Thomas H. Keene

Mr. Keene began practicing law with the firm in 1974, and he has served as president of the firm since 1998. He has defended hundreds of cases involving catastrophic personal injury and death in the state and federal courts throughout Alabama as well as in Mississippi and Florida. Mr. Keene has tried well over 100 cases to jury verdict in venues throughout the state of Alabama.

Mr. Keene’s practice has involved the defense of diverse causes of action including antitrust, business litigation, products liability as well as the defense of lawyers, doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers.

Mr. Keene is a member and former state committee member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and he is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and past president of its Alabama Chapter. He has been named repeatedly to The Best Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers.  He has also served on the board of directors of the Montgomery County Bar Association and is a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association and the Alabama State Bar.

Recent Practice Highlights

With Grant Sexton, Jr., obtained a defense verdict in favor of a physician in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.  The case involved allegations of medical malpractice relating to care provided to a newborn in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit within the first 24 hours of life. The jury returned a verdict following deliberations of less than one hour.

With Grant Sexton, successfully defended an emergency room physician in Huntsville, Alabama accused of delaying the diagnosis of a spinal cord tumor which caused paraplegia.  A defense verdict was returned after Plaintiffs demanded ten to fifteen million dollars in their closing argument request for a verdict.

With Amanda Hines, successfully tried and won a pediatric cardiology case in Mobile County, a venue known to be dangerous for such cases.  The case involved a high degree of emotion and sympathy as it centered around the death of a three-month-old infant on Christmas Day.

With Fred Tyson, obtained defense verdict in a personal injury and wrongful death case for an orthopedic spine surgeon where the patient suffered paralysis for aproximately 3 years following cervical spine surgery, then died of complications of the paralysis.

Obtained defense verdict in favor of cardiac electrophysiologist in medical malpractice case involving the evaluation of a patient for cardiac arrhythmia, including an electrophysiology study, following a syncopal episode.

Obtained directed verdict for physician in a medical malpractice/wrongful death case involving alleged failure to diagnose dehydration which resulted in death of a 2 ½ year old child.

Obtained defense verdict in favor of internist in a medical malpractice/wrongful death case involving the treatment of nursing home patient who suffered from a recurrent clostridium difficile colitis that ultimately caused toxic megacolon, sepsis, and death.

Obtained defense verdict in favor of doctor in medical malpractice/wrongful death case involving the death of a patient with mononucleosis and rupture of the spleen.

Obtained defense verdict in favor of a cardiologist in medical malpractice/wrongful death case involving allegations of failure to appropriately diagnose and treat an acute myocardial infarction.

Obtained defense verdict in favor of physician in medical malpractice/wrongful death case involving allegations that a tracheal tube was not properly secured, leading to hypoxia and death of patient.

Obtained a directed verdict in favor of a physician in a medical malpractice/wrongful death case involving the death of a patient who was given 80 units of Levemir rather than 8 units due to an error in transcription in India.

Obtained a defense verdict in a wrongful death case where plaintiff alleged that negligent prescription of a controlled substance led to suicide.

Obtained a defense verdict in a medical malpractice case where plaintiff suffered a stroke during a cardiac catheterization allegedly due to a medication error.

Obtained a defense verdict for a physician in a wrongful death case involving a patient suffering a cardiac arrest after undergoing a cardiac catheterization in a cardiac clinic. The plaintiff alleged that the procedure should have been performed in a hospital setting.

Obtained a defense verdict for a physician in a wrongful death action where the patient coded during induction of anesthesia for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The plaintiff alleged that a cardiac workup should have been performed prior to the induction of anesthesia.

Won a defense verdict in a wrongful death action for a south Alabama ER physician, where the plaintiffs alleged that the ER physician failed to order appropriate tests for their son during an ER visit.

Honors and Awards

Mr. Keene has been AV peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell for more than 30 years.  He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Trial Advocates, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. While at the University of Alabama School of Law, Mr. Keene served as vice president of the law school and was a member of the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society.

Since its inception, Mr. Keene has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. In 2013, this organization named Mr. Keene as the “Montgomery Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants Lawyer of the Year”. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in the publication’s surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Recently, Chambers USA, a guide to the world’s leading law firms and lawyers, ranked Mr. Keene 1 in Litigation: Medical Malpractice Defense (Alabama).  Rankings are based on an extensive research process which includes interviews of thousands of lawyers and their clients.

Mr. Keene was also named “local litigation star” in the areas of personal injury and products liability in the 2014 edition of Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to America’s leading litigation firms and attorneys.

Mr. Keene currently serves as Chairman of the President’s Cabinet at the University of Alabama. He previously has served as Chairman of the Selection Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Cabinet. The President’s Cabinet is by invitation only and is limited to three hundred members. Their mission includes not only advising the President of the University as needed, but also the funding and administration of scholarships to worthy students as well as the recruitment of academically gifted students. This very proud organization has existed for forty-five years and continues to support primarily academic activities of the University of Alabama.

Presentations

Served as Adjunct Professor for Jones School of Law (named outstanding instructor, 1980)

Lectures to numerous medical groups concerning subjects involving risk management, reforms in the laws applicable to healthcare institutions, and new laws affecting healthcare institutions

Speaking engagements at various continuing legal education seminars produced by the University of Alabama

Community Involvement

Mr. Keene is a member of the Church of the Ascension in Montgomery. He has served on several local boards, including the board of the Jackson Hospital Foundation, the Jimmy Hitchcock Award which recognizes the outstanding Christian athlete in Montgomery each year, and Sterling Bank. Additionally, he has enjoyed coaching youth baseball and basketball.

• Healthcare and Medical Liability
• Professional Liability and Licensure Matters
• Pharmaceutical, Biologic, and Medical Device Litigation
• Commercial, Complex, and Class Action Litigation
• Insurance Defense and Coverage Law
• Labor and Employment Law

• B.S., University of Alabama, 1970
• M.B.A., University of Alabama, 1971
• J.D., University of Alabama School of Law, 1974

• Alabama State Bar
• American College of Trial Lawyers
• International Academy of Trial Lawyers
• Montgomery County Bar Association
• Alabama Defense Lawyers Association
• American Bar Association
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)

• All Alabama State Courts
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
• Supreme Court of Alabama
• U.S. Supreme Court