Find Lawyers in Alabama, United States for Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
Practice Area Overview
It is important for a defendant not to ignore the deadline to answer the complaint, because doing so can lead a court to decide in favor of the plaintiff and award money damages. Many times, a defendant will have insurance that covers any allegations being made in a complaint. For example, if you are being sued for an auto accident, you probably have car insurance. If someone was injured on your property, you probably have homeowner’s insurance. If you believe you have insurance for the claims being made against you, immediately contact your insurance agent to report the claim and to provide information about the complaint. Failing to do this could result in an insurance company refusing to pay for any money damages awarded in the lawsuit. If you do not have insurance for the claims being made against you, it is important to contact an attorney so that they can protect your interests in court.
When you are a defendant in a civil lawsuit (a matter not involving a crime) you need to consult with a civil defense attorney who specializes in litigation (i.e., matters pending in court). Civil defense attorneys tend to specialize in a specific area. Some examples include: auto claims, homeowner claims, business/contract claims, property disputes, etc. Before hiring a lawyer, you should determine if a particular lawyer has experience in the subject matter relevant to the complaint. If you have insurance that covers a specific claim, your insurance company will typically hire and pay the lawyer for you.
Select a city from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
Cities
Russell Q. Allison is a founding shareholder of Carr Allison and serves as the firm’s president. Resident in the Birmingham (AL) office, Russ advises and represents clients in a broad range of businesses with an emphasis on clients in the insurance industry. Russ is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Russ sits on the board of the EC Defense Network, which he co-founded in 2016, and is se...
The focus of Mr. Arnston’s practice is the defense of long-term care and assisted-living facilities, hospitals, physicians, and nurses in professional liability cases. He also defends product manufacturers and trucking companies in personal injury actions, as well as various corporations in general litigation matters.
For more than three decades, Joseph P. H. Babington has handled civil litigation in state and federal courts in Alabama and around the country. Joe has tried cases, argued appeals, and prosecuted and defended arbitrations. He has worked on a broad range of complex matters and has deep experience in products liability defense, catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, and business and commercial disputes. Joe presented the winning argument in the United States Supreme Court in Kumho Tire C...
Robert Baugh is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he serves as chair of the Dentons Sirote Litigation practice group. Robert has been engaged in the practice of law continuously since 1982. Robert represents clients in insurance, business, and product liability cases in both state and federal courts throughout the Southeast. He has obtained favorable results for Fortune 500 companies as well as privately held companies. In addition to his litigation pra...
One of the firm’s founders, Charles Carr has more than 35 years of litigation experience in state and federal courts in Alabama. Charles has litigated in many other states throughout the United States. He has served as national coordinating counsel on complex and catastrophic personal injury cases in 25 states within the United States for a major national insurance carrier. Currently, Charles serves as national trial counsel for Swift Transportation, one of the largest motor carriers in...
Steven F. Casey is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He maintains a diverse practice not only representing clients in court, but also in counseling clients in avoiding and managing litigation risks. Steve has extensive experience in the energy, pharmaceutical, chemical, banking, and aviation industries. He has litigated toxic tort, product liability, securities fraud, banking, ERISA, insurance, and contract cases. With more than 70 trials under his belt, Steve’s experience has...
Ty Dedmon is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. His practice focuses on the areas of Life Sciences and Commercial litigation. His representation of life sciences clients in both commercial and personal injury disputes gives him a unique perspective in assisting many of the firm’s clients in all aspects of the healthcare industry. His commercial litigation experience includes the representation of clients in the transportation and logistics industry, as well as an online travel ...
A founding member of Christian & Small, Eddie was a long time partner with its predecessor firm, Rives & Peterson, and has been trying cases in federal and state court for more than 30 years. Eddie’s experience includes retail and premises liability, transportation, product liability, pharmaceutical litigation, medical malpractice, and a variety of insurance cases. He combines his courtroom expertise and knowledge with the best technology available, efficient management of rigor...
John Graham’s practice includes a significant amount of personal injury litigation, much of which is involved in the regular representation of Norfolk Southern Corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. He also has a general litigation practice in which he has represented a number of companies and businesses in various commercial disputes. He has extensive experience in jury trials as well as appellate practice in both state and federal courts. Mr. Graham has been assign...
Jonathan Hooks is a products liability litigator who has represented an array of clients throughout the southeast. He has defended manufacturers and distributors of products such as heavy and light machinery, consumer electronics, chemicals, nutraceuticals, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, he has represented skilled nursing facilities, hotels, windstorm insurers, premises owners, transportation companies, energy companies, and professionals such as engineers, home inspectors...
