Defending health care providers and facilities in a wide variety of medical malpractice cases for over 20 years, Carol has dedicated her litigation practice to achieving superior results while maintaining the highest professional standards. From pre-claim negotiations through trials and appeals, her winning record is consistent and impressive.

Carol has defended doctors, hospitals and nurses in circuit courts in the counties of Kent, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Berrien, Gratiot, Muskegon and Wayne, as well as in federal court and the Michigan Court of Appeals. Specializing in cases involving birth trauma, nursing negligence, emergency medicine care and a variety of surgical areas, Carol has successfully defended cases from the most frivolous to the most complex.

Having achieved summary dismissal of dozens of cases following careful analysis of both legal and medical issues, Carol has also won numerous trials in front of diverse groups of jurors, on a wide variety of claims.

She is frequently invited to present seminars to doctors and nurses to help them avoid being sued in the first place, or to deal with the consequences when a claim occurs.

Noteworthy

• Listed in Best Lawyers (2012) -- Medical Malpractice Law

Education

•  Kalamazoo College (B.A., cum laude, 1980); Who's Who Amongst College and University Students, National Merit Scholar.
•  Macalester College
•  University of Notre Dame (J.D., 1987); Weber Award in Oral Advocacy, National Moot Court Team.

Admitted to Practice

• State Bar of Michigan, 1988

Client Successes for Carol D. Carlson

• 7/1/2010
  Carol Carlson and Cindy Boer obtained dismissal of a medical malpractice wrongful death case in which their client, a family practice physician, was alleged to have failed to diagnose a rare uterine sarcoma. After a two-day evidentiary hearing, the court exercised its role as "gatekeeper" and ruled that the opinion of the plaintiff's expert was not reliable and contained analytical gaps. The court excluded the expert from testifying at trial, which resulted in summary disposition in favor of the defense.
• 7/1/2010
  Carol Carlson and Brian Molde obtained summary disposition for their client, an obstetrician/gynecologist, in a case alleging that their client caused the wrongful death of a five-week-old viable fetus after performing a D&C. Carol and Brian challenged the viability opinion of the plaintiff's expert and the court agreed, precluding that expert from offering any opinion on viability at trial. Since that was plaintiff's sole remaining expert on causation and damages, the case was summarily dismissed before trial.
• 9/1/2008
  Carol Carlson and Bill Henn were successful in obtaining summary disposition for a hospital client, and in defending that ruling in the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. The case involved the death of a patient during a cardiac catheterization procedure. The Opinion issued by the Supreme Court concluded that the plaintiff's Notice of Intent did not comply with the statutory requirements, and that therefore the subsequent Complaint and Affidavit of Merit did not toll the limitations period. This is a significant victory for defendants that overturns contrary Court of Appeals precedent and restores a defendant's ability to mount a meaningful challenge to a defective Notice of Intent.

News for Carol D. Carlson

9/14/2011
Smith Haughey and its Attorneys Voted "Best" By Their Peers

5/20/2008
Smith Haughey's Litigators Accumulate Successes Throughout Michigan

Professional Affiliations

•  Michigan Society of Healthcare Risk Management (first attorney elected to the Board of Directors)
•  American Society for Healthcare Risk Management
•  American Bar Association
•  Michigan Bar Association
•  Michigan Society of Hospital Attorneys
•  Defense Research Institute

Community Affiliations

•  United Way (Committee Chair)
•  Family Resource Council (Board of Directors)
•  Judicial Review Committee, Kent County