Alabama Supreme Court Appellate Alert: Decisions from March 20, 2026

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The Alabama Supreme Court issued its weekly release list on Friday, March 20, which included the following opinion of interest to the Alabama business community:

• Armour v. Southeast Alabama Medical Center: this 5-0 opinion by Justice Mendheim affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment for a defendant in a medical-malpractice case based on lack of substantial evidence of causation. The plaintiff’s expert, a hospitalist, testified both (1) that the defendant—a hospitalist—violated the standard of care by failing to consult a vascular surgeon about the plaintiff’s leg and (2) that if the defendant had consulted a vascular surgeon, the vascular surgeon would have taken measures that prevented the leg’s amputation. The Court held that under the rules established by the Alabama Medical Liability Act, the plaintiff’s expert hospitalist, because he did not practice vascular surgery, could not testify as to what a vascular surgeon would have done. The only vascular surgeon who testified was the defendant’s expert, and he testified that a vascular surgeon likely would not have saved the plaintiff’s leg. The Court therefore concluded that the plaintiff had failed to offer evidence from which a jury could have inferred a causal link between the hospitalist’s alleged negligence and the amputation.

If you have questions about these decisions or want to discuss any other matters relating to Alabama appellate law, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of Maynard Nexsen’s Appellate Group.