In this year’s listing of top verdicts, Texas Lawyer magazine names a $21 million verdict in an Aldous\Walker LLP case as the largest medical malpractice courtroom win in the state in 2022.
The Top Texas Verdicts & Settlements list is developed annually from research compiled by American Lawyer Media’s VerdictSearch, widely recognized as the leading provider of U.S. verdict and settlement information. ALM’s Texas Lawyer, which publishes the list every year, then ranks each verdict overall and by category.
The October 2022 verdict was the largest medical malpractice claim and the 20th largest in Texas overall. Firm partners Charla Aldous and Brent Walker were lead counsel on the case, which focused on 32-year-old Carlos Rojas, who was left in a vegetative state after undergoing anesthesia during surgery to repair a broken leg at Baylor University Medical Center in 2017.
The Dallas County jury found providers with US Anesthesia Partners were negligent during the surgery when they failed to monitor Carlos’ blood pressure readings, which would have indicated dangerously low oxygen levels. Instead, Carlos suffered permanent brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain.
“We appreciate that this verdict was the largest of its kind in Texas last year,” said Ms. Aldous. “It not only highlights the severity of Carlos’ condition but also the importance of this case – that those in the medical field have a duty to their patients and if they fail to live up to that duty, we will fight on behalf of our clients to make sure they are held accountable.”
This is only the most recent recognition for Aldous\Walker. Earlier this year, Ms. Aldous was named to the list of “Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar” by ALM, which publishes Law.com and The National Law Journal. ALM also named the firm an Elite Trial Lawyers Awards finalist in the Civil Rights category. Winners will be announced during an awards dinner in New York on July 13.
The full list of top verdicts can be viewed in Texas Lawyer's special report Top Verdicts & Settlements of 2022.