Andy is a general litigator with a diverse practice encompassing multiple areas of litigation. Andy’s practice consists primarily of product liability defense, with a focus on pharmaceutical or drug and device litigation. Andy’s product liability work also has a concentration in tires and construction materials. Andy also devotes a significant portion of his practice to a broad array of commercial disputes, including both business disputes and financial services and insurance liti...
Elizabeth J. Kanter is a shareholder in the Birmingham, Alabama office of Carr Allison where she defends transportation suits and handles all phases of labor and employment matters. She is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama, as well as the Alabama state courts. Elizabeth has been selected to the Mid-South Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers® from 2012-2016 and was chosen as a 2017 “Top Flight Lawyer&...
Daniel Kaufmann’s litigation practice involves representation of both plaintiffs and defendants. Daniel's primary litigation focus is commercial disputes, professional liability claims, and media law. In these areas, he has experience defending medical and legal liability claims in state court, defending media entities in state and federal court, and prosecuting and defending commercial disputes in both state and federal forums. Daniel regularly defends malpractice claims against health...
Mr. Knox has experience representing clients before the trial and appellate courts of Alabama, as well as before the federal courts. His appellate practice includes oral arguments before the Alabama Supreme Court and the filing of briefs before the United States Supreme Court. Although his practice is mainly devoted to professional liability litigation, he has experience in commercial and contract litigation, as well as products liability actions.
Mrs. Long focuses her practice on complex civil litigation and insurance defense matters. She has successfully defended individuals, small businesses, corporations, and insurers in state and federal courts throughout Alabama in matters involving extra-contractual claims, first-party and third-party insurance claims, coverage questions, business/contract disputes, construction defects, fraud, arson, theft, product liability, premises liability, truck/automobile litigation, catastrophic injury,...
David L. McAlister is a shareholder in Carr Allison’s Birmingham (AL) office. David handles a wide variety of legal matters including auto accidents, railroad claims (both FELA and crossing accidents), premises liability, insurance coverage, products liability, construction, commercial vehicle claims and workers’ compensation. He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama and before the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. An AV Preeminent ® ra...
Crawford McGivaren is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been listed in Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation since 2002. He has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America in Business and Personal Injury Litigation since 1989, and is recognized for Antitrust Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Professional Malpractice Law and Railroad Law. He has been named by Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top 50 lawyers in the state of Alabama and was listed...
Richard Monk is a seasoned attorney experienced in a variety of complex civil litigation, including commercial, product liability, toxic tort and personal injury cases. Richard's experience includes significant responsibilities on coordinated teams of lawyers defending and managing large numbers of similar cases and cases among multiple jurisdictions, including work on cases in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia. H...
Over the course of his career, Mr. Morgan has concentrated his practice in the area of civil defense work. He has handled hundreds of cases in the defense of municipalities, corporations, individuals, and insurance companies. In addition to various insurance companies, he has represented Winn-Dixie for almost 30 years and served as City Attorney for Montgomery for more than three years. His practice also includes defending municipalities and public officials in a multitude of actions, many of...
Walker Moss is a shareholder in the Birmingham, Alabama office of Carr Allison. His practice concentrates on workers’ compensation, labor and employment related issues, premises liability, personal injury and general litigation defense. He speaks regularly to carriers and businesses and writes articles pertaining to current issues in workers’ compensation cases. Walker earned his BA degree in business from Auburn University (AL), his MBA from Samford University (AL) and his JD fro...
With over 15 years of litigation experience in both state and federal courts in Alabama and more than 70 trials to verdict, it goes without saying that Jim Pattillo is comfortable in the courtroom. He focuses his practice on matters involving insurance coverage and bad faith liability, business and commercial litigation, professional and product liability, class action, toxic torts, and transportation. He is a frequent speaker and writer in the areas of trial practice and technique, litigatio...
David is the Managing Partner of the Birmingham location of Hall Booth Smith, P.S. He has tried dozens of jury trials in various state and federal courts in Alabama. He is a member of the Health Care Practice Group where his practice is focused on medical malpractice defense. His litigation experience also extends to the defense of matters involving employment discrimination, products liability, insurance fraud, commercial disputes and premises liability. David participated in the successful ...
Caroline T. Pryor is a shareholder in Carr Allison’s Mobile, Alabama office where she has practiced since 1999. Caroline’s practice areas include the defense of professional liability matters, complex litigation, transportation, worker’s compensation and premises liability matters, with a focus on matters pending in federal court. In addition to handling matters in active litigation, Caroline is called upon by her clients to assist in pre-suit discovery matters, as well as t...
