January 29, 2019

Hicks Thomas Scores Big Medical Malpractice Win in Texas Supreme Court

By Hicks Thomas LLP


AUSTIN, Texas – Lawyers with Hicks Thomas LLP secured a Texas Supreme Court decision in favor of a woman whose husband died as a result of a doctor’s misdiagnosis, with the high court concluding that a jury had ample evidence to support its multimillion-dollar verdict.

A Harris County jury had awarded Tracy Windrum and her children $4.2 million, finding neurosurgeon Dr. Victor Kareh was negligent in the care of her husband, Lance Windrum, at North Cypress Medical Center. Mr. Windrum died in 2010, at age 46, from complications of spinal fluid in the brain, a treatable condition that the doctor failed to correctly diagnose and treat.

The First Court of Appeals in Houston overturned the jury’s verdict altogether, rejecting the opinions of a highly qualified expert witness in the case that Mr. Windrum’s doctor was negligent.

On Jan. 25, 2019, the Texas Supreme Court found the appeals court in error, ruling that the jury was entitled to rely upon the expert’s opinion and that “we should not substitute our own judgment for the jury’s.” The ruling carries wider implications for expert testimony, and the legal news outlet Law360 featured the case as an important one to watch.

“We are pleased with this ruling for Mrs. Windrum and her three children who are still awaiting a resolution more than eight years after Mr. Windrum died,” said Stephen Loftin, attorney with Hicks Thomas LLP who tried the case to verdict and represented the family on appeal.

“This is an important case recognizing that the opinions of an eminently qualified expert, supported by the evidence and his experience treating other patients, may properly be considered and weighed by a jury,” said Hicks Thomas appellate specialist J. Stephen Barrick. “A reviewing court cannot change the result simply because it does not agree with the outcome.”

Mr. Barrick represented the family on appeal along with Warren Harris of Bracewell LLP. The case is Windrum v. Kareh, case number 17-0328, in the Supreme Court of Texas.

Founded in 1997, Texas-based Hicks Thomas LLP is a premier litigation firm representing plaintiffs and defendants across the nation with offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont and Amarillo, Texas, and Sacramento, California. The firm provides in-depth experience in cases involving oil and gas, environmental, complex commercial, toxic tort, construction, products liability, corporate governance, securities, banking, insurance coverage, transportation, trade secrets and business litigation. Visit the firm at http://www.hicks-thomas.com.

Related Posts

Partner John B. Thomas Elected to Prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates

Hicks Thomas LLP partner John B. Thomas has been elected to the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an exclusive group of the nation’s leading trial lawyers and judges. Mr. Thomas was voted into the organization at its national board meeting on August 19. ABOTA membership is by invitation only. Members…

Full Text

Leah Graham Selected to National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40

HOUSTON – The National Trial Lawyers has named Hicks Thomas senior counsel Leah Graham to its list of Top 40 under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers. Membership in The National Trial Lawyers is by invitation only and offered exclusively to the state’s top civil plaintiff and/or criminal defense attorneys. Ms….

Full Text

Attorney Client Privilege Protects Non-Retained Expert Communications

The Houston 14th Court of Appeals issued an opinion today, in-re-texas-windstorm, which will solidify and strengthen the strategy of using one’s clients as experts to prove the reasonableness of conduct by insurers in first party bad faith and coverage disputes. The ruling applies to virtually every other civil lawsuit in…

Full Text

Call: 713-547-9100