Highlights

• Chris has been practicing for 30 years and he has tried over 65 complex cases to a jury.
• Obtained a defense verdict for a an OBGYN in a 6 day jury trial alleging negligence during the performance of diagnostic laparoscopy procedure, resulting a rectal perforation to the patient.
• Obtained a defense verdict for a defendant gynecologic oncologist in a case alleging negligent failure to diagnose and treat post-operative bleeding and hemorrhagic shock, resulting in the death of a patient who underwent a robotic and laparoscopic procedure for suspected ovarian cancer.
• Obtained a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court of Alabama affirming the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of their clients in a case involving allegations of harm caused by the long-term use of a medication.
• 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 in Calhoun County.
• Obtained a defense verdict for an internist in a wrongful death case involving an allegation that the internist failed to diagnose an esophageal perforation following gastrointestinal surgery.
• Obtained a defense verdict for an emergency room physician in a wrongful death case involving complications due to a bowel obstruction.

• Obtained a defense judgment following a three day arbitration of a nursing home malpractice case involving the death of a resident alleged to have resulted from a medication error and the failure to appropriately treat the resident’s condition and monitor the resident’s hydration status.
• Secured a Judgment as a Matter of Law after a week long trial for a hospital and three ICU nurses in a case involving an internally dislodged tracheostomy tube that resulted in a severe brain injury to the patient.
• Secured a Summary Judgment for a urologist in connection with a claim the urologist violated the standard of care with respect to performing an Acucise endopyelotomy.
• Secured a Summary Judgment for a hospital in connection with a claim concerning a patient fall.
• Secured a Summary Judgment on behalf of a hospital and an operating room nurse where the plaintiff alleged the operating room nurse, along with other defendants, failed to properly position plaintiff during a hysterectomy causing the plaintiff to develop a brachial plexus injury.
• Secured a Summary Judgment for a pediatrician in a wrongful death case where the plaintiff claimed she failed to timely and appropriately diagnose sepsis.
• Secured a Summary Judgment for a neurologist and an internist where the plaintiff claimed the physicians failed to diagnose and properly treat temporal arteritis.
• Secured a Summary Judgment for a family practitioner where the plaintiff alleged a failure to timely and appropriately address an abnormal PSA.
• Obtained a defense verdict in medical malpractice case involving obstetrical complication resulting in significant neurologic injury to newborn.
• Obtained a defense verdict in medical malpractice case against hospital involving admitted violation of the standard of care where case was defended solely on causation issues.
• Presented paper at the Annual Scientific Meeting and post-graduate course program for the Southeastern Surgical Congress in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 11-15, 2005, regarding medical malpractice issues and bariatric surgery.
• Ex parte Nail, 111 So. 3d 125 (Ala. 2012).
• Glenda Wright, as Mother and Next Friend of Donna Wright v. Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center Board, d/b/a Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center, Alabama Supreme Court No. 1100777.
• Brookwood Medical Center v. Lindstrom, 763 So. 2d 951 (Ala. 2000).
• Hilburn v. Ellis, 688 So. 2d 236 (Ala. 1997).
• Ex parte Northport Health Service, Inc., 682 So. 2d 52 (Ala. 1996) (Amicus).
• Keel v. Banach, 624 So. 2d 1022 (Ala. 1993).
• Levesque v. Regional Medical Center Board, 612 So. 2d 445 (Ala. 1993).
• Independent Fire Ins. Co. v. Mutual Assur. Inc., 553 So. 2d 115 (Ala. 1989).
• Long v. Hodges, 639 So. 2d 238 (Ala. 1989).
• Raise v. Wood, 540 So. 2d 643 (Ala. 1988) (Amicus).

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Presentations and Publications

• Keeping Up with the Technology: Constant Changes Perpetually Impact the Practice of Medicine and Create Liability Risks, IADC Medical Defense and Health Law Committee Newsletter (June 2020).
• Anticipating and Minimizing Hearsay Objections, a 2-Day Practical Course on Advanced Civil Litigation Skills in Alabama held at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-Wynfrey Hotel, December 17, 2015 (presentation)
• Medicare Set Asides and Liens 101, NBI Seminar “Personal Injury Claims: The Insurance Defense Perspective,” December 13, 2013 (presentation)
• Confidentiality of Medical Records, Presentation, November 2, 2012 (presentation)
• Direct Examination, Cumberland School of Law, October 18, 2012 (presentation)
• Applying the Rules of Evidence: What Every Attorney Needs to Know, National Business Institute Seminar, August 23, 2012 (presentation)
• The Discovery Process in a Medical Practice:  Subpoenas, Depositions, and Court Appearances, presented to the Medical Management Association (MGMA) of Birmingham, June 21, 2012 (presentation)
• Dental Malpractice, The Standard of Care and Documentation: Does SOC = D?, UAB School of Dentistry Alumni Weekend, February 2 – 5, 2012 (presentation)
• Eagan, Walston & Starnes – Medicare Reporting Requirements and the MSPS (Medicare Secondary Payer Statute): Where DO We Go From Here?” The Alabama Self-Insurer, Winter 2010 (publication)
• “Bariatric Surgery: Malpractice Risks and Risk Management Guidelines,” The American Surgeon, May 2005, Vol. 71. p. 369 (publication)
• Medical Malpractice Guide to Misdiagnosis Cases, National Business Institute Seminar, September 22, 2011 (presentation)
• New Reporting Requirements under the Medicare Secondary Payer Statute, IADC Medical Defense and Health Law and Legislative, Judicial and Government Affairs Committees, IADC Webinar, July 2009 (presentation)

News & Insights

• SDF’s Eagan, Newton, Huntley, and Jones Obtain Favorable Ruling from Alabama Supreme Court
• Starnes Davis Florie Highly Ranked in Benchmark Litigation 2023
• Eagan, Newton & Jones Secure Defense Verdict After a 6-Day Med Mal Trial
• 30 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2023
• SDF Attorneys White & Eagan Obtain Defense Verdict in 7-Day Trial
• STARNES RANKED AS A “HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FIRM” IN THE 2022 EDITION OF BENCHMARK LITIGATION
• TONY DAVIS & CHRIS EAGAN NAMED BEST LAWYERS “2022 LAWYER OF THE YEAR”
• 29 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2022
• Starnes Ranked as a “Highly Recommended Firm” in the 2021 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
• Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2021
• Chamberlain, Eagan & Hines Publish Article in IADC’s Medical Defense & Health Law Newsletter
• Chris Eagan, Sybil Newton, and Sarah Chamberlain Obtain Favorable Ruling from the Supreme Court of Alabama
• Thirty SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers 2020
• Twenty-Seven SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2019
• Twenty-Six SDF Lawyers Listed in the 2018 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
• SDF Attorneys Chris Eagan & Billy Bates Obtain Defense Verdict in Wrongful Death Trial
• Twenty Starnes Davis Florie Attorneys Named to the 2017 Edition of Best Lawyers®
• Starnes Davis Florie Attorneys Eagan and Sellers Secure Defense Verdict for Internist After 8 Day Trial
• SDF Attorneys Eagan and Sellers Secure Defense Verdict for Emergency Room Physician after Week Long Trial
• Chris Eagan Gave Presentation on “Anticipating and Minimizing Hearsay Objections”