by HWC Partner Carter Clay For any attorney who has pursued product liability cases on behalf of injured victims, you know that the attorney(s) for the manufacturer will often claim that the plaintiff “misused” the product and that it was the plaintiff who caused the incident. Oftentimes, attorneys representing the plaintiff will not push back on such as statement and will allow the statement or contention to go unchallenged prior to trial. This is a mistake. To have a viable affirmative defense of product “misuse,” a defendant must present evidence “showing that the plaintiff used the product ..read more

by HWC Attorney Allwin E. Horn, IV One of the benefits of the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act is that as long as an employee is injured during the line, scope and course of their employment, payment for “reasonable” and “necessary” medical treatment for life will remain the responsibility of the employer and/or the employer’s insurance company. This general rule applies even if the accident is the fault of the injured worker. Accidents happen! Employees who have suffered on-the-job injuries can attest to how frustrating the process can be in terms of getting medical treatment approved by the ..read more

by HWC Managing Partner Josh Wright The Alabama Dram Shop Act has been around since 1909, and in pertinent part, has been in place to protect “every wife, child, parent, or other person who was injured in person, property or means of support by any intoxicated person.” Many bars, restaurants, and convenience stores do things the right way and follow the rules with no liability; those that don’t, have answered to Ala. Code Sec. 6-5-71 and well-established Alabama Alabama case laws for more than 100 years. In the name of reduced insurance costs for bars, restaurants, and convenience stores, and ..read more

by HWC Managing Partner Josh Wright Managing Partner Josh Wright has developed a specialty over the last 25 years in the litigation of toxicology admissibility. Long a regionally-recognized drunk driving victim’s lawyer, the issue of biologic sample admissibility has developed in the law, and Josh has been on the forefront of the topic–litigating alcohol and drug-related cases in State and Federal courts in multiple states, and constantly writing and lecturing on the topic. In fact, part of the current Alabama Beverage Control regulations were written by Josh in 2011-2012. “Admissibility of bi ..read more

by Josh Wright Post-COVID verdict averages in personal injury claims are up close to 50% from that of pre-COVID verdicts, according to recent statistics.¹ Verdicts in 2022 alone for Alabama injury victims have topped $97,000,000 in cases involving a wide array of wrongful conduct, including contract disputes, auto, medical malpractice, co-employee, fraud, discrimination, and uninsured motorists. See some of those recent verdicts below (based on lawyer-disclosed data): Juries appear to listen carefully, consider all the evidence and thoroughly asses fundamental fairness in cases post-COVID. Ins ..read more

by Josh Wright Post-COVID verdict averages in personal injury claims are up close to 50% from that of pre-COVID verdicts, according to recent statistics. See Scientific evaluation of juror damage awards post-COVID, Courtroom Sciences (CSI), Auth. Steve Wood, Ph.D. Verdicts in 2022 alone for Alabama injury victims have topped $92,000,000 in cases involving a wide array of wrongful conduct, including contract disputes, auto, medical malpractice, discrimination, and uninsured motorists. “I can tell you that juries appear primed to listen carefully, consider all the evidence and thoroughly asses f ..read more

by Carter Clay Prior to any trial, the attorneys will assess the need to file motions in limine to try to keep of damaging or prejudicial testimony and evidence. Typically, the court will hold a hearing on these motions before commencing the trial and will issue rulings on most, if not all, of the motions. When the court rules adversely to your client, the lawyer must ask himself or herself whether the ruling is sufficient to preserve the issue for appeal. The answer to this question is often “no,” but it depends on whether the court expressly and unequivocally indicated that the party does no ..read more

by HWC Partner Carter Clay Although not terribly common, there are occasions where an individual or company may go to a fabricator or a product manufacturer and ask them to manufacture a product or part based upon an exemplar or design specifications created by the customer. If the manufacturer agrees to make the product or part, what are the manufacturer’s responsibilities? Can they blindly follow the design specifications provided by the customer? Under Alabama law, the answer is no, the manufacturer cannot blindly follow the design specifications and escape liability if the product or part ..read more

by HWC Managing Partner Josh Wright Over the last 20 years HWC Managing Partner Josh Wright has invested a lot of litigation time and firm resources toward co-employee “removal of safety guard” cases and has had great success in that practice area. Over just the last four years, Josh has successfully resolved seven separate cases under a (c)(2) safety device theory. Josh stated, “lawyers in our state often believe the exclusivity provision of the Workers’ Compensation Act is an absolute bar to cases against co-employees, or believe (c)(2) cases are often not covered by liability insurance. For ..read more

by John Spade, HWC Attorney The weather is more pleasant, and lately, any chance to get outside and enjoy some fresh air has been a big relief to Alabamians. Whether you are going out to hunt, fish, camp, hike, bike, swim, or climb, it is good to be in the great outdoors. As a part of an effort to encourage Alabamians to go out and enjoy nature, Alabama Legislators passed Ala. Code §§35-15-1 and 35-15-20, also known as the Recreational Use Statutes, in 1981. The purpose of these statutes is to protect landowners, both private individuals and public entities, from liability if someone gets inj ..read more