Hunter C. Carroll

Hunter C. Carroll is a founding shareholder in the Birmingham, Alabama, office of Hagwood and Tipton. He has served as the firm’s president and is currently on the Board of Directors and serves as the firm’s vice president. He practices in the Birmingham, Alabama, and Charlotte, North Carolina, offices.

Legal Expertise
Hunter is a trial lawyer with a diverse litigation practice. He specializes in defending businesses and professionals, including physicians, hospitals, long-term care, and senior housing facilities. Hunter also handles complex matters involving insurance, mass tort, premises liability, products liability, construction defect, and commercial disputes.

Hunter handles all phases of the litigation process, with a particular emphasis on trial. He has defended cases and claims in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Hunter has tried dozens of cases to verdict, both jury and non-jury, and has handled appeals at all levels. Additionally, Hunter advises clients throughout the Southeast on compliance practices, risk management, and litigation strategies.

Education
After earning his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in Business Administration and Accounting from Samford University in 1993, Hunter obtained his juris doctor from Samford’s Cumberland School of Law in 1997. In law school, Hunter’s legal writing skills led him to serve as the Research and Writing Editor for the American Journal of Trial Advocacy. Additionally, he was selected as a Cordell Hull Teaching Fellow, a member of the Henry Upson Sims Moot Court Board and an Honor Court Justice. Hunter is also a member of the International Legal Honor Society, Phi Delta Phi.

Achievements
Hunter holds an AV Preeminent™ rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, its highest rating for professional excellence in ethical standards and legal ability. He was nominated and invited to join the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. Hunter is an active member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, the Alabama Nursing Home Defense Lawyers Association, the Alabama State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association, and the Defense Research Institute. Hunter is admitted to practice before all courts, both state and federal, within Alabama, and Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and has tried and arbitrated cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Outside the Office
Hunter is married to the former Monica Lockhart. They are the proud parents of three children: Adeline, Hunter and Olivia. While not at work, he enjoys sports and hunting. Hunter serves on several nonprofit boards, and he and his family are members of Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.

Education

  • Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, cum laude, J.D. 1997
  • B.S., Business Administration and Accounting, Samford University, cum laude, 1993

Bar and Court Admissions

  • Alabama Supreme Court
  • Alabama State Courts
  • Georgia Supreme Court
  • Georgia Court of Appeals
  • Georgia State Courts
  • North Carolina Supreme Court
  • North Carolina State Courts
  • South Carolina Supreme Court
  • South Carolina State Courts
  • Tennessee Supreme Court
  • Tennessee State Courts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of North Carolina
  • U.S. District Court, Anderson Division of South Carolina
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee

Honors and Awards

  • AV Distinguished Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®
  • Named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in the areas of Civil Defense Litigation and Medical Malpractice Defense

Professional and Community Affiliations

  • Alabama State Bar Association
  • Alabama Defense Lawyers Association
  • Alabama Nursing Home Defense Lawyers Association
  • American Bar Association
  • American Journal of Trial Advocacy Foundation Board
  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, Fellow
    • Professional Liability Committee
    • Medical Liability Committee
  • Defense Research Institute, Long Term Care Subcommittee, Member
  • Georgia Bar Association
  • North Carolina Bar Association
  • South Carolina Bar Association
  • Tennessee Health Care Association
  • Tennessee Bar Association

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Recap of 2016 LTC Risk Management Conference, New York, New York, Firm Attorneys Collaborate on State Profile for LTC Risk Legal Forum
  • Invited Speaker, A Review of Significant Trends in TLC for 2016 for Litigation Risk and Defense Strategies for Long Term Care & Assisted Living Providers, Insurers, and Brokers Conference, New York, New York, April 1, 2016
  • Invited Speaker, Regulations, Corporate Compliance and Quality Improvement, Litigation Risk and Defense Strategies for Litigation Risk and Defense Strategies for Long Term Care & Assisted Living Providers, Insurers, and Brokers Conference, New York, New York, April 1, 2016
  • Invited Speaker, Proactivity in Risk Prevention Risk Control Focus Areas, HealthServices Management Group Annual CEO/DON Meeting, Chattanooga, TN, March 9, 2016
  • Presenter, Litigation and Quality of Care Risks – The Top 10 List, Client Training, Mar. 9, 2016.
  • Invited Speaker, Nursing Home and ALF Litigation 2015, Defense Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada, September 10-11, 2015
  • Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Reforms and Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities, Tennessee Health Care Association, August 2015
  • Invited Speaker, Case Law Update:  An Overview of Arbitration in Nursing Home and Assisted Living Cases, Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Birmingham, Alabama, 2008, 2009 and 2010

