Attorney Profiles

Clifford Britt, a co-founder of Comerford & Britt, believes that every client is entitled to fair representation. His legal expertise encompasses a full spectrum of areas of law-including auto accidents, aviation disasters, inadequate security, premises liability, and others-but he places a primary focus on representing victims of medical malpractice.

Cliff has handled a variety of cases of medical negligence, including:  birth trauma involving injuries (often severe brain damage) to newborn infants (before, during, and after birth), failure to diagnose spinal injuries (including a spine injury that occurred after more than a week in the hospital and resulted in permanent quadriplegia), failure to diagnose sepsis and pneumococcal meningitis (resulting in amputation of all four limbs), failure to diagnose infection (including one case of orbital cellulitis that resulted in blindness), failure to treat a perforated bowel, failure to diagnose cancer, orthopaedic malpractice (including spinal surgeries and cauda equina syndrome), improper administration of medications, improper treatment for deep vein thrombosis, failure to diagnose heart attacks, eye surgeries, obstetrical malpractice (including shoulder dystocia and brachial plexus injuries resulting in Erb's Palsy), and many other types of medical negligence. He also handles claims involving dental malpractice, nursing home negligence, and elder abuse.

In addition, Cliff also represents victims of truck wrecks, police chases, drunk drivers, dram shop liability, plane crashes, train derailments, helicopter crashes, jet blast, air traffic controller negligence, inadequate security at shopping centers or parking lots, defective products (including aircraft engines and airframes, automobile air bags, tires, sudden acceleration, chemicals and packaging, ski rope handles, and climbing safety equipment), dog attacks, unsafe premises, motor vehicle collisions and other forms of negligence.

Law was a likely choice of profession for Cliff, whose father, three uncles and other relatives were lawyers and judges. His family members have served in the North Carolina Legislature, the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court, the United States Federal District Court, and as the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Cliff has compiled his own list of legal accomplishments.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Business Administration degree, and a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University, Cliff worked as a defense attorney on a number of medical malpractice, aircraft crashes, motor vehicle collisions, and defective products cases for Petree, Stockton and Robinson in Winston-Salem. At this firm, he developed an understanding of how insurance companies and their representatives evaluate and defend such cases. The experience has proved to be invaluable even today.

Cliff is an active member of a number of professional organizations, including the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. He currently serves as President of the Academy (2005-06) and is a trustee of the Academy's political action committee. He previously served as President-elect (2004-05), Vice President for legislative affairs (2002-04), Vice President for Education(2000-02), chair of the Editorial Board(1999-2001), and chair of the Professional Negligence Section (2000-2001). He is also a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, where he is a member of the sections on Aviation, Professional Negligence, Products Liability, Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway, and Premises Liability; the Birth Trauma Litigation Group; the Medical Negligence Information Exchange Group; and the Nursing Home Litigation Group; the North Carolina Bar Association, where he has served as Chair of the Litigation Section (2004-05), and was on the executive council of the Litigation Section for several years (as Vice-Chair (2003-04) and as Secretary (2002-03). He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, and is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.

Cliff and his wife have four children, and attend Augsburg Lutheran Church in downtown Winston-Salem. Cliff is very active with Wake Forest University and the University's fundraising activities. He is a dedicated supporter of the Deacon Club, a member of the Founder's Circle, and a member of the Law Alumni Council (President 2005-06; President-Elect 2004-05). He enjoys scouting and is the assistant cubmaster with a local Cub Scout Pack (Pack 934 at Mt. Tabor Methodist Church). He previously served as advancement chairman of the Boy Scout Committee of the Old Hickory Council. Also an avid runner and mountain biker, Cliff also enjoys photography, kayaking, fishing, and Wake Forest sports (especially basketball).