Medical Malpractice & Patient Safety

Not every bad outcome is malpractice. A claim exists when care falls below the standard of care — which is simply the patient safety standards a reasonably careful provider is required to follow in that situation — and that failure causes real harm. Alabama’s Medical Liability Act sets a demanding standard for proving these cases.

Almost always, yes. Alabama generally requires testimony from a “similarly situated” health care provider, someone with comparable training and specialty to the provider in question, to establish what the standard of care was and how it was breached. Lining up the right expert early is a core part of the work.

Generally two years from the date of the negligent act (Ala. Code § 6-5-482). If the harm could not reasonably have been discovered in that time, there is a limited extension, but Alabama also has an overall four-year cutoff, and different rules apply to young children. Because these deadlines are strict, it is best to ask early.

Both may be responsible. A hospital can be accountable for the people it employs and for system failures such as inadequate staffing, training, or safety procedures. Identifying everyone responsible is part of the investigation.

What a case is worth depends heavily on the facts: how serious and lasting the harm is, the medical care and losses it has already caused, and what it will cost you going forward. It also depends on the available recovery — who the responsible parties are and what insurance and assets stand behind them — and on practical factors like the strength of the evidence, the venue, and how the case would present to a jury. An honest valuation comes only after those things are understood, and that is where the free consultation begins.