Over 1.5 million people in the United States wake up every day in a nursing home, dependent on others to meet most or all of their needs. They are a helpless, vulnerable population whose numbers will increase dramatically in coming years as more baby boomers begin entering retirement. This growth will require that the quality and quantity of care offered by nursing homes be increased proportionately.

Nursing homes house some of the most helpless residents of our society. Their helplessness extends not only to their need for appropriate professional nursing care, but also to their need for vigilant protection of their legal rights. The combination of (a) increases in the number of persons subjected to nursing home care, (b) profit motive of nursing facility operators running amuck, (c) explicit regulatory standards, (d) inadequate regulatory oversight, (e) the frequency of substandard care resulting in serious injury or death and (f) the lack of other effective remedies for harm to individual nursing home residents, makes nursing home litigation potentially a fertile field for trial lawyers seeking to ensure fair compensation to persons harmed by the negligence of others.

In recent years, nursing home neglect and death cases have been on the rise. One reason for the rise in cases maybe attributed to the increasing age number of older members of the population. Another reason for the increase in cases maybe the government's increased role in regulating extended care facilities and the lawyer's role in helping to police the conduct of these long term care facilities. In Alabama, actions against a nursing home are governed by the Alabama Medical Liability Act of 1975 (Code of Ala. §§ 6-5-480 through 488) and the Medical Liability Act of 1987 (Code of Ala. §§ 6-5-540 through 552). (collectively the "MLA"). A number of the provisions set forth in these code sections have been validated as unconstitutional. However, the remaining provisions have a serious and practical impact on pursuing a nursing home case.

The opening statement is the springboard from which the plaintiff's attorney educates the jury on a nursing home's liability and persuades the jury that a verdict in favor of the plaintiff is the only way to serve justice. While an opening statement has several important goals, the ultimate goal of a successful opening statement is to marshal the significant points of the case, and develop the bond of trust created with the jurors in voir dire into a vehicle through which to express your theory of liability in such a way as to create a paradigm in the juror's minds that the only just and fair resolution of the case is a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. This vehicle is created by (1) conveying a particular theme to the jury from the beginning until the end of trial; and (2) highlighting faults in key defense issues and common defense ploys intended to shift liability away from the nursing home.

One of the most crucial issues in a products liability action is whether the jury will hear evidence of other incidents involving the same or a similar product. Few issues will strengthen a case for the plaintiff like evidence that the defendant was on notice of injuries caused by their product. Therefore, a good defense attorney will make every effort to prevents the admission of other similar incident evidence.1 In every products liability case where other similar incident, accident or injury evidence arises, the ruling of the court on this issue has the potential to significantly impact the outcome of the case.