Starnes Davis Florie has defended physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and other health care providers in medical malpractice actions for over thirty years. During that time, the firm has tried more medical malpractice defense cases than any other firm in Alabama. With this experience, the lawyers at Starnes Davis Florie have developed the keen insight to understand complex medical issues and the unique ability to breakdown and present these issues to a jury, judge, arbitrator or other authority. Along with this insight, the firm combines a work ethic and diligence that leaves no stone unturned in its trial preparation and defense of cases. Our lawyers have defended medical specialists from anesthesiologists to urologists, and routinely defend cases involving birth injury, brain injury, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death.
Best Lawyers in America lists Starnes Davis Florie as a Top Tier firm in the field of Medical Malpractice - Defendants with eight attorneys, U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" ranks Starnes Davis Florie in Tier 1 for Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, and Chambers USA ranks Starnes Davis Florie in Band 1 in the category of Litigation: Medical Malpractice Defense.
The firm also assists healthcare clients in many different areas of their practice, including prevention of litigation and risk management issues. Lawyers in the firm speak and provide presentations in these areas to healthcare providers, professional organizations, and medical societies on a frequent basis. While the lawyers at Starnes Davis Florie are always prepared to defend our healthcare clients, we realize that it is in our clients’ best interest to avoid a medical malpractice action when possible.
As the firm’s practice areas cover a wide range of services, it is able to offer advice regarding all legal concerns of the medical industry, including employment-related issues, handling False Claim Act and Medicare/Medicaid billing matters relating to fraud and abuse, and contract issues. The firm’s appellate practice is also active in medical malpractice actions, having been called upon multiple times to file amicus curiae briefs on behalf of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.
Related practice areas and services include:
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical
Business Litigation
Environmental Litigation & Regulatory Compliance
Labor & Employment
Long-Term Care & Nursing Home Litigation
Long Term Care & Other Health Care Regulatory Compliance
Professional License Defense
Workers’ Compensation
Specific examples of areas of focus in healthcare litigation include:
- Handling False Claims Act and Medicare/ Medicaid billing matters relating to fraud and abuse
- Involvement in licensing issues, appearing before the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, the Alabama Board of Nursing, the Alabama Board of Dental Examiners, and the Alabama Board of Examiners for Speech Language Pathology and Audiology
- Representing hospitals and medical staffs in medical staff privilege litigation
- Representing medical staff executive committees and hospitals in disciplinary proceedings
- Involvement in Certificate of Need matters
- Preparing hospital staff bylaws, policies, and procedures
- Service on ethics committees at local hospitals
- Assisting the Medical Association for the State of Alabama in drafting healthcare legislation, including portions of the Medical Liability Act
- Frequently handling matters regarding HIPAA and EMTALA
- Addressing compliance issues
- Involvement in contract negotiations for healthcare providers
- Addressing controversial medical ethics issues, including advance directives and end of life decisions
- Handling numerous ERISA matters
