Enrique Orta, III, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Enrique Orta, II, Ramona E. Moreno and Sabrina Orta v. SN Operating, LLC and Patco Wireline Services, LLC
This negligence case arises from the death of Enrique Orta, II, who allegedly suffered a fatal heat stroke while working for the appellees. Appellants, Orta's survivors, sued SN Operating, LLC and Patco Wireline Services, LLC, alleging negligence. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the appellees, citing a lack of evidence for proximate causation, specifically the necessity of medical expert testimony. The appellate court affirmed the decision, ruling that the symptoms and effects of heat stroke are not within the common knowledge of laypersons, thereby requiring expert medical testimony. Furthermore, the court found the appellants' proposed workplace safety engineer was not qualified to render a medical opinion on causation.