Blankenship v. Mirick

In Blankenship v. Mirick, 984 S.W.2d 771 (Tex. App.--Waco 1999, pet. denied), the court found the evidence legally and factually sufficient to prove causation in a case involving an automobile collision. Id. at 773, 775-76. The plaintiff suffered dislocated kneecaps, which she alleged were caused by the collision with another vehicle. Id. at 776. Her treating physician could not state in reasonable medical probability whether the plaintiff's injury was an aggravation of a pre-existing condition or was caused by the trauma of the automobile collision. Id. However, the court noted that the "context of her physician's testimony reveals his firm belief that the plaintiff's kneecaps were not dislocated immediately following the collision." Id. at 777. The court, considering the plaintiff's and her physician's testimony, found the testimony legally sufficient because her lay testimony established "a sequence of events which provides a strong, logically traceable connection between the collision and her condition." Id. at 776. The court concluded that the combination of her doctor's medical testimony, which had narrowed down the causes of her injury to two possibilities, and her lay testimony were sufficient to prove causation.