• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Birmingham, AL 35203
  • 205-502-2000
  • [email protected]
Call us now: 205-502-2000
Full-Service Law Firm
  • Home
  • About
  • Attorneys
    • Mitchel H. Boles
    • Jeffrey E. Holmes
    • William C. White, II
    • H. Hampton Boles
    • Clayton Tartt
    • Christopher Richardson
    • Nathan Holmes
    • Suzanne Norman
    • George W. “Wally” Walker, III
  • Personal
    • Criminal Defense
      • Arson
      • Assault
      • Burglary
      • Criminal Appeals
      • Criminally Negligent Homicide
      • Domestic Violence
      • Drug Crimes
      • Drug Distribution
      • Drug Manufacturing
      • Drug Possession
      • Drug Trafficking
      • Federal Crimes
      • Federal Drug Crimes
      • Felonies vs Misdemeanors
      • Forgery
      • Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card
      • Gun Charges
      • Identity Theft
      • Kidnapping
      • Manslaughter
      • Marijuana
      • Murder
      • Negotiating a Worthless Negotiable Instrument
      • Operation Pilluted
      • Past Cases
      • Prescription Drugs
      • Property Crimes
      • Receiving Stolen Property
      • Robbery
      • Sale of Unregistered Securities
      • Shoplifting
      • Stalking
      • Theft / Embezzlement
      • Violent Crimes
      • Zohydro Arrests
    • Divorce and Family Law
      • Adultery
      • Alimony and Spousal Support
      • Annulments
      • Asset Location
      • Attorney Fee Recovery
      • Changing Alimony or Child Support
      • Child Custody
      • Child Relocation
      • Child Support Calculations
      • Child Visitation
      • Contested Divorce
      • Courthouses We Service
      • Divorce Appeals
      • Divorce of Same Sex Couples
      • Domestic Violence / Protection from Abuse
      • Enforcement of Divorce Decrees
      • Grandparents Rights
      • Grounds for Divorce
      • How to Prepare for a Child Custody Case
      • Joint Accounts in a Divorce
      • Jurisdiction and Venue
      • Legal Separation
      • Mediation in Divorce
      • Military Divorces
      • Paternity Rights
      • Parental Rights
      • Postnuptial Agreements / Prenuptial Agreements
      • Property and Asset Protection
      • Property in an Alabama Divorce
      • Reinstatement of Maiden Name
      • Retirement Accounts in a Divorce
      • Temporary Custody and Support Pendente Lite
      • Uncontested Divorce
    • DUI Defense
      • Alabama Drunk Driving Laws
      • Basic DUI Defense
      • Commercial Driver DUI
      • Common Mistakes in DUI Arrests
      • DUI Defense Overview
      • Driver’s License Suspension
      • Felony DUI
      • DUI FAQs
      • Refusal and Field Sobriety Tests
      • Repeat DUI
      • Toxicology Issues
      • Underage DUI
    • White Collar Defense & Investigations
      • Arson
      • Asset Forfeiture
      • Bankruptcy Fraud
      • Bribery and Blackmail
      • Business Fraud
      • Embezzlement / Theft
      • Environmental Crimes
      • Ethics Violations
      • Federal Crimes
      • Federal Program Fraud
      • Grand Jury Proceedings
      • Grand Larceny
      • Health Care Fraud
      • High Profile Cases
      • Hiring Illegal Aliens
      • Insurance Fraud
      • International Crimes
      • Internet Crimes
      • Mail Fraud / Wire Fraud
      • Money Laundering
      • Mortgage Fraud / Bank Fraud
      • Obstruction of Justice
      • Past White Collar Cases
      • Perjury
      • Ponzi Schemes
      • Price Fixing / Collusion
      • Protection of Professional Licenses
      • Public Corruption
      • RICO
      • Sarbanes Oxley
      • Securities / Broker Fraud
      • Unfair Competition
      • Unlawful Entry
      • Witness Representation
    • Wills and Probate
      • Advance Directive / Living Will
      • Business Dissolution
      • Conservatorships
      • Corporation Formation
      • Estate Administration
      • Estate Planning
      • Guardianships
      • Intestate Estates
      • LLC Formation
      • LLP Formation
      • Last Will an Testament FAQs
      • PC Formation
      • Powers of Attorney
      • Probate Wills
      • Trust
      • Will Drafting
  • Professional
    • Administrative Law
    • Appellate Litigation
    • Business Consulting
    • Business Formation & Dissolution
    • Business Litigation
    • Compliance
    • Directors’ & Officers’ Liability
    • Government Investigations
    • Government Relations
    • Healthcare
    • Labor & Employment
    • Outside Counsel
    • Professional License Protection
    • Regulatory Representation
    • Transactions
  • Blog
  • Media
  • Get in Touch
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Civil Suits

Recent Decisions May Make Personal Injury Suits Against Alabama Doctors Easier

Recent Decisions May Make Personal Injury Suits Against Alabama Doctors Easier - Alabama Outside Counsel

Recent Decisions May Make Personal Injury Suits Against Alabama Doctors Easier. Personal injury suits against doctors are generally referred to as medical malpractice lawsuits. Such lawsuits are governed by the Alabama Medical Liability Act (AMLA). Which generally requires the filer of the lawsuit to retain a medical expert to testify that the doctor against whom they wish to bring the lawsuit has violated the appropriate standard of care. Without providing this expert testimony, a lawsuit against a doctor is generally dismissed.

