Helmsing, Leach, Herlong, Newman & Rouse, P.C.
Skilled. Effective. Respected. Since 1976.

Legal Developments





Alabama Supreme Court holds that wound care nurse was not qualified to testify as to the standard of care for overall post-op care of cardiac patient.

Posted: 28 Nov 2011
Recently, in Springhill Hospitals, Inc. v. Critopoulos, ___ So. 2d ___ 2011 WL 5607816 (Ala. Nov. 18, 2011), the Alabama Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s ruling that a plaintiff’s expert witness, a registered nurse, was qualified to testify as to the standard of care in the plaintiff’s medical malpractice claim.  The witness testified that nurses who had cared for the plaintiff after...

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Applying superseded law, the Alabama Supreme Court holds that a plaintiff who was continuously exposed to a toxic substance could recover only for those injuries he could prove occurred during the applicable limitations period.

Posted: 11 Oct 2011
In 2008, the Supreme Court of Alabama decided Griffin v. Unocal Corp., 990 So. 2d 291 (Ala. 2008).  In that opinion, the Court overruled Garrett v. Raytheon Co., 368 So. 2d 516 (Ala. 1979) and its progeny, which stood for the proposition that, when a plaintiff has been continuously exposed to a toxic substance over a period of time, his cause of action accrues, and the limitations period begins...

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The Alabama Supreme Court holds that venue of a products liability claim against the corporate seller of fertilizer was not proper in the county of the plaintiff’s residence.

Posted: 05 Oct 2011
 In Ex parte Thomasville Feed & Seed, Inc., ___ So. 3d ___, 2011 WL 2573049 (Ala. June 30,  2011), a cattle farmer sued Thomasville Feed & Seed, Inc., in the Wilcox Circuit Court, alleging that fertilizer the farmer purchased from Thomasville's store in Clarke County was defective under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine and killed his grass.  Thomasville filed a petition...

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Alabama Supreme Court determines that the statute of limitations for wantonness claims is two years, not six.

Posted: 28 Sep 2011
In Ex parte Capstone Building Corp., ___ So. 3d ___, 2011 WL 2164027 (Ala. June 3, 2011), the Supreme Court of Alabama made clear that the limitations period for wantonness claims in Alabama is two years.  In doing so, the Court overruled Ex parte McKenzie v. Killian, 887 So. 2d 861 (Ala. 2004) and Carr v. International Refining & Manufacturing Co., 13 So. 3d 947 (Ala. 2009), in which the Court...

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