Highlights

• After a nine day trial, obtained a Judgment as a Matter of Law on behalf of a board certified general surgeon in a wrongful death case alleging the surgeon failed to recognize signs of an abdominal complication after colon surgery.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a general surgeon charged with medical negligence and wrongful death in the performance of a colonoscopy.
• Obtained a defense verdict for a family  practice physician in a case involving paralysis and wrongful death.
• Obtained a defense verdict  in favor of an urologist in a suit alleging negligence in the performance of an adult circumcision.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a general surgeon charged with medical negligence in the performance of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (minimally invasive surgery to remove the gallbladder).
• Obtained a defense verdict for a general surgeon and surgical group in a wrongful death case involving an intra-abdominal abscess resulting in septic shock.
• Obtained a defense verdict for two general surgeons after a six day trial in a wrongful death case involving the readmission of a patient to the hospital following recent hernia repair surgery.

• Obtained a defense verdict for an anesthesiologist in a wrongful death case alleging improper use of running the CODE resulting in the patient’s death.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist following a four day trial in Tennessee stemming from the ordering of post anesthesia care unit pain medication that resulted in blindness.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a radiologist in an eight day wrongful death trial arising from allegations of failure to diagnose a patient’s brain aneurysm.
• Successfully defended an obstetrician against charges of medical malpractice in cases involving the deaths of an obstetrical patient and her 34 week old fetus for wrongful death.
• Successfully defended a psychiatrist in a wrongful death case before a Federal Court jury involving allegations of informed consent and failure to consult a specialist related to electroconvulsive therapy.
• Obtained a defense verdict for an obstetrician and his practice in a case alleging malpractice related to gynecological surgery.
• Obtained a defense verdict for an OB/GYN in a case alleging misrepresentation of colposcopy findings as cancer resulting in an unnecessary hysterectomy.
• Obtained a jury verdict for two surgeons arising out of allegations that a patient’s death was the result of the first surgeon failing to timely place a thoracoscopy tube in a patient with a pneumothorax and the second surgeon failing to timely perform a thoracotomy to address a hemothorax.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of two emergency medicine physicians in a case arising out of allegations by the plaintiff that the defendants failed to diagnose him with a myocardial infarction or impending infarction during their emergency room evaluation.
• Obtained declaratory judgment for General Motors allowing it to close car dealership under the Alabama Motor Vehicle Franchise Act and ruling that GM was not obligated to pay the dealer $1.2 million in alleged debt forgiveness and sales tax revenue relief offered by the City of Birmingham.
• Successfully defended an emergency physician in a wrongful death trial alleging failure to diagnosis a basilar artery stroke in the emergency department, and inappropriate discharge from the emergency department.
• Successfully defended two internal medicine specialists in a wrongful death case alleging inappropriate management of a patient’s anticoagulation therapy subsequent to his diagnosis with deep vein thrombosis.
• Obtained a defense verdict in Federal Court in favor of a neurosurgeon in a spinal cord injury case arising from complications secondary to a foraminotomy.
• Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a family practitioner and his professional corporation in a wrongful death case involving complications arising from an exercise stress test.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a hospital in a wrongful death case involving complications arising from conscious sedation during a shoulder reduction procedure.
• Successfully defended product liability claims against a construction hoist manufacturer.
• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of defendant in combination medical malpractice/product liability case secondary to complication from use of laser machine during plastic surgery.

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Presentations and Publications

• Walter W. Bates, R. Todd Huntley, William S. Starnes, Jr., “Ten Tips for Direct Examination and Cross-Examination,” 39:2 Am. J. Trial Advoc. 339 (2015).
• Overcoming Tensions Between Drug/Device Defendants and Treating Physicians, International Association of Defense Counsel Webinar (June 18, 2014)
• “Overcoming Tensions Between Drug/Device Defendants and Treating Physicians,”  International Association of Defense Counsel 2014 Mid-Year Meeting, Carlsbad, California (February 11, 2014)·
• Warning! Slippery Experts Ahead: Tips for Dealing with the Professional (and Less Than Forthcoming) Expert Witness, International Association of Defense Counsel Webinar (May 13, 2013)
• Ethics and Professionalism for Litigators at the Defense Research Institute, DRI Medical Liability and Health Care Law Seminar in Miami Beach, Florida (March 22, 2013)

News & Insights

• 16 Starnes Attorneys Listed in the 2022 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
• Starnes Davis Florie Highly Ranked in Benchmark Litigation 2023
• Salter & Bates Obtain a Judgment as a Matter of Law After a Nine-Day Wrongful Death Trial
• 30 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2023
• STARNES DAVIS FLORIE RANKED A TOP FIRM BY CHAMBERS USA 2022
• TWENTY-TWO ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2021 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
• STARNES RANKED AS A “HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FIRM” IN THE 2022 EDITION OF BENCHMARK LITIGATION
• Starnes Attorneys Adams & Bates Obtain Jury Verdict in Wrongful Death Case
• 29 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2022
• STARNES DAVIS FLORIE RANKED A TOP FIRM BY CHAMBERS USA 2021
• Starnes Ranked as a “Highly Recommended Firm” in the 2021 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
• White, Newton & Bates Secure Favorable Supreme Court Opinion
• Twenty-Six Attorneys Named to the 2020 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
• Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2021
• Executive Order Provides Immunity
• STARNES DAVIS FLORIE RANKED A TOP FIRM BY CHAMBERS USA 2020
• SDF Appellate Win – AL Supreme Court Grants Reversal & Remand
• THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2019 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
• Billy Bates Named Best Lawyers “2020 Lawyer of the Year”
• Thirty SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers 2020