Scott M. Salter

Scott Salter has been practicing at Starnes Davis Florie LLP for over 30 years. Scott’s practice is devoted to catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation, primarily focused on medical malpractice defense, healthcare litigation, and pharmaceutical/medical device litigation. He has tried over 60 cases to jury verdict. He also routinely handles investigations before the state licensing boards for physicians, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists. Outside of the medical arena, Scott handles commercial matters and also has an active insurance coverage and insurance litigation practice, having represented insurers, brokers, agents, and policyholders in insurance coverage disputes, declaratory judgment actions, breach of contract, and bad faith actions. Scott received his undergraduate degree from The University of Alabama and his law degree from The University of Alabama School of Law. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and previously served for six years as the National Board Representative for the State of Alabama. He is also a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel serving as the Alabama State Representative and Chairman of the Healthcare Practice Section. He has ben listed by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, and in 2018 received the Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” for Birmingham, Alabama for Litigation-Insurance. He is admitted to practice in Alabama and Tennessee.

Professional Recognition

•Listed in Best Lawyers in America
•'Lawyer of the Year' for Birmingham, Alabama, Litigation-Insurance in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers in America
•Alabama Super Lawyer by Mid-South Super Lawyers
•Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates - Past National Board Representative
•Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) - Alabama State Representative, Trial Masters Program, and Past Chairman of Healthcare Practice Section

Highlights

•Secured a defense verdict for an orthopedic surgeon and his practice group after a one-week trial in a case where the plaintiff suffered permanent median nerve injury following endoscopic carpal tunnel release surgery.
•Obtained a defense verdict for a radiologist following an 8-day jury trial involving allegations of failure to diagnose acute appendicitis.
•Obtained a defense verdict for an obstetrician following an 8-day jury trial in Federal Court in Florence, Alabama, in a case involving a “pan-plexus” injury at birth.
•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 defense verdict on behalf of an urologist in a case alleging negligence in the performance of an adult circumcision.
•Obtained a judgment from the Supreme Court of Alabama affirming a summary judgment in an action involving claims of negligence against an obstetrician based on a shoulder dystocia that occurred at birth resulting in a permanent brachial plexus injury. The action alleged the obstetrician should have performed a cesarean section instead of a vaginal delivery because the mother had encountered a shoulder dystocia with a previous birth. Summary judgment was granted on the grounds that the plaintiff’s expert failed to establish a breach of the standard of care against the defendant obstetrician and that alternative claims against the defendant physician’s partner, who was not originally named in the action, were barred by the statute of limitations.
•Obtained summary judgment and affirmance in favor of excess insurance company in multi-million dollar breach of contract and bad faith action.
•Obtained a favorable opinion from the Supreme Court of Alabama in favor of a construction company client involving an insurance coverage dispute.
•Obtained summary judgment for Travelers in an insurance coverage dispute in Macon County, Alabama.
•Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an obstetrician in a fetal death case involving complications associated with Parovirus B19.
•Obtained summary judgment for St. Paul Travelers in insurance allocation dispute brought by Canal Insurance to recover $1,000,000 paid by Canal in settlement of case.
•Successfully tried wrongful death action to a defense verdict in Barbour County, Alabama.
•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.
•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 in Chambers County.
•Obtained summary judgment in an action brought on behalf of deceased fetus and mother alleging failure to properly monitor fetus after mother was diagnosed with Parvovirus, allegedly resulting in death of the fetus.
•Obtained summary judgment in infant wrongful death action and affirmance with opinion from the Alabama Supreme Court based on the statute of limitations and the argument that the action was not commenced within the applicable statute when the complaint was filed within the statute but service was not effectuated on the defendants for over four months.
•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 judgment as a matter of law in a wrongful death action on issue of lack of proximate cause after precluding plaintiff’s expert witness.
•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.
•Obtained directed verdict after precluding plaintiff’s expert based on lack of qualifications in a brain damage case.
•Obtained summary judgment for hospital in professional liability action on ground that plaintiff failed to present evidence that alleged negligence proximately caused plaintiff’s injuries.
•Obtained summary judgment for physician in case alleging improper off-label use of medication.

