Karen M. Salter and Carmen S. Ferguson, Salter Ferguson LLC

Karen Salter has always seen her career as a way to help people. She has a passion for it, which is why she became a nurse in the mid-1970s.

“When I later decided to become a lawyer, I knew it would open a new door to helping people gain brighter futures in the wake of the tragedy or unforeseeable trauma that disrupted and caused suffering in their lives,” she said.

And her nursing background only strengthened that mission — it made her uniquely qualified to do just that. Salter can work for her injured clients with the insight and knowledge of the law and the medical field.

“Nursing gave me insight into the pain, emotional and financial toll taken on my clients,” she said. “I represent them with compassion and skill that is unmatchable by my competition.”

Now with 23 years of legal experience, Salter comes to work every day ready to fight for her clients’ “very lives.” And she gets to do that work alongside her daughter, Carmen S. Ferguson, her law partner at Salter Ferguson LLC. They’re a mother-daughter team of Shelby County attorneys with 37 years of combined legal experience.

Ferguson said she became interested in the law as a young child and would occasionally attend her mother’s law school classes with her and listen to the lectures.

“After graduating from law school, I decided to get an insider’s perspective, so I worked for an insurance company as an insurance adjuster,” she said. “After handling hundreds of claims and gaining invaluable experience, I decided to join my mother in private practice helping injured victims.”

Salter and Ferguson are both passionate about helping people when they simply don’t know what to do next. It’s the bottom line and the heart of why they are so passionate about their business. They say they find it incredibly rewarding to use their skill and experience to improve the lives of their neighbors.

They handle all kinds of cases: injury, motor vehicle accidents, nursing home neglect, animal attacks, slip and fall incidents and pharmacy errors to name a few. About half of their clients live in Shelby and Jefferson counties.

The other half of their practice is devoted to National Mass Tort Litigation where they serve victims who have suffered injuries at the hands of manufacturers of defective medications and products. They are heavily involved in handling IVC (inferior vena cava) filters, hernia mesh, Round-Up (non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma), talcum powder (ovarian cancer) and many other product and medication liability cases.

“As with other successful businesses, our clients are attracted to our firm primarily by word of mouth in the community and referrals from people we have represented in the past,” Ferguson said.

At Salter Ferguson, they strive to offer a warm family atmosphere where everyone is heard and cared for. They said they want to take care of and fight for their clients the same way they would for their own relatives.

To them, business is family. They hope that a few years down the road, the family feel will expand even more — they hope to have a third generation practicing at their firm.

“We want to be a part of [our clients’] story that helped them live a better and happier life,” Salter said. “We want to be a light they think about when thinking back to the past of how we helped them through the dark times and pushed forward for them till the end.”

Salter and Ferguson are confident in what they have to offer the industry. They have the knowledge, capability and resources to successfully handle even the most difficult cases.

“Sometimes it’s the smallest act of kindness that makes a world of difference to many,” Salter said. “We never underestimate the power of the small gestures a smile, a listening ear or a compliment. Kindness with understanding and knowledge continues to touch the lives of others for the better, and that is our benchmark of success.”

The firm has an internet presence and website, salterferguson.com, and they invite prospective clients to check it out and see if they are a good fit for their case.

“We are always willing to discuss a matter with a potential client for no charge,” Ferguson said. “We don’t need a jingle, billboard or television commercial to inform people about what we do and why we do it well.”

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