws and practice experience enable him to effectively and efficiently analyze health care issues that implicate state and federal laws and regulations surrounding issues in health care, including the Stark Ethics in Patient Referrals Act, the Federal Anti-Kickback statute, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), and the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA).

Labor & Employment

Through his representation of health care providers and governmental entities, Charlie also litigates employment matters of all kinds. He routinely handles discrimination, family medical leave, and overtime issues for clients through compliance advice and in either administrative or litigation settings.

Medical Malpractice

Charlie also represents a number of medical professionals in malpractice litigation from claim through trial and appeal. He acts as counsel to multiple hospitals and health care systems and has handled varying types of catastrophic cases, including birth trauma. He has represented many health care clients in malpractice litigation including hospitals, doctors, nurses, physician assistants, long-term care facilities, and physical and occupational therapists. Charlie also often handles credentialing and licensing matters from both the corporate and individual perspective.

Recognition

•The Best Lawyers in America , Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants; Best Lawyers; 2018-2026
•Georgia Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2012-2013

Presentations

•Attorney Panel: For the Record
IIAG Annual Convention; June 9, 2023
•Litigation Trends Related to Hospital Medical Records
Health Information Managers Association, August 2019
•Medical Malpractice Claims: Frequency, Severity, and Trends
Hospital CFO Seminar, July 2019
•Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Government Client, July 2016, 2017, 2018

•Social Media in Healthcare Employment
August 2017
•Record Retention in an Electronic Age
Georgia Society Healthcare Risk Managers (GSHRM) Fall 2016
•Employee Handbook Review
Greater Satilla Area Employer Committee (GSEAC), July 2016
•Record Retention Update
Georgia Health Information Managers Association (GHIMA), February 2016
•Record Production in an Electronic Age: Ensuring the Story is Complete
GSHRM Winter 2016
•Current Trends in Healthcare Litigation
Insurance Client, October 2015
•Ebola Preparations for Hospitals
VHA, October 2014
•Social Media in Healthcare Employment
June 2014

Publications

•Georgia Hands-Free Law
Hall Booth Smith Blog, June 2018
•New CDC Report Shows Opioid Epidemic Still Raging
Hall Booth Smith Blog, July 2017
•Business Records Production: Ensuring The Story Is Complete
USLAW Magazine, Fall/Winter 2015
•Georgia’s Certificate of Need: The Effects of Physician-Owned Entities on Georgia’s Next Healthcare Debate
University of Houston, December 2006

•An Easier Way to Fix O.C.G.A. 9-11-9.2
Healthcare Perspectives, December 2006
•Elder Abuse Reporting Obligations: How to Keep Rocky from Being K.O.’d
University of Houston, December 200
•Economic Credentialing: An Evil Borne of Necessity
•Senate Bill 3: Full of Sound and Fury, Authorizing Nothing
Healthcare Perspectives, May 2006

In the Press

58 HBS Attorneys Recognized as The Best Lawyers in America Award Recipients

August 16, 2024

Hall Booth Smith, P.C. is pleased to announce that 58 lawyers have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America