Civil Litigation

Civil offenses generally involve infringement upon the rights and protections of individuals. These wrongs, called torts, can vary greatly and include offenses ranging from:

unlawful taking of property
invasions of privacy
negligence
severe rights violations

Civil litigation requires an in-depth knowledge of both State and Federal procedures and laws, often combining complex jurisdictional and choice-of-law issues. If you believe you have a civil lawsuit and would like to receive a consultation with a civil litigation attorney, contact us.

Business Disputes

Ed Rowan of the law firm Kittrell & Rowan, P.C. provides counseling for small businesses in need of contract interpretation, enforcing contracts and other issues related to your small business. The objective is to provide the best possible resolution for the small business owner.

Business disputes can involve commercial contract claims, fraud claims, negligence claims, libel, slander (defamation), or claims in tort for interfering with business or contractual relations. Typically, lawsuits between businesses do not involve claims for mental anguish, pain and suffering, personal injury or catastrophic injury. Those claims will apply only if there is some indemnity agreement between businesses because of personal injury claim against the businesses.

Business lawsuits can involve substantial damages award and, sometimes, punitive damage awards. Disputes between business partners often involve a breach of some fiduciary duty over money. In closely held corporations, minority shareholders are sometimes oppressed, or “squeezed out” by the larger shareholders. These situations usually result in litigation for those claims, or for fraud, suppression, or misrepresentation. Punitive damages can be awarded in these situations.

Medical Malpractice

What do Medical Malpractice Attorneys do?
Medical malpractice is, quite simply, medical negligence. However, these are not simple claims. The negligence must be substantial. Simple errors committed during medical treatment do not usually qualify under any state medical liability act – especially not in Alabama. Medical negligence is never presumed simply because something went wrong at the hospital. There are no guarantees and, therefore, medical malpractice is a difficult area of the law.

All medical providers are included in the medical liability act of Alabama and, most likely, in all states. Medical providers include hospitals, hospices, doctors, nurses, doctor’s offices or staff, dentists, dental offices or staff, or nursing facilities or homes. All medical doctors are included under the act, which include orthopedics, dermatologists, pediatrics, pathologists, neurologists, oncologist, cardiologist, toxicologist, pharmacologist, technician, nursing home or staff, hospital or hospital workers. To be liable for medical negligence the provider’s performance of their duties must deviate from a standard of care or practice from those with similar training and experience. The deviation must result in harm to a patient or patients.

A common misconception is that these tort claims or medical negligence claims are all frivolous and that the laws do not protect the health care industry. The claim that tort reform is needed for health care providers gets a great deal of media attention. In reality, medical malpractice lawsuits are down in Alabama. The medical liability act actually affords medical providers shelter from frivolous lawsuits. In other words, at least in Alabama, for the lawyer to prove medical negligence, the medical provider must perform a medical act of treatment that is simply not done in the medical community. That is, the medical provider must step outside of what is commonly accepted medicine and, as a result, harm the patient.

Having said that, the concept of medical malpractice liability is one of medical negligence. A medical malpractice lawyer must first establish that negligence, which as stated above is a significant burden. If that is done, the medical malpractice lawyer will help the victim recover damages for the harm caused because that failure by the medical care provider to meet the required standard of skill and care.

Areas of Medical Malpractice and Methods of Proof
Medical negligence can occur in any area of health care. For example, many prescription drugs cannot be taken with another, or certain patients are allergic to drugs or have medical conditions, which would exclude that person from taking a certain drug. If a doctor, despite medical evidence to the contrary, gives a medication to a patient when no other doctor in the community would have done that, assuming harm occurs to the patient, then medical negligence has occurred. The medical malpractice attorney must prove this negligence with another medical doctor. That doctor must have equal to or more experience or training as that doctor who prescribed that medication. For example, if the medical negligence was caused by a oncologist who is not yet board certified, then your lawyer’s medical malpractice expert must also be an oncologist with more experience or who is a board certified doctor in that specialty.

Medical malpractice lawyers must then prove that the injury or death of the patient was caused by the medical negligence. Many times your medical malpractice lawyer must use another expert to prove a link between the injury or death. If that is done, then compensatory or punitive damages may be awarded to compensate the victim for the injury or death.

Why Should You Hire a Medical Malpractice Attorney?
Thousands of injuries occur every year in the United States as a result of medical malpractice involving doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists and other medical and hospital staff. However, less than 10% of them are investigated by a medical malpractice lawyer specializing in medical malpractice claims because of the complicated legalities involved. The standard definition for medical malpractice is where a person has suffered an injury which they would not have otherwise suffered had the care not been negligent. The medical doctor, nurse, anethesiologist, medical or hospital worker is considered negligent if the care falls below the minimum standard of skill or care which medical profession regards as acceptable.

Once medical malpractice has been proven, it is necessary to show that the damage has been caused as a result of negligence, which is difficult because the patient was already ill when the negligent treatment started. Typically, the medical malpractice attorney will show the natural progression of the underlying condition and what the outcome would have been if the patient received proper treatment to establish what a difference the negligence made. However, the definition for medical malpractice differs from state to state, and so does the statute of limitation. The best thing to do if you suspect that you or a loved one has suffered negligence at the hands of a medical professional is to consult with a medical malpractice lawyer right away.

Edward P. Rowan, Attorney at Law, 259 N. Jackson Street, Mobile, AL 36603, (800) 785-8755