Presentations and Publications

•Navigating AI in the Legal World - The Ethical Obligations of Lawyers,the 60th Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, Orange Beach, Florida from June 11-15, 2025
•Anatomy of a Trial - Handling the Truth: Great Testimony on Direct and Cross Examination, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel’s Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington from July 25-30, 2022
•DRI Trial Tactics Seminar, Mock Trial Critical Analysis, Las Vegas, March 2017
•Litigating Professional Liability Matters Before State Administrative Enforcement Agencies, Alabama State Bar White Collar Crime Committee, 2016
•ABA Medicolegal Guides: Head Trauma and Brain Injury for Lawyers, Traumatic Brain Injury, Neuropsychological Testing: A Defense Perspective, Chpt. 22, pp. 529-543 (2016)
•DRI Medical Liability and Healthcare Seminar, “Is It Personal to You, It Should Be,” New Orleans, LA March 2016
•Public Disruptions in the Healthcare Industry, FDCC Annual Meeting, Banff, Alberta, CA, 2015.
•Preserving Error for Appeal - Winning at the Trial Court, FDCC Annual Meeting, Banff, Alberta, CA, 2015.

Presentations and Publications

•Anatomy of a Trial - Handling the Truth: Great Testimony on Direct and Cross Examination, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel’s Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington from July 25-30, 2022
•DRI Trial Tactics Seminar, Mock Trial Critical Analysis, Las Vegas, March 2017
•Litigating Professional Liability Matters Before State Administrative Enforcement Agencies, Alabama State Bar White Collar Crime Committee, 2016
•ABA Medicolegal Guides: Head Trauma and Brain Injury for Lawyers, Traumatic Brain Injury, Neuropsychological Testing: A Defense Perspective, Chpt. 22, pp. 529-543 (2016)
•DRI Medical Liability and Healthcare Seminar, “Is It Personal to You, It Should Be,” New Orleans, LA March 2016
•Public Disruptions in the Healthcare Industry, FDCC Annual Meeting, Banff, Alberta, CA, 2015.
•Preserving Error for Appeal - Winning at the Trial Court, FDCC Annual Meeting, Banff, Alberta, CA, 2015.

Presentations and Publications

•DRI Trial Tactics Seminar, Mock Trial Critical Analysis, Las Vegas, March 2017
•Litigating Professional Liability Matters Before State Administrative Enforcement Agencies, Alabama State Bar White Collar Crime Committee, 2016
•ABA Medicolegal Guides: Head Trauma and Brain Injury for Lawyers, Traumatic Brain Injury, Neuropsychological Testing: A Defense Perspective, Chpt. 22, pp. 529-543 (2016)
•DRI Medical Liability and Healthcare Seminar, “Is It Personal to You, It Should Be,” New Orleans, LA March 2016
•Public Disruptions in the Healthcare Industry, FDCC Annual Meeting, Banff, Alberta, CA, 2015.
•Preserving Error for Appeal - Winning at the Trial Court, FDCC Annual Meeting, Banff, Alberta, CA, 2015.

News & Insights

•35 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2026
•Scott Salter Featured in Medical Professional Liability Association’s Inside Medical Liability Online Reports
•Starnes Lawyers Salter & White Prevail in Med Mal Trial on Behalf of Orthopedic Surgeon
•33 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2025
•30 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2024
•Scott Salter & Todd Huntley Obtain a Defense Verdict for a Radiologist Following an 8-Day Jury Trial
•SDF’s Wright & Salter Win 8-Day Jury Trial in Federal Court
•Scott Salter Speaks as Part of Masters in Trial Program at FDCC Annual Meeting
•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
•29 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2022
•Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2021
•Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Business Interruption, Property Damage, and Other Insurance Coverage Issues
•Thirty SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers 2020
•THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2018 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
•Twenty-Seven SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2019
•Twenty-Eight SDF Attorneys Named to the 2017 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
•Twenty-Six SDF Lawyers Listed in the 2018 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
•Butler, Salter & Wright Named Best Lawyers “2018 Lawyer of the Year”