Houston's Hicks Thomas Earns One of Texas' Top Verdicts for 2013

HOUSTON, May 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A $4.2 million verdict won by Houston's Hicks Thomas LLP for a woman whose husband died because of a medical misdiagnosis is one of last year's top 25 verdicts in Texas and the state's second-largest jury award in a medical malpractice claim.

The case involved the May 2010 death of Lancer Windrum, a 46-year-old father of three whose condition, a buildup of spinal fluid in the brain, was treatable. Although Mr. Windrum was properly diagnosed by emergency room doctors, jurors determined that treating physician Dr. Victor Kareh rejected that assessment and failed to provide standard treatment, leading to Mr. Windrum's death.

After a two-week trial, jurors deliberated just three hours before delivering the verdict in Harris County's 133^rd District Court in favor of Hicks Thomas' client. The case, Tracy Windrum v. Victor Kareh, No. 2012-07156, is highlighted in Top Texas Verdicts and Settlements of 2013, which was compiled by VerdictSearch and appears in the May 26 edition of Texas Lawyer newspaper.

"There was simply no excuse for the failure to provide Mr. Windrum with the lifesaving treatment he needed," says Hicks Thomas partner Wade H. Whilden Jr., who tried the case with Stephen M. Loftin. Mr. Whilden was featured as the Litigator of the Week in Texas Lawyer because of the sizable Harris County verdict.

Evidence presented in the trial showed that a CT scan and an MRI clearly revealed Mr. Windrum had hydrocephalus, a blockage of cerebrospinal fluid. With proper diagnosis, the fluid blockage is treatable with a drainage tube. However, Dr. Kareh chose to monitor Mr. Windrum and send him home without the necessary treatment. Over a period of months, Mr. Windrum continued to experience headaches, slurred speech and confusion. Dr. Kareh ordered unrelated tests. On May 2, 2010, Mr. Windrum died at home.

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

For more information on Hicks Thomas' noteworthy verdict, please contact Kit Frieden at 800-559-4534 or [email protected].

SOURCE Hicks Thomas LLP