Lea Richmond, IV is a shareholder in Carr Allison's Birmingham (AL) office. His trial practice involves the defense of transportation liability litigation, products liability and health care litigation. In 2014, Lea received an exclusive honor when he was appointed by the Alabama Supreme Court to serve a three-year term on the Alabama Pattern Jury Instructions Committee - Civil. This committee is charged with drafting the language of the pattern jury instructions that are used across the stat...
Sarah Cross Ryan is a shareholder in the Mobile, Alabama office of Carr Allison. Her practice concentrates on a wide variety of litigation matters in which she defends companies and individuals in retail and hospitality liability, premises liability, workers’ compensation, complex litigation and general liability matters. Sarah is admitted to practice before the Alabama State Courts, the Middle and Southern District Courts of Alabama, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleve...
Harold Stephens is a litigation attorney in the firm's Huntsville office. He began his practice in 1980 as an Assistant United States Attorney in Birmingham. For more than twenty years, he has handled a variety of civil litigation, both at the trial and appellate level. In his litigation practice, Harold has defended numerous products liability claims involving forklifts, chainsaws, logging equipment, medical devices, computer software and hardware, punch presses, farm equipment, electrical d...
An experienced trial lawyer, Win has represented clients in hundreds of cases during his 25-plus years of practice in Mobile. His active trial practice includes all types of complex litigation, but his focus is representing hospitals, physicians and long-term care facilities across Alabama in medical negligence lawsuits and other healthcare-related litigation. Win is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. The Best Lawyers of ...
Steve Tucker is listed in Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Personal Injury Litigation and Railroad Law, and was recently named Best Lawyers’ 2014 Birmingham Railroad Law “Lawyer of the Year.” An Alabama native, he attended law school at the University of Kentucky College of Law, graduating in 1984. While attending law school, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Kentucky Law Journal. Mr. Tucker practices in both federal and state courts. His law practice is devote...
Mike Vercher is a partner and former chair of Christian & Small’s Insurance and Financial Services Practice Group. For over 20 years, he has represented insurance companies and their insureds in litigation and coverage disputes. Mike also routinely represents businesses in complex mass tort, workplace exposure, construction, transportation, product liability, premises liability, breach of contract and fraud litigation. He has tried cases as lead counsel in seven different Alabama co...
Thomas A. “Tom” Woodall is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a member of the Litigation practice group and leads the Dentons Sirote Alternative Dispute Resolution team. As a former Alabama Supreme Court Justice, Tom’s practice focuses on all aspects of the appellate process, from drafting briefs and motions to oral arguments, in all Alabama and federal appellate courts, including the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, the Alabama Su...
Ms. Coolidge focuses on civil litigation, including defending employers in workers’ compensation and retaliatory discharge claims; experience in personal injury, defense of long-term care and assisted-living facilities, and other healthcare-related, professional-liability cases, as well as general tort litigation; local government and municipality law, labor and employment issues, regulatory compliance, Medicare Set-Asides (MSAs), and insurance coverage disputes. As a registered nurse w...
Pamela S. Hallford is a shareholder at Carr Allison and is resident in the Dothan (AL) office. Pam’s practice focuses on the commercial transportation industry, specifically the defense of commercial motor carriers involved in catastrophic accidents. She represents these clients if or when they are involved in accidents as well as provides guidance to transportation companies looking to implement new policies. Pam is a member of Carr Allison’s accident investigation/emergency respons...
Ms. Houseknecht’s practice is centered on the defense of hospitals, physicians, nurses, and long-term care and assisted-living facilities in professional liability cases. In addition to professional liability litigation, she has experience in products liability cases and has defended trucking companies, insurance carriers, insureds, and businesses in injury-related lawsuits.
Will Johnson is an associate in Carr Allison’s Birmingham (AL) office where his practice focuses on transportation, insurance and general litigation. He is licensed to practice in Alabama. Will received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with a major in psychology and a minor in political science. While at UAB, Will was named to the Dean’s List and received the University’s Golden Excellence Scholarship. He was also a member of ...
Ethan Wilkinson has represented individuals and businesses in a variety of matters. He predominately works in the construction industry, representing general contractors, subcontractors, owners, and other parties on contract issues and construction claims, including a focus on evaluating his clients' risks and litigation exposure and counseling them on how to strengthen their position. In addition to his construction work, Ethan also represents clients on employment-related issues, including ...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.