Recent Reported Decisions

  • SSC Montgomery Cedar Crest Operating Co., LLC v. Bolding, 130 So. 3d 1194 (Ala. 2013)
  • McElroy v. Fairview Nursing Home, 2012 WL 5289397 (N.D. Ala. October 23, 2012)

Trial Results

  • David King v. Westside Terrace Health and Rehabilitation Center and Turenne & Associates, LLC
    • Cause No. 38-CV-2012-900365; Arbitration from the Circuit Court of Houston County, Alabama
    • Obtained a defense verdict in a catastrophic injury case involving a T-8 paraplegic’s “fall” during a sliding board transfer. After eight days of trial testimony, including 10 expert witnesses, the trier of fact concluded that the Plaintiff failed to prove that the alleged fall was the cause of his paralysis – Feb. 19, 2020; confirmed by the Circuit Court of Houston County, Alabama – March 9, 2020
  • Krista Content Hamilton v. Paragon Contracting Services, Inc., et al.
    • Cause No. CV-2018-900490, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
    • Obtained summary dismissal of an emergency physician in a catastrophic injury involving a college student that is now blind because of an alleged failure to timely diagnose a sinus infection that led to intracranial abcess – July 23, 2019
  • Lyndon F. McCall, Personal Representative of the Estate of Yvonne J. McCall, deceased vs. SSC Montgomery South Haven Operating Company, LLC
    • Cause No. 2:14-CV-588-MEF, In Re Arbitration, Montgomery, AL
    • Received defense verdict – February 15, 2018
  • Gwendolyn Jackson Pinnix and Warren Ivan Jackson, Executors of the Estate of David W. Jackson, Sr. v. SSC Silver Stream Operating Company, LLC
    • Cause No. 7:14-CV-00161-FL – U.S. District Court, Eastern District North Carolina
    • Unanimous verdict of only stipulated damages of $13,107.45 in wrongful death case – October 5, 2017
  • Houston Brown, as Admin. for the Estate of William Braxton Schell v. St. Vincent’s Hospital, et al.
    • Cause No. CV-2014-903931, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
    • Obtained summary judgment in this wrongful death case involving a viral disease known as Dengue Fever – April 18, 2017
  • Rosalyn Gardiner, as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Lillie Bell Hopson vs. SSC Birmingham Operating Company LLC, et al.
    • Cause No. CV-2008-901737; In the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
    • Received defense verdict in ADR matter – December 11, 2016
  • Lyndon F. McCall, Personal Representative of the Estate of Yvonne J. McCall, Deceased vs. SSC Montgomery South Haven Operating Company LLC, et al.
    • Cause No. 2:14-cv-00588, In the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama
    • After litigating the matter for two years, prevailed on Motion to Compel Arbitration – May 31, 2016
  • Charsie Franklin v. SSC Montgomery Cedar Crest Operating Company LLC, et al.
    • Cause No. 2:14-cv-00588, in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama
    • Obtained summary judgment in this case involving a number of falls – April 1, 2014
  • Katrina Barnes v. SSC Fairview Operating Company, et al.
    • In the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
    • Obtained summary judgment in this case involving wounds and an amputation – March 4, 2014
  • Darlene Anderson Vail, Administratrix of the Estate of Lillie B. Anderson, Deceased vs. SSC Birmingham Operating Company LLC, et al.
    • Cause No. CV-2007-02056; In the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
    • Received directed verdict at close of Plaintiff’s case – May 12, 2011
  • Janie Duncan v. Talladega Health and Rehabilitation
    • In the Circuit Court of Talladega County, Alabama
    • Obtained a defense verdict in the wrongful death case involving sepsis from infected wounds – April 1, 2003