The AMLA provides an exception to this requirement if the wrong done by the doctor or medical institution is so obvious that one does not have to be a doctor to recognize that it is inappropriate. In other words, the “common layman” could understand, based on common experience. That the doctor or medical institution made an error. It is important to remember that this exception is a narrow one; however, in two recent cases, the Alabama Supreme Court identified situations where errors are such that expert testimony is not required.

In Morgan v. Publix, a customer of Publix brought a lawsuit against the chain’s pharmacy department. She alleged that she received the wrong medication from a Publix pharmacist when she went to have a prescription filled. Upon consuming the incorrect medicine, she suffered several negative medical reactions. Therefore, similar to an allergic reaction, such as swelling and hives. The lawsuit stated that she would not have suffered these personal injuries if she had been issued the proper medication.

In McGathey v. Brookwood Health Services, a patient brought a lawsuit against the hospital where she underwent surgery. During the operation, which involved surgery on her shoulder, the rest of her arm was attached to a metal bar in order to hold the arm still. As a result of a sterilization procedure, the bar was very hot. When the patient woke up after surgery she had sustained second and third-degree burns on her arm. The lawsuit stated these burns would not have happened if the bar had been properly cooled prior to surgery.

In both of these cases, the Alabama Supreme Court said that expert testimony was not necessary for the lawsuit to proceed. The Court said that one did not have to be a medical expert to understand that it was dangerous to either consume improper medication or to have one’s arm directly touching a bar that was very hot. As a result, the lawsuits were not dismissed and the plaintiffs were able to recover monetary damages.

During its discussion of the AMLA, the Supreme Court emphasized that the common layman exception to the AMLA’s requirement of expert testimony was a narrow one. Despite this, by providing specific examples of cases where expert testimony is not required. The Court has made similar lawsuits easier to bring in the future. The attorneys at Boles Holmes White, LLC are very familiar with the AMLA specifically and personal injury lawsuits more broadly. If you are interested in bringing a lawsuit against a doctor or medical institution please contact the firm at 205-502-2000.

September 22, 2013
Tags: Attorney, Court Case, Doctors, Law, Personal Injury, Plaintiff, Settlement
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on Reddit
https://i0.wp.com/alabamaoutsidecounsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/60b9ae3a49fe4159c26fe904_stethoscope-doctor-bless-you-hospital-diagnosis-healthcare.jpeg?fit=910%2C607&ssl=1 607 910 Nathan Holmes https://alabamaoutsidecounsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/613bc307f40b1cafd5e5dcff_BHW_GOLD-straight-across.png Nathan Holmes2013-09-22 12:21:002022-12-18 01:21:13Recent Decisions May Make Personal Injury Suits Against Alabama Doctors Easier
You might also like
Mobile Man Accused of Vehicular Homicide - Alabama Outside Counsel Mobile Man Accused of Vehicular Homicide
Standardized Field Sobriety Tests - Alabama Outside Counsel Standardized Field Sobriety Tests
Alabama Man Receives Life Sentence for Heroin Trafficking - Alabama Outside Counsel Alabama Man Receives Life Sentence for Heroin Trafficking
7 Reasons People Talk To The Police – Alabama Outside Counsel 7 Reasons People Talk To The Police – And Why You Shouldn’t
Pharmacy Negligence - Alabama Outside Counsel Pharmacy Negligence
Dauphin Island Councilman Arrested for DUI - Alabama Outside Counsel Dauphin Island Councilman Arrested for DUI
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Blog Categories

  • Civil Suits
  • Criminal Defense
  • DUI
  • Estate Planning
  • Family Law
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Probate Law
  • Trademark Law
  • White Collar Crime

Speak To An Attorney

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Featured In

PreviousNext

Boles Holmes White LLC is a full-service law firm providing transactional, litigation, government relations and white collar/criminal defense. We represent both businesses and individuals throughout the Southeast Region. As a full-service law firm with roots in the small town of Dothan and with large Birmingham firm experience, all of our attorneys strive to provide clients “big firm” representation with “small town” accessibility and personal attention. That is what sets us apart.

No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

OFFICES

BIRMINGHAM OFFICE
1929 3rd Ave. North, Suite 500
Birmingham, AL 35203
Phone: 205-502-2000

DOTHAN OFFICE
661 West Main Street
Dothan, AL 36301
Phone: 334-366-6086

AUBURN OFFICE
165 E. Magnolia Avenue, Suite 223
Auburn, Alabama 36830
Phone: 334-316-3446

LAWYERS

  • Mitchel H. Boles
  • Jeffrey E. Holmes
  • William C. White, II
  • H. Hampton Boles
  • Clayton Tartt
  • Christopher Richardson
  • Nathan Holmes
  • Suzanne Norman
  • George W. "Wally" Walker, III

WEBSITE & MARKETING

AdToms

SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2022 – 2023 Boles Holmes White LLC. All Rights Reserved.

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Disclaimer

Yeah! Usher Emerges Victorious From Custody BattleYeah! Usher Emerges Victorious From Custody Battle - Alabama Outside CounselVictim or the Crime? - Alabama Outside CounselVictim or the Crime?
Scroll to top

We use cookies to personalize your experience on AlabamaOutsideCounsel. Click OK to accept our privacy policy and terms of service.

OKCancel

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only